9 Canadian small businesses to shop this holiday season
Shopping for the holidays can turn even the merriest caroler into a Scrooge. To help narrow down the search for the perfect present, Canadians often turn to big-box stores or major online retailers to tackle their shopping lists.
While this convenience can save you time, buying from a local or independent business not only gets you a personalized and high-quality gift but also spreads more holiday cheer by supporting some of Canada’s hardest workers.
According to the Intuit QuickBooks Holiday Shopping Survey, 50% of Canadians report that they are less likely to buy from small businesses in person if they can’t find them online. This is at a time when 72% of Canadian small businesses say the 2022 holiday season is more important to their overall financial health compared to last year, with 74% stating they’ll be more reliant on online revenue.
Intuit QuickBooks understands how critical the holiday sales cycle can be for small businesses — this time can actually account for up to 65% of their annual revenue. To help encourage Canadians to support small, local retailers, QuickBooks has made it easy to shop local this holiday season by curating a list of Canadian small businesses in their QuickBooks Small Business Holiday Gift Guide.
If you’re a small business owner looking to better understand what Canadians are wishing for this year, QuickBooks has also compiled some helpful tips and tools to help you unwrap a successful holiday sales season.
From delicious treats to aromatic scents and toys for kids, these Canadian small businesses have something for everyone to help you find the perfect gift and make holiday shopping merry and bright.
Happiness Is Inc.
With so much fast fashion in circulation, shopping for sustainably sourced and ethically made clothing is key to giving a gift that will make both your loved one and the planet happy.
Starting as a way to inspire us to find our happiness within, Chief Happiness Officer Andrea Armstrong has continued the legacy left by her grandfather, Gordon Carton who founded the company at the age of 95.
Each article of clothing is knit, cut, sewn, and dyed locally in Canada to keep the company’s carbon footprint low and maintain ethical wages for all its workers. The clothes are also made with biodegradable, certified organic cotton, which uses less water and pesticides compared with conventional cotton, bamboo, and recycled polyester.
Flowerink
No gift is complete without the perfect card. Instead of getting one that’s made out of traditional paper, why not get one that will grow into something beautiful? Bonus: these cards are embedded with wildflower seeds.
Founded in Montreal in 2017 by MĂ©lanie Girard-Brisson, Flowerink was started with the hopes of creating environmentally friendly, stationery items. The paper goods contain seeds for either wildflowers or herbs, creating a gift that keeps on giving for the green thumbs in your life.
The envelopes and stickers are made from sugarcane residues, which further reduces their carbon footprint. To keep up the magic of art-meets-the-environment, the company also works with local illustrators like Frédérike Lefebvre to bring its cards to life.
Mojo Jojo Pickles
If you’re struggling to get a hold of someone’s wishlist, get inspired by the pickle you’re in by gifting these acidic treats.
Founded in 2011 as a commercial venture of a Slow Food Edmonton Canning Bee project, Johwanna “Jojo” Alleyne used the creative skills she gained as a former photographer, darkroom technician, and photographic archivist, to launch Mojo Jojo Pickles.
Produced in Alberta and Saskatchewan, you can find their assortment of pickled vegetables, condiments, beverage syrups, and shrubs in local groceries, delicatessens, butchers, and artisan shops across Canada.
Wild Prairie Soap Company
If you have dry skin, you know once winter rolls around you become a crackling mess. It’s not only about moisturizing properly but also about finding the right kind of soap to soothe your skin.
After Tanya Zurock started making her own soaps to help with her daughter’s dry and sensitive skin, she took the deep love she developed for cold-process soapmaking to start Wild Prairie Soap.
Since launching over 22 years ago, the body care product company has become one of the leading producers of nourishing skin in retail locations across Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Give the gift of self-care during one of the busiest times of the year with an uplifting and plant-based present that will let your loved one truly relax.
Rally and Roots
After first opening her Etsy shop in 2017, founder Kate Shewaga spent three years planting the seeds of her small business by selling hand-painted and stamped planters online. She was also setting up pop-ups across Ontario, all while maintaining her full-time job as a flight attendant.
But in March 2020, she decided to uproot her life and take her sprouting dreams on the road in a plant trailer — a converted 1975 Mini Glen named Glenda — bringing her vision of growing the business into a mobile plant shop to life. With organized workshops out of Paris, Ontario, you can also find Rally and Roots at retailers across Canada.
Laura Slack Chocolate
There’s no easier (or more delicious) way to show someone you care than to gift them a box of chocolates.
Driven by a childhood full of baking, mixed with a background in science, founder Laura Slack decided to pursue her passion to become an artisan chocolatier and pastry chef. From salted caramel truffles to festive chocolate bars, these sweet treats will have your mouth watering at first sight.
If you’re in Toronto during the Distillery District’s winter market, take some time to stop at her store, Maisonette, to get your hands on some fresh and decadent chocolates.
Friday Sock Co.
We may not always put socks on our gift list, but that’s about to change when you see these.
Located in Calgary, Friday Sock Co. creates purposely mismatched socks with quirky designs to show off your personality and to help you out when your dryer eventually eats one.
With sizes and styles made for everyone including kids, this unique small business allows you to buy a pair from various collections or by signing up for a monthly subscription-based delivery service that will knock your socks off — literally.
Kind Karma Company
A classic holiday gift for that special someone is jewellery, but there’s something extra special about hand-crafted pieces with a meaningful story behind them.
Building her business from the therapeutic practice of jewellery making, Laurinda Lee-Retter founded Kind Karma as a way to foster a safe environment that offered meaningful employment to at-risk and homeless youth in Toronto.
With a wide range of unisex jewelry in various styles, Kind Karma pieces have a positive impact not only in the community but throughout the world of fashion.
petit apprenti
If you’re looking for a gift idea for the little learner in your life, petit apprenti offers a wide range of products that blend education and fun.
The learning towers help children develop independence in a safe and interactive way, with other accessories including matching parent/child aprons, different sets of learning magnets, and a toddler-safe softwood cutting utensil and board.
Check out the QuickBooks Small Business Holiday Gift Guide to find out more information about the businesses above or discover additional ones. To read about how your small business can prepare for the holiday season, visit the QuickBooks Holiday Hub.
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