GROCERY WARS – EMBRACE CANADA BRAND IDENTITY

Much has been written about how patriotic Canadians are. I feel most Canadians would agree our friends to the south are extremely more patriotic, especially when it comes to Thanksgiving and July 4th. To that, an Ipsos Reid pole conducted for the Historica-Dominion Institute in the days leading up to the Canada Day long weekend a couple of years ago suggest the Canadian sense of national pride is becoming an in-your-face swagger. What isn’t up for debate though is Canadians love for our national flag that is viewed as our most popular national icon. So how patriotic are Canadians when it comes to the food sector and the impact for small business?

Canadian Consumer

Though we may not be as patriotic as our friends to the south, research reveals the majority of Canadians (92%) make it a point of buying Canadian brands and products. The top product that Canadians are most likely to purchase from Canadian producers is food (87%). Consumers purchase Brand Canada to support the economy and help keep jobs in Canada. Despite consumers desire to purchase Brand Canada, there is a strong perception most small business do not embrace this identity, may be similar in nature as to why they don’t have a website (41%).

Agriculture Canada’s Canada Brand Program

In 2010, Agriculture Canada introduced their Canada Brand program. The objective was to provide food manufacturers and the Canadian food and agriculture industry with a competitive advantage, internationally and at home. The branded program consists of a Canadian flag with the following tag line: “Quality Is In Our Nature”. Oh I forget to mention, there is not cost to becoming a member. Research reveals that consumers associate the Canada Brand with safe, high-quality products. For more information visit: http://www.marquecanadabrand.agr.gc.ca.

Impact for Small Business!

In the Canadian food sector, very few small Canadian food icon businesses remain. The last of the remaining few may have being Renee’s Gourmet Salad Dressings. What commenced as a family business with bottles of their homemade dressing given away as Christmas and Hanukkah gifts to friends and family came to an end when purchased by Heinz Canada. Today, multi national food giants control most of the brands in their categories. That is not to say small food brands cannot be as successful as Renee’s. As noted by Shawn O”Neil – Vice President, Global Marketing and Analytics, Unilever:

“I am not losing market share to P&G and other CPG companies. I am losing it to small players who are finding niche products”.

It is already tough enough competing with global food giants in the Canadian food sector. This program was designed to provide small business with a distinct advantage over these global food giants. A Win Win solution for small food manufacturers!