Trying to stick to a grocery list of items made in Canada? A new online platform makes it easy for shoppers to support Canadian businesses.
Scanuck.ca is a platform that allows users to check where a product is made, and it’s quite easy to use: using your phone, go to the website, allow access to your camera, and scan the item’s bar code.
Once scanned, the site will provide details of the product’s country of origin.
CVO of tech company KP9 Wil McReynolds said he developed Scanuck.ca in February. The Owen Sound, Ont. resident recalled how his wife suggested a scanner similar to one he created in 2016 to help users identify gluten-free products.
And Scanuck.ca certainly fulfills a need as more Canadians boycott U.S.-made products amid a tariff war: the website has had 48,000 scans since it launched.
“This was a passion project that went viral,” said McReynolds.
McReynolds said the response has been “overwhelmingly positive” and plans to roll out more features and improvements based on users’ suggestions. Some include scanning accuracy with small bar codes or working with limited camera quality on older devices.
“I aim to keep this platform user-friendly and focused on privacy,” he said.
Although he doesn’t track detailed analytics due to privacy, he did come across some surprising discoveries while using Scanuck.ca.
“I was pleasantly surprised to find that 90 per cent of my grocery shopping is already Canadian-made,” he shared. “What shocked me, however, was how some brands were falsely claiming to be Canadian when they were actually made in the U.S.”
And now, the scanner is no longer limited to food — it can be used to scan other products made in Canada as well.
“Helping Canadians make informed decisions about where they spend their money is something I’m passionate about,” McReynolds said. “The U.S. may have scale, but it doesn’t have the grit and ingenuity we do.”
He added, “I really never understood patriotism until it was time to. I embrace it, and I embrace anyone doing what they can.”
For McReynolds, it’s not just about what he chooses to buy but also how he runs his business.
“I’ve relied on Canadian tax credits and local investments to build a strong team of Canadian talent,” he explained. “It hasn’t been easy and has hurt our growth, but I believe in supporting a culture that values collaboration over speculation.”
To avoid American-owned app stores, he opted for a web-based platform for Scanuck.ca. He spends US$99 monthly on a U.S.-based database, in addition to free data from Canadian and French databases. Despite the work that goes into creating the scanner, it’s not for profit. In fact, McReynolds said he plans to release the code to allow others to use and build on it.
“I believe the code should belong to the community, not me,” he said. “I want others to build on it, create their own solutions, and help move this initiative forward.”
To date, the platform has received $580 in donations.
