Canadian Brands, Retailers Turn Focus Toward Local Products
With uncertainty surrounding potential tariffs imposed by the U.S., Canadian brands and retailers are responding with calls to shop locally.
Kruger Products has kicked off a new creative campaign, "Made by Canadians for Canadians," which mixes humor with a side of national pride.
The manufacturer of tissue brands that include Cashmere, Purex, Scotties and Bonterra is directing consumers toward their extra eh-bsorbent products that go the extra kilometer for the environment — with Kruger adding it employs more than 2,300 in nine manufacturing facilities located throughout country.
Kruger is also helping shoppers identify and buy goods manufactured in Canada by putting "Made in Canada" on the packaging.
"Canadians clearly want to support products made in Canada, but it can be tricky to identify while shopping," Susan Irving, CMO at Kruger Products, said in a media release. "Not all tissue products on Canadian shelves are made in Canada, so we are making it easier for them to check the label and buy with confidence."
Shopping Local Gains Momentum
An interest in local products is nothing new in the Canadian market. "Over the last few years, our customers have been more interested than ever in buying locally grown and produced items," Darrell Jones, president, Pattison Food Group, told sister publication Canadian Grocer. (Pattison owns supermarket banners such as Save-On-Foods and Buy-Low Foods.) "We work to prioritize local products for mass distribution whenever it makes sense."
A recent survey by shopper research company Field Agent supports this, with consumers "voting with their wallets." The Feb. 6 report found that when grocery shopping:
- 90% of respondents would switch to a Canadian brand where possible,
- 70% would buy from countries other than the U.S.,
- 88% would buy a product promoted as "made in Canada,"
- 56% would stop buying certain grocery SKUs altogether if there was no Canadian alternative, and
- 11% plan to keep buying their preferred products regardless of tariffs.
Also, more than one fourth of respondents (28%) said they would not shop Amazon any longer.
Retailers Spotlight Local
Many Canadian retailers have long been on board with touting local products, but these days they’re actively promoting more Canadian-made and -grown options.
"Our merchandising and sourcing teams have stepped up efforts on Canadian-grown and produced products, building on our strong local sourcing programs and commitment to local producers that has been a cornerstone of our business for years," Michael Medline, president and CEO of Empire Co. Ltd. and Sobeys, told Canadian Grocer. "Through every communication channel we have at our disposal, Canadian products will have even greater prominence on shelves, in flyers, in online communications, and through our advertising."
Metro Inc. also highlights local options in its supermarkets. "For many years, we have been identifying and promoting Ontario products in our stores, notably through Metro's Locally Sourced program and Food Basics' We Love Local program," according to a Metro-provided statement. The retailer also highlights both food and non-food Quebec products through its Aliments du Quebec and its Les Produits du Quebec programs.
"When it comes to procurement, we already give priority to local Canadian products whenever possible. … In the current context, we'll be putting more emphasis on these products," including in-store, online, in flyers and other promotional tools, per Metro's statement.
Eric La Fleche, Metro president and CEO, cited impacts to the Canadian dollar as his biggest concern during the company's annual general meeting last month. “How do we prepare? We prepare by getting the best sources of supply that we can. We prepare by buying Canadian and local as much as we can."
Per Bank, president and CEO, Loblaw Companies, noted in a LinkedIn post that many Canadianas are “anxious and uncertain about the recently announced and entirely wrong-headed tariffs announced by the U.S. government.”
To minimize the impact, the retailer is doubling down on securing food grown and made in Canada, he said.
“Where we have had to purchase products made in the U.S., we will look for alternatives including products from Mexico which has also been subjected to these unnecessary tariffs," Bank said. "We are actively advocating for consumers with government and industry to ensure the consequences of this situation on Canadian consumers are well understood."
