Supermarkets

Food retailers in Canada consist of traditional major and independent supermarket operators, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, drugstores, limited assortment shops, discount stores, convenience shops and specialty stores.

Supermarkets are dominated by five retailers (Loblaw, Sobeys, Metro, Costco, and Walmart) that represented 77% of the $109 billion retail market in Canada in 2020. The remainder of the retail food market is comprised of smaller regional retail chains that also include 6,800 independents and 27,000 small and independent convenience stores across the country. (Source: Retail Foods Canada, USDA)

The increasing success of independent, ethnic and regional retail chains has prompted traditional mainstream supermarkets to expand ethnic product ranges, by forming joint ventures with ethnic specialists, and developing new retail concepts to be able to preserve their market share. Traditional grocery retailers are facing increased competition from new entrants as well as from existing players that are expanding into the grocery market, including Amazon, Giant Tiger and Target. (Source: Canadian Grocery Retail Guide, Saskatchewan Grocery Retail & Foodservice Value Chain Initiative)

Grocery retailers mainly source their products through intermediaries like wholesalers, distributors, brokers, or large importer. Distributors usually handle several hundred Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) and products where inventory will turn over quickly. While brokers manage food brands and handle retail account relationships as well as distribution network to help the brand grow in the market. Average commission fees by brokers in Canada is estimated at 5%. For new clients, the broker might ask for retainer fees. Once the sales targets are achieved, brokers typically move to a commission-based fee. (Source: Canada Retail Foods, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service)

Private Labels

The private label business in Canada enjoys higher acceptance among consumers than in the United States. The private label growth is driven by low brand loyalty by the young consumers in Canada who look for premium high-quality products with clean ingredients albeit at affordable prices. (Source: Canada Retail Foods, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service)

E-commerce trends

Food is leading the growth of online shopping especially after the pandemic according to Nielson research. Major Canadian chains are investing in online systems to offer pickups of groceries at their local store.

The leading e-commerce food retailers in Canada (many of whom are American-based) include Amazon, Walmart, and Costco.

Lebanese foods are usually sold in ethnic food stores; such stores fall under specialty food stores, along with health food, local and gourmet market segments. These stores are considered as the leaders in terms of innovation and food trends in Canada. They tend to purchase directly from vendors, distributors and wholesalers. (Source: Canadian Grocery Retail Guide, Saskatchewan Grocery Retail & Foodservice Value Chain Initiative) Lebanese food can also be found in some supermarkets and big chains. There are wholesalers that sell Lebanese products to ethnic and Mediterranean restaurants and to lesser extent Canadian restaurants.

The Lebanese community in Canada, which is among the main consumers of Lebanese food, has been growing significantly, reaching 219,555 Lebanese-Canadians as per the 2016 Canadian Census, distributed mainly across Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and Alberta. The community continues to grow substantially and represents an important target of Lebanese producers.

The Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) consolidated four food-related statutes, which are Canada Agricultural Products Act, Fish Inspection Act, Meat Inspection Act, and provisions of the Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act. The final Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) entered into force on January 15, 2019. The SFCR further consolidated 14 sets of existing regulations into one package to implement the SFCA. Licensing, preventive controls and traceability are the key elements of the new regulatory environment for food safety in Canada. The Getting started: Toolkit for businesses helps companies familiarize with requirements under the SFCR. (Source: Canada, Food and Agricultural Import Regulations and Standards Report, FAIRS Annual Country Report 2018)

Food inspection and quarantine services for imported food are conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The importer needs to obtain a license. In order to know if and when the company needs a license, exporters are advised to use the licensing interactive tool. To apply for a license, the importer must sign up with My CFIA and create an account and a business profile. My CFIA will coordinate and process the administrative services that are required for imported foods under the SFCR licensing.

In terms of preventive controls, the importers of products to Canada must be aware of the potential risks of contamination, and be able to describe how the company controls biological, chemical, or physical hazards to the food. Also, the importers must know if their suppliers meet the same level of safety standards as domestic suppliers in preparing, storing, and transporting their food product.

The food supplier must have a food safety system that provides at least the same level of food protection as Canada. All the requirements of the SFCR apply for non-resident and resident importers. While the SFCR does not specify how the importer can confirm the implementation of preventative controls, some appropriate actions could include an on-site visit to the supplier. In addition, the importer must obtain written documentation from the supplier to prove that all control measures are well implemented, including the name, address and contact information of the process authority that developed the process and a product description with technical information showing that the processing of the product was adequate to the standards and the preventive controls were in place. Also the importer should have a written statement signed by the process authority, attesting that the process produces a product that meets Canadian requirements.

Importers might also need to write a preventive control plan (PCP), in which they specify how they monitor and verify that the import process is going well, how the food meets requirements for safety, grading, standards, labelling, and net quantity, and the procedures they have to handle complaints and recalls. To find out when an importer needs to write a PCP, check the preventive control plan interactive tool.

Canadian authorities made changes to the Canadian food labeling regulation in 2016. All food labels must abide by the new requirements, sugar information and list of ingredients. The Canadian packaging and labeling regulations require that all mandatory information must be shown in English and French.

Labeling requirements:

• Common Name
• Ingredients and Allergens
• Nutrition Facts
• Country of Origin
• Durable Life Date (if required)
• Food Additives, Fortifications and Grades (if required)

The Mandatory requirements include:

• Nutrition Facts Table
• List of Ingredients and Common Name
• Net Quantity
• Food Allergens
• Health and Nutrient Content Claims
• Other Claims and Statements
• Bilingual Requirements
• Country of Origin
• Food Additives
• Fortification
• Grades
• Food Specific Labelling Requirements
• Label Information Legibility & Location

The changes applied to nutrition facts table:

The Canadian nutrition facts table has been modified in appearance and content:

• Serving Size
• Percentage daily value calculations
• Percentage daily value for sugar added
• Potassium added
• Vitamins A & C removed
• Amount in mg for potassium, calcium & iron
• Added footnote about percentage daily values

The changes to the list of ingredients:

• Grouping all sugar ingredients in brackets after the name “Sugar”
• Listing all food colouring by their individual common names
• Text must be black on white or neutral background
• Updated minimum type height requirements
• Use of bullets or commas to separate ingredients
• Use of both upper and lower case letters for the list of ingredients

As for traceability, the SFCR requires importers to keep clear and readable records that trace the source of the products and to whom it is sold. In order to know what are the traceability requirements and when they need to be applied, importers should check the traceability interactive tool.

In addition, the importers of certain foods need to abide by specific requirements, grades and standards so that their products could enter the Canadian market. As such, the importer needs to check food-specific import requirements.

Importers can also check Automated Import Reference System (AIRS), which shows the import requirements for Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulated commodities, by using series of drop options based on the Harmonized System (HS) classification, the origin, the destination, and on the end use and miscellaneous qualifiers pertaining to the commodity for import.

Import Documentation

When exporting agri-food products to Canada, the main documents needed for the shipment include:

• Commercial invoice with details about quantity, goods description including the HS code and total value of each imported item
• Detailed packing list including weight, method of packing, and HS code for each item
• Bill of entry or airway bill
• Certificate of origin, issued by the Chamber of Commerce and authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Safe Food for Canadians License for the importer