Coffee Corner: Product of Canada? Made in Canada? “Proudly Canadian”?

Over the years all of us involved in the Office Coffee Industry, and indeed the coffee industry as a whole, have witnessed the significant evolution of coffee trends; cold brew, instant, flavoured, espresso based, sustainability, craft roasted and who can forget “Bullet Coffee” more accurately referred to as “Butter Coffee”, (yes, it was and is a thing).

Now we all face, the newly popular and sometimes daunting “Made in Canada” Trend.

A quick GOOGLE search of "Made in Canada" will return thousands of definitions and facts. The most notable being the difference between "Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada”; not to mention “Assembled in Canada” or in the case of coffee, “Roasted and Blended in Canada.” Interestingly enough, there is no mention of “Butter added in Canada”. 

Suffice to say, we have all certainly become experts on the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and all their definitions.

So, is ”Made in Canada” just another coffee trend? Is it a business trend, a business model or perhaps an actual lifestyle choice and more importantly is it here to stay? Does buying ”Made in Canada” products actually matter? Do our clients really care, or do they just want the best price?

Although or customers always want the best price, “Made in Canada” is here to stay, and that is a good thing.  It goes without saying, “Made in Canada” will make a significant difference to our economy.  It will result in more Canadian jobs, and better products, as a result of stricter industry regulations. There is even a very strong argument to be made that “Made in Canada” may even contribute to improving our carbon footprint, once again, a result of tougher Canadian regulations.

At the recent CAMA show in Toronto, by my count, although, certainly not official, the most common question asked was “Are your products made in Canada?” 

In discussions with other vendors, we all agreed, “Made in Canada” was the unofficial theme of this year’s CAMA show.  It was even suggested that the increase in attendance was due to the fact that many operators were out searching for “Made in Canada” products to enhance their product lines and demonstrate their elbows were indeed “up”.  In fact, consumer surveys show that a large percentage of consumers actively try to purchase made in Canada products.  One survey suggests that 37% of Canadians prefer products labelled “Made in Canada” and 23% look for “Product of Canada”, this would clearly indicate that some 60% of Canadians are putting an emphasis on products that have a direct Canadian connection, either by being made in Canada or as a product of Canada.

What can we do, or more importantly, what should we do as an industry?

At Heritage Coffee we have made a concerted effort to “honk our own horn.” We have always been a family-owned and operated Canadian company, all the products coming out of our manufacturing facility are indeed “Made in Canada” and “Roasted and blended in Canada”, our job now, is to embrace the significance and importance of this fact.

As we continue to face challenges in our industry, and as we consider the impact of tariffs, and other factors, as an industry, we need to collectively “honk our own horn” and continue to focus on “Made in Canada”, “Product of Canada”, and “Roasted and Blended in Canada”.

Either way, whether it is “Made in Canada” or a “Product of Canada,” now is indeed the time to stand together and let the world know we are all “Proudly Canadian”.