In the midst of a “Canadian” purchase inspired by commercial tensions with the US, some multinational food and drink companies are working hard to highlight their Canadian manufacturing products.
Canadian viewers of the Super Bowl during the weekend may have noticed a new Kraft Heinz ad. The announcement, set in the company’s Montreal factory, met in less than a week, said Simon Laroche, president of Kraft Heinz Canada.
The factory uses more than a thousand people and has 42 production lines, he said.
“Brands such as Philadelphia Cream Cheese … Kraft peanut butter, Heinz Ketchup, Kraft salad dressing or Kraft singles, even classic pasta sauce. All those brands are made in Canada by Canadians, and people don’t I knew that, “Laroche said.
“We do 70 percent of what we sell in Canada, in Canada.”
Look | New Kraft announcement highlighting its Canadian manufacturing products: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4glQ4Owcbe
After the president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that he intends to implement radical tariffs on Canadian imports, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada would take reprisals with their own rates.
Now, the two parts are in the middle of a one -month truce. But in the meantime, many Canadians look for ways to support national companies that could be affected if tariffs come into play.
It is a good time for brands to promote Canadian products, said Rachel Thexton from Thetexton Public Relations.
But consumers looking to buy patriotically are discovering that they are not cut and dry, he said.
There are several different labels that depend on how a product was made, and many international companies such as Kraft Heinz make products in Canada, so brands cry out to demonstrate their Canadian to buyers in the grocery store.
“They are certainly investing a lot in this,” said Thexton.
It is likely that multinational brands are worried that their sales may suffer because they are not seen as Canadians, Thexton said.
Other large food-based food companies.
Many renowned alcoholic beverages are also manufactured in Canada. Molson Coors, which was formed through the merger of the Canadian company Molson and the US company Coors, prepares a large number of drinks, including its homonymous beers, as well as Blue Moon, Arizona Hard Tea, Miller and Rickard’s.
The company has nine beer elaboration locations throughout the country, using thousands of people, said spokeswoman Alex Sockett in a statement.
“While we are a global business, the vast majority of our beers and drinks are made in the market in which they are sold.”
In recent comments that urge buyers to find Canadian manufacturing products, Trudeau said that when the country was in a commercial Tiff with the USA. In 2018, Heinz Ketchup was in the blockade.
“The example of the last time was that Heinz’s tomato sauce was replaced by French Ketchup because French was still using Canadian tomatoes in his ketchup,” Trudeau said.
The Chicago Multinational Food Company responded quickly. Although he closed his leamington, Ontario. Factory in 2014, Ketchup produced again in Canada in 2020, and now its ketchup is again made with Canadian tomatoes.
“We wanted to make sure Heinz was not the example,” Laroche said.
Kraft Heinz is currently analyzing his packaging, aware that buyers are looking for labels indicating the Canadian of a product, Laroche said. Some, such as Filadelphia Cream Cheese, are getting a packaging update soon, he said.
He is also working with retailers in stickers, flyers and other ways to highlight Kraft Heinz products made by Canadian, Laroche said.
However, he understands that it is easier to say than to do for Canadian buyers to discover what Canadian means.
“The truth is that the entire supply chain in North America is very integrated,” he said.
Food and headquarters with headquarters in the United States are not the only ones who work to reassure Canadians who buy local products.
Dr. Oetker Canada, whose parent company is in Germany, presented a press release last week saying that it is committed to national manufacturing, and that most of its products are made in
Canada using local ingredients. He said that his installation in London, Ontario, employs 430 people and uses 53,000 pounds of Canadian cheese daily.
Lactalis Canada, owned by the French matrix company Lactalis, launched a guide for buyers that includes information about what the labeling means in its products, such as “Made in Canada”, “Product of Canada” and the Blue Cow logo for dairy Canadian
Yoplait Canada is also under French property, since it was acquired newly acquired by the Milkish Sodiaal Cooperative. The brand issued a statement that said that for more than 50 years its products have been made in Quebec with milk from local farms.
Thexton expects brands to continue spending in the short term on advertisements, marketing and other ways to boost their Canadian connections, whether they are owned by Canadian or multinationals with a manufacturing presence in Canada.
It depends on buyers to decide if those efforts resonate, said Thexton.
“I think it will be a turning point,” he said.
