A Canadian food tour
Some great Canadian products for you to explore
We have been doing our series about building relationships, but we decided to take a break this week. With Canada Day on Tuesday and all of the talk about Canadian products, we wanted to share some great items with you. There are so many. This is not meant to say these are the best, but they are some items that have stood out to us as we get to travel across the country and see different markets. We will try to let you know why we think they are interesting and what they do well from a consumer packaged goods perspective.
We will take a tour across the country with different products from each province.
Help us celebrate these items. If you know of some items (yours or others) share them with us. Tell us about the value proposition or why they resonate with you. We will share them in the newsletter.
British Columbia
Rad Jamz
If you visit the Rad Jamz website you will see the words:
“I really focus on all of the important things like sustainable, healthier options with real fruit, and no BS.”
That definitely sums up Kyla King and her approach.
A bit about Rad Jamz from their website:
Kyla King, the owner and operator of Rad Jamz, has cultivated a passion for preserving the bountiful fruits of her home in West Kelowna, BC. What began as a small passion project has now blossomed into a thriving business, creating unique jams, jellies, and relishes all made from locally grown produce. But it’s not just about jam for Kyla—it’s about crafting radical, sustainable products that support local farmers and champion healthier, more sustainable food options.
Kyla made the bold decision to switch to new packaging that allowed her to keep her costs more in line and offer a more sustainable option. It is a lot of work to change packaging like this and it is a risk. It also helps these jams and relish products stand out in the market.
Alberta
Crave cake mixes and icing
Co-founders Carolyne McIntyre Jackson and Jodi Willoughby have built Crave from a one location bakery to multiple locations and line of consumer packaged goods. When they launched the product packaging was more functional than sales focused. They embarked on a packaging re-design project to improve the sales and consumer appeal. We think they moved the needle in a category where a major player pulled out. The icing is unique and tastes great for those who understand butter cream icing.
If you visit their website you will see more about their story:
“Crave exists to help people connect and these are the moments that remind us that each batch, each bite, is special, full of beautiful memories. These are the reasons we still crack each egg, measure and decorate by hand. With skill, care and kindness, we produce quality baking that’s as scrumptious and special as the people who share it.”
Saskatchewan
Good Spirit Kombucha
The kombucha category has exploded which is exciting but it also makes it a crowded space. There are the pioneers in every market in this category. Taylor and Colleen started with a pilot plant and expanded to their own production facility. What we like about Good Spirit is they focused a lot on distribution. They determined they needed to figure out this important piece of the puzzle. They have tried different solutions and keep working to find the best option for their business and their market.
If you visit their website you will find this description of the business:
“Our passion for brewing ‘booch was built on a love for health and whole foods. Our refreshing kombucha is fruity, fizzy, and lightly tangy making it a delicious and natural alternative. We believe in balance, so we wanted to brew a kombucha that keeps the tangy to sweet ratio juuust right. We are brewed with purpose in the prairies and you can find Good Spirit Kombucha throughout the province of Saskatchewan.”
Manitoba
Smak Dab
We see a lot of products and one of the questions we will ask food producers and processors is what value do you offer to the retailer? Smak Dab mustard is one of the companies who have a great answer to this question. The line of gourmet mustards developed by Carly Minish-Wytinck has expanded to the BC market and she has invested the resources to refresh her brand. Carly is one of those people who listen, figure it out and then get it done. There are a lot of challenges in this industry and we have to admire those people who own it.
If you visit the Smak Dab website you will see this very concise and accurate description of the business:
“We’re a super friendly, Manitoba based company, who use the best quality Canadian ingredients to make the most flavourful mustards in the world.”
Ontario
Little Foot Foods
To succeed in this industry, you need a great product but you also have to be persistent and work hard. When I met Rachel Myers a number of years ago at a workshop in Windsor, Ontario it was obvious Rachel had these qualities. She was juggling a small business and a young family. I learned quickly Rob was an integral part of the business. Growing up on the east coast I did not really understand pierogis. Rachel educated me and it has been so exciting to see their business grow from selling direct to a few specialty stores to major grocery stores.
If you visit the Little Foot Foods website you will see this description of the business:
“In 2013, Rachael Myers got the idea to start making her grandmother’s traditional potato and onion pierogi to sell at Windsor’s burgeoning downtown farmers market. Rachel grew up making pierogi, and at the encouragement of family and friends decided to take the leap into producing them alongside her partner Robert. The pierogi were an instant hit! People loved the ultra-thin dough and the filling too but Rachael and Robert thought to themselves… Why stop there? Why not combine the traditional dull with some new and unique flavor profiles? This is the moment that Little Foot Foods was truly born. With the skills to pay the bills and an ethos driven towards locally produced foods and sustainability, Little Foot Foods was off to the races!
They just moved to a larger production facility they call pierogi HQ-great name!
Quebec
Eat Love
Consumers want to know where their food comes from and the story behind the products. They are also looking for quick, good for you snacks to support their busy lifestyle. Eat Love delivers on all of these. Sold as single units they are all:
· Certified Organic
· All natural real ingredients
· No Palm Oil
· Dairy free
· Gluten free
· No preservatives
· No refined sugar
· Decadent and delicious
· High quality
· Healthy gourmet treat
These healthy snacks are sold across the country in a diverse group of stores from health food specialty stores to national chains. This company is operated by a dynamic team of women and you can learn more on their website:
“EATLOVE is a Montreal based Chocolate company – built from the ground up as a labor of Love… And now spreading far and wide across Canada.
In the midst of the urban jungle, driven by our desire for a healthy and inspired lifestyle, we have found a way to produce a high-quality chocolate cup while paying respect to Nature and to all the ingredients we use in our process.
Once you’ll taste it, you’ll know what we are about !”
New Brunswick
Saltwinds Coffee
Some of the products we have featured have been around for a while, some started during the pandemic and others have achieved success in a short period of time. Saltwinds Coffee is one of those more recent success stories. The coffee category is a tough one with major competitors from around the world. Brad and Laura have developed a unique value proposition in a very crowded category.
On their website you will find a great description of how they stand out in the market:
“I heard a story told many years about how coffee used to arrive in the Maritimes aboard wooden sailing ships. During the voyage, the coffee would be exposed to the ocean air, causing a change to the coffee. As the story went, when the shipping industry switched to steel hulled ships people wanted the old better tasting coffee back. As a longtime coffee lover, this story has stuck with me throughout the years as I always wondered if the story was true and what that coffee must have tasted like.
I retold this story to my partner Laura, who is a brilliant chemist. Her reply was that since the coffee roasting process is a chemical process, she could likely recreate this coffee through some research and scientific testing.
After numerous experiments and trials, we were drinking a delicious coffee with some really unique flavours and properties. I was thrilled to learn that the story was true!”
Nova Scotia
Made with Local
I remember meeting Sheena Russell at Pete’s Frootique in Halifax, who had a protein bar with an interesting value proposition that focused on local ingredients. Sheena and her team have grown Made with Local to a Certified B Corp business with listings in major retailers and Costco. Did we mention the protein bar category has too many SKUS and is very competitive. I had the opportunity to hear Sheena tell her story at the FCC Food and Beverage Summit. It was great to learn how the business has been able to grow and remain true to it’s purpose.
You can find the Made with Local purpose on their website:
“Since our beginning at a 5-foot farmers market table, we've remained dedicated to using Made in Canada, ethically and transparently sourced ingredients, strengthening our local community, and prioritizing real, nourishing foods by Canadians, for Canadians.”
Prince Edward Island
The Handpie Company
One of the great inequities in our food and beverage industry is that processors are limited to distribute their products within their province unless they have the proper food safety designations. If you start a business in Prince Edward Island you are limited to a market of 180,000 people. If you start a food business in Ontario you have access to a market of 16,000,000 people with the same food safety designation. It is so much more challenging to start a business in Prince Edward Island. We have great respect for people like Sarah Bennetto O’Brien who started the Handpie Company in 2013. She has persevered through location changes, packaging re-designs and a huge move to a new facility that allows her to ship products out of the province and access expanded markets (finally!). Great products that appeal to lots of different tastes.
If you visit the Handpie Company website you will find details of the journey Sarah and her team have been on:
“In 2017, Red Seal Chef Sarah Bennetto O’Brien set out to solve a simple problem facing local foodies:
A distinct lack of hearty, nutritious, and delicious grab-and-go meal options to fuel Prince Edward Island adventures.
What started as a pie in the sky idea has become a freezer aisle revolution, bringing nutritious, no-fork-required handpies to food lovers across the Maritimes and beyond.”
Newfoundland and Labrador
NL Dairy Cooperative
This business is bigger than many of the others we have featured. It is also unique because it was formed after 19 of the 22 dairy farmers in NL formed a cooperative to purchase the processing facility and the distribution network from Agropur in the province. Usually, it is the big company buying up the smaller players. This was the opposite. We also had the opportunity to work on the project so we got to know the people. Scott Antle, John Moores and Julie Arnold all live and work in NL. In a big category like dairy, it is refreshing to see the business operated by people who live and work in the market. They have launched new packaging that is unique to NL.“Your favourite Central Dairies products are made right here!
The Central Dairies products that you know and love are 100% local, made by a company that is fully owned and operated by fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Keeping the work close to home ensures quality milk from our farms to your fridge, with all the economic benefits staying in our province.
We’re pouring everything we’ve got into our local dairy industry — to keep it strong for all of us.”
Territories
Yukon Gardens
I had the opportunity to speak at the North of 40 conference in Whitehorse, a few years ago. It was a great experience to visit and learn more about a part of the country I had never experienced. The people I met genuinely enjoyed their life in the North. I met Glen from Yukon Gardens, you have to admire someone who makes it their business to produce fresh produce in a very challenging climate. People cherish the items produced locally.
If you visit the Yukon Gardens website you will learn more about the landscape products and fresh vegetables they produce:
“Yukon Gardens was created almost 40 years ago. It is Yukon’s largest family run greenhouse and garden centre operation. Yukon Gardens has grown and evolved to become a second generation family run business. Locally growing everything from trees and shrubs, annuals and perennials to cucumber, tomatoes, living lettuce and peppers!
Grown for Yukoners, by Yukoners!”
If you are in Canada and celebrating Canada Day next week, we hope you have a chance to look for some of these products in your market. There are so many great Canadian products available. We wanted to share some with you. These are not all of our favourites, but we did want to share some of the interesting insights that have caught our attention.
Peter
The response to our SKUFood Recipe for Success podcast has been great. We want to thank everyone who has been with us as a guest. So many interesting conversations about our industry.
In this episode of SKUFood Recipes for Success, we speak with Anthony Bisogno, a seasoned leader in Canada’s fresh produce industry. From his early days on the floor of the Ontario Food Terminal to managing some of the most high-value produce categories like berries, grapes and stone fruit.
Anthony offers a behind-the-scenes look at the complex world of berry importing, where success depends not only on global sourcing relationships but also on how well you manage the unpredictable. From frost-damaged crops in key growing regions to transportation delays caused by weather disruptions, he explains how volatile conditions can impact quality, supply, and pricing. His insights reveal how the produce industry responds to these ongoing challenges, and how strong communication and trust across the supply chain—from grower to retailer—are more important than ever.
Drawing on his early experience serving independent retailers and restaurateurs, Anthony also reflects on the critical role terminal markets play in keeping fresh, high-quality produce moving into local communities. As customer expectations rise and weather patterns grow more erratic, he discusses what it takes to stay agile and deliver consistency in a category where freshness is everything.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone in the food business who wants to better understand how imported produce, makes it to market, and what it takes to navigate the pressures of a changing climate and an increasingly demanding marketplace.
Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
If you would like to be a guest send us a note. We are always working on the upcoming episodes.
Class action suit authorized against Barilla Pasta
Quebec superior court has authorized a class action suit that alleges consumers were misled into believing they were purchasing pasta produced in Italy with Italian ingredients. The packaging states “Italy’s #1 brand of pasta”. None of these allegations have been proven in court.
A reminder to ensure any claims you make are within the parameters of regulations and the law. You need your packaging to ‘sell’ for you but make sure you have it reviewed by experts to ensure it will not get you on the wrong side of the law.
Where is Peter speaking?
I do have travel coming up to Toronto, Saskatoon, Calgary and Fredericton so if you want to connect or have an event in any of these locations give me a call or send me an email.
