Canada’s Largest Natural Products Distributors
ProOrganics/UNFI www.proorganics.com Organic produce, dairy, dried fruit, nuts, beans, grains,
All kinds of shelf-ready organic & natural foods & beverages
All kinds of shelf-ready organic & natural foods & beverages
All kinds of shelf-ready organic & natural foods & beverages, produce
Organic & natural snacks, beans, grains, seeds, nuts, cereals,
dried fruit, flours, candy
All kinds of shelf-ready organic & natural foods & beverages
Natural & organic supplements and shelf-ready foods
Organic & fair trade produce
National
Tree of Life Canada www.kehe.com/treeoflife-home.html
Horizon Distributors www.horizondistributors.com
Ontario Natural Food Coop www.onfc.ca
Left Coast Naturals www.leftcoastnaturals.com
National
Western Canada
Eastern Canada
Western Canada
PureSource Inc.
Purity Life/SunOpta
Discovery Organics
www.puresource.ca
www.puritylife.com
www.discoveryorganics.ca
National
National
Western Canada
use either or both of the “USDA Organic” or “Canada Organic” seals.
Note that a 2010 Ipsos Reid online panel of over 1,600 consumers suggests 53 percent of Canadian consumers will trust a “Canada Organic”
logo and claim on a product, while only 36 percent are confident of
the “USDA organic” seal and claim.
• 70-95 percent organic ingredients: Canadian labeling rules again
differ slightly from those in practice in the U.S.: a product must carry a
front-label claim indicating the percentage of organic ingredients
(rather than naming specific ingredients) in the form: “XX% organic
ingredients.” These products must also identify their certifier.
• Less than 70 percent organic ingredients: As in the U.S., in Canada,
the organic claim may be made only in the ingredients list.
If using the Canadian logo, imported products must include “
Imported” or “Product of X” in close proximity to the Canada Organic
logo (adjacent to the logo when it appears on the packaging).
It is a good idea to work closely with your certifier to ensure you
have all attestations and label claims ready for the Canadian market.
To help the sector prepare, COTA has also been working closely with
CFIA to prepare and publish a Canadian labeling guide for organic
products, which will be available for purchase on the COTA website by
mid to late summer 2011.
is responding in a powerful way:
Growth trends look to be outperforming the U.S. market, and brands,
distributors and retail are increasing
their organic offerings in response.
Education of consumers still remains a need; both on the basics of
what organic means, and familiarity
with the new organic system in
Canada. COTA has launched www.Or-ganicBiologique.ca, a Canadian consumer site that complements the
work of OTA’s www.OrganicIts Wor-thIt.com campaign. However, there is
still a lot to be done. In early 2010, a
national poll by BrandSpark International found significant confusion between organic and natural claims in
Canada. Sixty percent of respondents
believe it’s important a product be
made from “all-natural” ingredients,
while 45 percent have “greater trust”
in natural products and assume them
to be government-regulated and
based on specific standards and codes
of practice. COTA has since under-taken a number of education and
Canadian Outlook Bright
The Canadian organic market is preparing for its next major chapter as the Stream of Commerce ends, full compliance and enforcement comes into effect and the final inner workings of the new
regulatory environment are put in place. At the same time, the market
Programs to Support U.S. Companies Looking to Export to Canada
September Reverse Trade Mission – Natural Products Expo East
21-24, 2011 OTA will arrange meetings with foreign food ingredient buyers and retail buyers at the trade show.
2011-2012 Canada Organic Products Campaign
The campaign will include a customized U.S organic promotion supporting sampling of both U.S. processed
products and produce.
2012-2015 Canada Global Based Initiative
Three-year project focused on enhancing Canadian consumer awareness to U.S. organic produce,
starting with a press tour of the U.S. Northwest.
All of these activities are funded through the Foreign Agricultural Service’s Market Access Program. All interested U.S. organic companies
are invited to participate in all of them. Please contact Jessica Poingt for additional information: JPoingt@ota.com, 202.403.8515
