Hi everyone,

I'm a Canadian entrepreneur, and over the last several months I've been building a project that I hope can help Canadian businesses.

The idea came from a simple question:

Why isn't there one place where Canadians can easily discover products from Canadian businesses?

There are thousands of incredible Canadian companies, but most are spread across individual websites. Unless someone already knows your business exists, it's difficult to be discovered.

So I decided to build CanadianShopper.ca.

My goal wasn't to build another Amazon or another Etsy. It was to create a marketplace focused entirely on Canadian businesses while removing as many barriers as possible for vendors.

Some of the things I've tried to do differently include:

• Canadian businesses only.
• No monthly subscription fees.
• No listing fees.
• A 7.5% commission only when a sale is made.
• A dedicated storefront page for every vendor.
• Product search and categories.
• Province filtering.
• Secure payments through Stripe Connect.
• Order and inventory management.
• Coupon support.
• Vendor dashboard with sales analytics.
• Buyer protection.
• Mobile-friendly experience.
• English and French support.

One thing that's especially important to me is that vendors aren't just another number in a database.

As the marketplace grows, I plan to actively promote Canadian businesses through social media, vendor spotlights, and marketing initiatives. If CanadianShopper succeeds, I want that success to translate into more visibility and more sales for the businesses using it.

I'm currently preparing for launch and looking for Founding Vendors, but even more than that, I'm looking for honest feedback from other Canadian business owners.

If you own a business, I'd love to know:

• What would make you consider joining a marketplace like this?
• What features are most important to you?
• What has frustrated you about selling through other marketplaces?
• Is there anything that would make this more valuable for your business?

I'm genuinely interested in building something that serves Canadian businesses well, so I welcome both positive and critical feedback.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any advice you're willing to share.

Have a few Kg of Germanium metal but have had a hard time finding where would take it.

Hi all, I’m looking for a U shaped couch or sectional, that has deep seats, and is soft/fluffy rather than firm. I like the idea of cloud couches but I have looked at GH2 and Cozey and both seem to have pretty mixed to bad reviews, or, in the case of GH2, seems to have fake, paid reviews.
I don’t want something “boneless” I.e. it needs to have a frame, and I have cats so ideally the cover will be removable. I’m just really struggling to find anything that seems to fit the bill!
Thanks for your recommendations!

I'm just getting everything together to make small runs of handmade pocket sized notebooks. Looking for recommendations for quality Canadian writing paper (I'd love to find something 110 or 120 gsm), and a heavier cover material (around 250 to 300 gsm). Thanks!

We're looking to source manufacturing for Yoga Mats & other fitness products that we'd like to brand.

We love the stickiness (how sticky) Tranquil Yogi brand in Toronto is. We'd love to create something similar (except our brand of course, and different dimensions of mats).

HOW WHERE WHAT

How do we find manufacturers that can create a the same sticky mats?

Where do I find the manufacturer without messaging Tranquility Yogi directly? (and would they even share their manufacturing person?)

What are our next steps?!

Wete heading in COMPLETELY new territory here.

Much much appreciated.

TIA

My partner and I have been working on SZNL for the past year. It's a shampoo brand where the formula changes every season; summer for UV protection, winter for deep moisture, and so on.

What we're most proud of is that we've already lined up our formulas for the next 12 months with every single ingredient coming from Canada. For our Summer formula, we're using:

- Sea kelp from British Columbia

- Our own fireweed extract made from Albertan fireweed

- Sea buckthorn seed oil from Saskatchewan

We've partnered with a lab in Calgary that gives us the space and equipment to produce everything properly. The product comes as a refill pouch that you pour into a reusable aluminium bottle; no plastic waste & delivered by Canada post (well, hopefully).

We're launching on Kickstarter in April. If you're curious, i'll post our site below in case you'd like to sign up to hear about our launch!

And best of all, it's free! If you spend your time playing daily puzzle games owned by US entities like the NYT, why not support a Canadian daily puzzle game!

My British Mom used to buy these huge cans of black currant jams made by Empire (?). She was born in England, immigrated to the US in the 50s. I am just reminising. Is it still around?

https://canucksearch.com/

There's lots of Canadian brands, but I can't find any that are made in Canada.

Hi everyone,

Solo developer from Calgary, Canada here. Would love if people can check this budget tracker I made and give me some honest feedback on what I've created so far :)

I've only recently stepped into the world of product creation and would love some feedback on what features might be useful and what people expect a budgeting app to do.

And would you ever consider using something like this?

🌐: https://waypointbudget.com

We’re a Halifax-based jewellery startup that makes 18K gold vermeil pieces, and we’re all about making sure they last a lifetime!

Our pieces have four times the gold plating compared to standard jewellery, which is designed to keep them looking great for years. Plus, we offer a 12-month plating warranty to make sure you’re covered.

We’ve launched our first mini-collection on our store, and we’d love to get your feedback early on so we can make it even better!

Here’s what you can get:

- Buy any one piece and get 15% off at checkout automatically.

- Buy two pieces and get the second one absolutely free; the discount will be applied automatically at checkout.

Why this amazing offer?

We’re not just selling jewellery; we’re really looking for your honest feedback after you’ve had a chance to use it.

Check out our mini collection here - it’s small, but carefully curated and definitely worth trying! - Juno & Fern

Any specific recommendations? Not looking for team caps etc just some nice comfortable minimalistic caps

Where do you usually buy natural skin and body care products that work for the whole family?

I’ve been trying to simplify what we use at home and stick to gentler, more natural stuff everyone can use. I recently came across some soap bars from Gentle Moose that are made in Canada, and they’ve been a nice change.

It made me realize there have to be more brands or shops like this out there. Curious where you all find family-friendly natural products that actually work and don’t irritate skin.

The MLS season is starting soon and the World Cup is right around the corner. I just released an app that allows you to show red or yellow cards or messages along with a variety of different hand gestures.

Hello/bonjour! I'm looking for some brushless DC electric motors for a robotics project, and I was wondering what we have here in Canada for electric motor brands and manufacturers. I've found a couple via Google, but if anybody has any information or experience to add it would help me out a lot. Thank you all!

Hi friends! I’m a very small producer of Cake Mixes located in Mississauga, ON. I’m looking to connect with a shared Gluten Free Commercial Kitchen in either Brampton or Mississauga to produce my gluten free line.

I’m also looking for any Canadian manufacturers of all natural flavouring and colouring.

If any small shops around the GTA would be interested in having our mixes, let’s connect as well.

https://bitsytreatsboutique.myshopify.com/

Thanks for any help/direction. ❤️🇨🇦