How Fromages d'ici resolves 99% of customer queries with AI-powered product recommendations

It’s hard to choose between 1000 cheeses. 

Even if you can access a professional fromager or cheesemonger, a large scale of options is impossible to sort through.

This is what led Les Producteurs de lait du Québec (PLQ), alongside LG2, to bring AI into their product recommendation with Froméo, an AI-powered ‘cheese butler’ for their brand Fromages d’ici.

An AI tool for a massive product directory

Froméo is an AI-powered chatbot designed to assist users with questions about cow milk cheeses. 

The chatbot initiative originated from strategic planning aimed at educating consumers on a new scientific cheese classification system — flaveurs, intensités & texture. 

It simplifies cheese selection by providing personalized recommendations, detailed product information, and practical advice through an intuitive conversational interface.

When users interact with Froméo, they receive quick, personalized cheese recommendations based on scientifically determined preferences. Users initially answer a concise questionnaire to identify their tastes, then refine their selections through natural conversation. 

Froméo takes into consideration:

• Flaveurs, intensités & texture (even if users don’t know industry terms)
• Dietary restrictions (like pregnancy-safe options)

And based on selected cheeses, Froméo can further offer:

• Suggested recipes 
• Suggested wine & beer pairings (with knowledge from industry experts)

Why combine cheese and AI?

The Fromages d’ici team opted for an AI-based solution primarily because of its ability to provide intelligent and dynamic interactions tailored to the user’s preferences. 

By integrating advanced AI and NLU, Froméo effectively handles interactions without requiring users to understand technical terms, making the experience more intuitive and personalized.

A masterclass in AI strategy

Froméo didn’t just stand out for its unique use case – it was an exceptional example of intentionally-built AI.

As Mathieu Weber, CRO at Botpress, described it: “Froméo wasn’t about showing off AI. The team didn’t chase novelty for novelty’s sake.”

Clear goals, clear solutions

The goal was simple but powerful: create an innovative, engaging way to promote local cheese production and elevate the brand’s reach. 

The chatbot initiative originated from strategic planning aimed at educating consumers on a new scientific cheese classification system — flaveurs, intensités & texture. 

Recognizing that interactive engagement fosters deeper understanding, Froméo was designed to guide users interactively through the extensive content, making educational content approachable and digestible. 

Targeting real-world problems

The team targeted a real business case: improving consumer engagement by helping people navigate the overwhelming choice of local cheeses.

They aligned on an AI solution that would drive awareness by:

• Increasing engagement by providing personalized information to every website visitor
• Improving discoverability by delivering a manageable, user-first experience through an otherwise overwhelming amount of local cheese options

This strategic initiative had a direct link from goal to solution to outcome – a sign of a purposeful AI solution. 

A user-first experience 

Plenty of chatbots are subjected to the dreaded FAB (Floating Action Button — the classic chat widget icon in the corner of a webpage). 

But Froméo’s architects didn’t treat the chatbot as an afterthought. They treated it as the product.

Instead of hiding the experience behind a chat icon, Froméo’s interface is integrated directly into the website’s core navigation. It appears front and center, framed by branded imagery.

This design choice wasn’t just aesthetic — it redefined how users explore the site. Froméo turns passive browsing into an active, guided experience, where conversation replaces endless menus and filters. Each interaction moves the user forward, leading them from curiosity to personalized recommendation without friction.

Intentionally curated Knowledge Bases

A bot is only as good as the strength of its Knowledge Base. The Fromages d’ici team ensured that theirs was carefully built with the bot’s end users in mind.

The chatbot’s knowledge base was carefully curated from proprietary content developed in collaboration with recognized experts – such as the Centre d’expertise fromagère du Québec (CEFQ) for cheese, the Association des microbrasseries du Québec (AMBQ) for beer, and specialists in the wine industry (SAQ). 

This expert-backed content was then structured to offer precise, relevant, and varied recommendations. Special attention was given to refining searches, suggesting alternatives, ensuring accurate product details, and maintaining a diverse selection from multiple cheese producers. 

Froméo is a perfect example of ‘gold in, gold out’ (the antithetical to ‘garbage in, garbage out’). When builders feed an AI chatbot well-curated information, it empowers the bot to have clear, engaging, and meaningful interactions with users.

A flexible and affordable chatbot solution

Before deciding on Botpress, the team evaluated several AI solutions, including OpenAI's API. Combining Botpress with GPT-4o proved superior, offering precise, user-friendly interactions. 

The flexibility of the Botpress platform allowed the team “greater control over the chatbot’s functionality, user experience, and overall cost management,” explained Romain Prache, Partner and Technical Director at LG2. 

The Customer Success and Partnership teams at Botpress were proud to contribute to the project, and LG2 made the most of Botpress’ engineer-to-engineer support to implement a strong solution.

“Botpress played a crucial role throughout the project's lifecycle, providing extensive technical support,” said Prache. “They helped overcome implementation challenges, optimized conversational flows, and significantly improved the chatbot's effectiveness and usability.”

An intentional approach leads to AI success

Froméo shows that effective AI isn’t about layering technology onto existing processes — it’s about rethinking how users engage with content from the ground up.

This success came from deliberate choices:

• A clear business goal: educate consumers and promote local cheese production through an engaging experience.
  
  
• A designed user journey: putting the chatbot front and center, replacing passive menus with guided, conversational exploration.
  
  
• A carefully curated knowledge base: expert-backed content structured to deliver meaningful, accurate recommendations.
  
  
• A flexible, developer-friendly platform: using Botpress to control costs, customize interactions, and refine the user experience over time.
  

Froméo didn’t succeed because it used AI. It succeeded because the team built every component — the strategy, the content, and the technology — with purpose.