Looking to tap into the Canadian market and share your CPG food product with our friendly neighbors up north? Expanding into Canada is a smart move, the Canadian food industry is diverse and thriving.

Where to Sell in Canada:

Before taking any steps toward finding retailers in Canada, it’s crucial to understand what markets and geographical areas your product will fit in. Here is a very basic and oversimplified run down to get you started:

The 3 Urban Foodie Hubs

Large cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal are known for their diverse culinary scenes and food-conscious consumers. These urban hubs are the largest cities in Canada and have the most potential for sales and brand awareness. When looking to launch in Canada, your best bet is to start with these cities.

1. Toronto

Toronto is the largest city in Canada and the fourth largest in North America (behind Mexico City, New York, and LA). It has a dense metro area and a very diverse population. Toronto is often compared to New York or Chicago in it’s appearance and feel. The city is English speaking, with very few people speaking French. Although Toronto has it’s own media outlets, many people still watch US TV channels, and consume US based media.

Located only 80 miles from the border, the nearest US city is Buffalo, NY. No one from Toronto really visits Buffalo. But the most popular flights from Toronto are to New York, NY, making up about 5% of overall flights each week from Pearson International Airport. Chicago, and cities in Florida are also popular destinations for Torontians.

2. Montreal

The second largest city in Canada is located in the province of Quebec, which is proudly French speaking. Selling products in Quebec (including the city of Montreal), requires all English on the packaging to also be translated in French in the same size font, or even larger than the English font. This is unique to Quebec, as the rest of Canada only requires French for certain aspects of the packaging.

Montreal has a strong love of food, and supports a diverse and home-grown community of makers. Local and health-focused foods are strong trends in the city, along with sustainability.

Montreal is only 30 miles to the US border, but there are no large US cities nearby. The border is close to Northern Vermont and Upstate New York, with the nearest large US city being Albany NY, at over 3.5 hours away via car. This makes it challenging to ship food to Montreal at a low cost.

3. Vancouver

The third largest city in Canada is located on the West Coast and feels very similar to Seattle. Located right on the border, people who live in Vancouver often make the drive across the border to nearby cities such as Bellingham, WA, to stock up on products they cannot find in Canada (such as everything from Trader Joe’s).

Local, sustainable, health focused are some of the major trends in food for Vancouver. Many of the West Coast US based foods do well in this market.

The Prairies, The Rockies & The Maritimes

Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary, Halifax, and Saskatoon all have thriving markets with growth opportunities for companies looking to expand. But the logistics of selling in these markets is more demanding, as the size of these cities is smaller than the urban hubs, and the shipping costs to reach these smaller cities is higher. When looking to expand beyond the large urban areas of Canada, it is best to connect with a national or regional distributor.

Northern & Remote Communities

Food CPG companies specializing in long-lasting, non-perishable products can tap into markets in Canada’s northern and remote communities. These regions have unique needs, and products that cater to these markets, such as canned goods and preserved foods, can thrive. When it comes to bringing your products to these communities, it is best to work directly or find a distributor that has strong relationship with these communities.

Deciding Where to Sell in Canada

We recommend that US based brands launch first in either Vancouver or Toronto. Launching in these English speaking markets is often the easiest way for companies to enter the Canadian market and has the most potential for long term growth in Canada. Go North CPG can help you connect with retailers and distributors in these markets and work with you to build a customized launch strategy.