Companies alter labels to attract Canadians at grocery stores

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As Canadians scour grocery store shelves for maple leaves amid the trade war with the U.S., some companies are changing their packaging to make their domestic roots more obvious.

Crosby Foods is one of them. The New Brunswick-based company, which sells molasses and other products and employs just under 100 people, was founded in 1879 by the great-great-grandfather of its now-president, James Crosby.

The Canadian-owned company packages its molasses here, where it also undergoes some processing.

But the company can’t display the “made in Canada” or “product of Canada” declaration that many manufacturers, American and international ones included, are able to use.

“We have zero choice in the matter, because our fancy molasses, which is the primary grade of molasses that we import, is a direct product of sugar cane,” said James Crosby. “And we can’t grow sugar cane in Canada.”

Instead, the company is altering its packages to better catch the eyes of patriotic shoppers.

The back of Crosby Foods’ packages currently have an emblem declaring the company “Proudly Canadian,” and displays its founding year. Soon, that emblem will move to the front.

It will take a few months before the new packages show up on store shelves, said Crosby, because the company usually keeps several months’ worth of packaging on hand.

But he thinks the investment will be worth it.

“I don’t feel that consumers are going to be quick to forgive Donald Trump,” said Crosby.

“I think he’s really struck a nerve with Canadians.”

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Shoppers are scrutinizing product labels far more closely than before, and it’s showing: grocers say they’re seeing sales of U.S. products fall while sales of Canadian products rise.

“It’s by far the most dramatic and swiftest shift I’ve seen in consumer behaviour,” said Peter Chapman, founder of consulting firm SKUFood and a former Loblaw executive.

Manufacturers and grocers are reacting quickly too, he said — and given changing labels or suppliers can take months, the fact that companies are making these changes shows they think the buy Canadian trend is here to stay.

With shoppers paying closer attention, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says it’s been getting more complaints related to origin claims on food labels or in advertisements.

According to the agency, food products can be labelled “product of Canada” when all or virtually all major ingredients, processing and labour that go into them are Canadian. Low levels of ingredients that aren’t produced or grown in Canada like spices, cane sugar or vitamins don’t count; neither do packaging materials.

“Made in Canada” can be used where the last “substantial transformation” of the product occurred in Canada, even if some of the ingredients come from elsewhere. Companies must also include a statement explaining whether the product is made from imported ingredients or a combination of imported and domestic ingredients.

Some brands are adding or making these declarations more prominent on their packages, like Nature’s Path. The company is adding labels to the front of packages of products that are made in Canada, including its Que Pasa corn chips, said spokesperson Angie Sell.

Montreal-based Kruger Products, which manufactures well-known brands like Cashmere, Purex and Scotties, already had “made in Canada” on the front of its packages. But with an eye to what consumers are scanning for on grocery store shelves, they enlarged the emblem on some products, said Susan Irving, chief marketing officer at Kruger.

“I don’t think this is a flash in the pan,” said Irving. “I think it’s heightened right now, but based on consumer sentiment and what we’re seeing, I think this is something that’s going to continue to be important.”

Companies are also using various phrases to show shoppers their roots.

Maple Leaf Foods is adding “proudly Canadian” stickers to some of its poultry products, said company spokesperson Charlene Magnaye. It’s also updating some product labels to specify where in the country certain products originated, such as changing “raised on Canadian farms” to “raised on Western Canadian farms.”

Chapman said he has also been struck by how fast companies have launched patriotic marketing campaigns.

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One in particular that stuck out to him was “Look for the Leaf,” which Maple Leaf launched in partnership with other Canadian brands including Dare Foods, Gay Lea, Chapman’s, Neal Brothers and Summer Fresh. Chapman said the co-operative nature of the program was something “I don’t think we ever would have thought about five months ago.”

Grocers have also been quick to add extra signage to help shoppers figure out which products are Canadian.

With this in mind, manufacturers want to make sure their products are labelled correctly. Crosby has sales brokers checking stores on its behalf to make sure the company’s products are included in any Canadian branding.

“Companies have to be their own advocate to make sure it’s correct,” said Chapman, the consultant.

“It’s about looking at the shelf, but it’s also about looking at online, too.”

Crosby understands why shoppers may be confused or frustrated as they realize buying Canadian isn’t black-and-white.

After all, his company was founded almost 150 years ago in Canada, and yet can’t say its products are made here. But Kraft Heinz, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., makes Kraft peanut butter, Heinz ketchup, Philadelphia cream cheese and many other products in Canada. The company recently put out an ad featuring its Montreal factory, and said it’s refreshing some of its packaging to better reflect the Canadian-ness of products like Philadelphia cream cheese.

Crosby believes shoppers should support not only Canadian-owned companies like his, but also products that are manufactured here, even if the owner isn’t Canadian — “whether it’s Crosby’s or if it’s Kraft Heinz or if it’s Coca-Cola.”

“These are all companies that invest in our country. They employ Canadians. And if we just all of a sudden stop buying products that are produced in Canada, then people are going to be out of work,” Crosby said.

“That’s the last thing we want.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.

Rosa Saba, The Canadian Press