When Craig Pike, owner of Craig’s Cookies, opened his 20th location in Ottawa’s historic ByWard Market on Canada Day, it felt like a fitting tribute to his cookie emporium.
Pike started his company more than 10 years ago, baking cookies in his one-bedroom Toronto apartment between acting gigs. He hand-delivered them on his bike in paper bags to customers across the city.
While the Instagram-worthy cookies oozing with chocolate bar bits were a hit, the turning point for Pike was connecting with people over shared values – such as a love of the arts and support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community. The brand became a community, which is why the ByWard Market opening on Canada Day seemed not only symbolic, but a natural progression of a company built to forge unity.
“What I love about spending time there is that it is really a melting pot of tourists and locals,” Pike said. “I adore that celebration of cultures that include Canadian culture. It felt really right to open it at this time."
Canadians want to support local businesses
Pike’s success is illustrative of a growing trend of Canadians choosing to support local businesses. According to a recent TD survey, nearly nine-in-10 Canadians polled say that supporting local Canadian businesses remains important to them this summer.
Polled Canadians are also investing in domestic travel: 64% say they plan to travel within Canada over the coming months and 63% say they will research local shops, restaurants, and attractions ahead of time. Almost three-quarters of these tourists say they will go out of their way to visit a unique business or attraction.
Canadians, especially Gen Z and Millennials, plan on visiting cottages during the summer, with 96% of those polled saying they plan to check out local businesses, including restaurants and shops, when they do.
Julia Kelly, Vice President of Small Business Banking at TD, said that considering 64% of Canadians polled indicated they want to stay local this summer, small businesses are encouraged to highlight their offerings and provide clients with a unique draw.
Kelly recommends that small businesses consider the different ways Canadians research local attractions and leverage their social media platforms to reach new audiences. For example, providing Instagram-worthy pictures of their products, location, or food helps draw tourists to their own businesses.
“With this strong desire to support Canadian, small businesses are considering how they can leverage this trend in local travel,” Kelly said.
“There has been a sense of uncertainty among small business owners regarding economic volatility, but now that we know Canadians are keen to support local businesses this summer, businesses owners are looking to understand their evolving consumer.”
Small businesses lean into the ‘buy local’ trend
With Craig’s Cookies locations across Southwestern Ontario, the company does its best to make sure each store reflects its community.
Pike explained that while the storefronts may look similar, with hardwood floors reminiscent of his grandmother’s home in Newfoundland, the individual stores are decorated with local art and sell cookie flavours reflecting regional taste.
For Pike, the success of that strategy is perhaps most evident at his one location outside of Ontario, in his hometown of St. John’s, Nfld., where Craig’s Cookies see a spike in sales each summer with tourists enjoying its regional flavours.
The St. John’s store offers visitors a unique twist on his cookies that they can’t get elsewhere, such as a “jam jam” — an iconic Newfoundlander treat — in a cookie, as well as “snowballs” — a small cocoa, oatmeal ball covered in coconut — in cookies.
It’s a small touch that leaves a big impact.
“One of the loveliest things that I hear is that Craig’s Cookies has become an experience for tourists,” Pike said. “Our local support has always been strong so if anything, it’s just getting stronger.”
It's not only cookie connoisseurs who want in on the local goods. Other entrepreneurs are following in Pike’s footsteps. The Craig’s Cookies brand has expanded to a franchise program – there are 14 franchisees and seven corporate stores – many of which have cropped up in tourist-friendly destinations such as Niagara-on-the-Lake, Collingwood and Burlington, Ont.
Pike said that while there are plenty of options for folks choosing franchises, he believes one of the components attracting people to Craig’s is the fact that the company is Canadian.
“As we continue to grow, I’m always very open to see what cookies can do to celebrate the culture of the communities we are a part of,” Pike said. “One thing I’ve learned over time, is that you can pretty much put anything in a cookie. I’m excited to see where it all lands.”
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