‘Buy Canadian’ movement pushes Purdys to sell outside own stores for first time in 118-year-old history

Purdys Chocolatier says the buy Canadian movement has generated so much demand for its products that it decided to sell them outside its own stores for the first time in its 118-year-old history. A Purdys display is seen in a grocery store in this undated handout image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Purdys Chocolatier (Mandatory Credit)

Purdys Chocolatier says the buy Canadian movement has generated so much demand for its products that it decided to sell them outside its own stores for the first time in its 118-year-old history.

Kriston Dean, the Vancouver-based confectionary company’s vice-president of marketing and sales, says as soon as tariff tensions emerged, shoppers’ interest in the brand was piqued.

The brand’s website traffic jumped more than 200 per cent and searches about whether it is Canadian popped by a whopping 300 per cent.

When Easter rolled around, the spiking interest translated into a 25 per cent increase in new customers compared with the year before.

Such numbers gave the company the confidence to forge a deal with Pattison Food Group to put four varieties of Purdys chocolates on the shelves of western Canadian grocer Save-On-Foods.

Dean says Purdys is watching to see how its chocolates perform at Save-On-Foods to help determine whether it should expand its brand even further outside its own stores.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.

Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press