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CPMA CONVENTION SUPPLEMENT
TORONTO MARKET PROFILE
Toronto’s Multicultural Marketplace Bodes Well For Produce
Home-cooked meals are popular in tHis cosmopolitan city boasting an upwardly mobile population.
TBy Jodean Robbins
he Greater Toronto area encompasses a diverse and competitive environ- ment where a wide variety of stores and restaurants thrive. “Ontario is one of the most competitive markets
for produce and grocery in general,” says Paul Comella, produce buyer for The Garden Basket Food Markets in Markham, ON. “The market is diverse with a wide range of stores and cuisines.”
The demographics of Toronto make it one of the most multicultural and multira- cial cities in the world. According to City of Toronto statistics, the metropolitan area is home to 6,242,273 people. More than 51.4 percent of the population is reported as a visible minority, and 46.1 percent are immigrants born outside of Canada.
Several factors make Toronto an excel- lent environment for food and produce. “Toronto is a good produce marketplace,” says Paul Scarafile, president and chief executive of Dominion Citrus in Toronto. “There is a lot of ethnic diversity, and every- body wants products they’re familiar with, so we import from around the world.”
Toronto’s diverse culture means resi- dents tend to prepare home-cooked meals, according to Paul Holancin, buyer for Arc-en-Ciel Produce in Toronto. “These meals incorporate a lot of fruits and vege- tables for specific homeland-cultures,” he says. “This results in a wide variety of produce items in the marketplace.”
Established ethnic neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Corso Italia, Little Italy, Little India, Greektown, Koreatown, Little Jamaica
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and Little Portugaland all celebrate the city’s multiculturalism. “Because of the cultural diversity we have, Torontonians have been exposed to a wide range of cuisines,” says Ezio Bondi, vice president at Bondi Produce in Toronto. “That leads to greater demand in more ethnic and specialty produce at the foodservice and retail level.”
In addition to the city’s multiculturalism, it is also home to a prosperous popula- tion. Bondi reports Toronto is becoming an
expensive city to live in. “As a result you have a population, whose median house- hold income is well into the six figures,” he says.
The city is upwardly affluent, reports Larry Davidson, president of North Amer- ican Produce Buyers in Toronto. “The city supports a wide range of culturally specialized stores and upwardly mobile customers,” he says. “Ontario and Toronto house a pretty well-educated population