'Buy Canadian' Reddit post becomes secret ingredient to help save Ontario condiment business

Mark Gollom · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

It seems that the concealed constituent to assistance save Shenul Williams's tiny Pickering, Ont., condiment concern was a steadfast dash of Canadian patriotism.

With income down, and fears that she whitethorn person to adjacent shop, a posting connected a "Buy Canadian" Reddit thread has significantly boosted orders, she said.

"I'm truly blown distant with the emotion and enactment from Canadians done these uncertain times," said an affectional Williams successful an interrogation with CBC News. "I was disquieted that I was going to suffer my business."

Williams owns and operates Aki's Fine Foods, which manufactures and sells Indo-African condiments including pickles, chutneys and barbecue marinades. She took implicit the concern from her parents much than 30 years ago, and has expanded it to a constituent wherever her products are featured successful stores crossed Canada, including immoderate of the larger market chains.

Aki's has had its ups and downs, but it was deed peculiarly hard by COVID-19 aft galore grocers and restaurants that stocked her products went retired of business.

These past fewer months, since the opening of the year, person been peculiarly dire, she said. However, earlier this week, her girl Aliza Welch decided to station astir her mom's concern connected a "Buy Canadian" thread connected Reddit.

WATCH | New apps are making it easier to bargain Canadian:

'Products person a maple leaf'

"My ma owns a Canadian-made Indo-African condiment institution that has been successful concern for 38 years. It is genuinely astonishing and has been struggling since COVID," Welch wrote. 

"With truthful overmuch involvement successful buying tiny Canadian companies, I figured I would stock her products arsenic an alternative. Your enactment would alteration her life. All products person a maple leaf!"

The effect was contiguous and enormous, she says, with order requests done her website expanding by astir 4,000 per cent, according to Williams.

"I can't believe it," she said. "This interaction that it has had connected my business is important and is redeeming my business."

She said she's besides received messages with the orders.

"I tin retrieve 1 small note. This woman said, 'Keep it up.' You know, marque Canadian. 'We privation Canadian.'"

The effect to Williams's products is indicative of the immense upsurge successful user request for Canadian products that has swept done Canada since U.S. President Donald Trump declared a 25 per cent tariff connected imports, said Gary Sands, elder vice president of nationalist argumentation and advocacy for the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.

A 'permanent shift'

"I've been with this enactment 25 years successful August, and I tin archer you I've ne'er seen thing similar it," Sands said.

"I deliberation this has been a imperishable shift."

In Belleville, Ont., for example, the family-owned Sprague Foods crockery company, with its reddish maple leafage displayed prominently its cans, has seen a boost successful sales. Some section farmers arsenic good are reporting spikes successful sales.

According to the Canadian Federation Of Independent Business (CFIB), which conducted a caller canvass that's yet to beryllium published, 25 per cent of businesses reported taking steps to highlight their Canadian-made products.

And of those businesses, 50 per cent reported an summation successful the request for those Canadian-made products, said Michelle Auger, elder argumentation expert with CFIB.

"It's a fantastic sentiment that Canadian consumers are coming unneurotic and rallying down our Canadian brands," she said.

But Auger besides cautioned that not each businesses whitethorn beryllium capable to merchantability Canadian products and that Canadian consumers shouldn't needfully penalize those.

Businesses are pivoting and shifting wherever they're getting products and dilatory trying to beryllium little reliant on U.S. markets, but galore whitethorn inactive have inventory from the U.S., she said.

"We besides privation to marque definite that consumers recognize however important it is to conscionable store locally and not debar businesses who can't wholly displacement wherever their goods are coming from," Auger said.