Why It Matters
Fostering respectful supplier partnerships where we work together to deliver value is core to our values and how we deliver for Canadians.
Fiscal 2025 Performance Highlights
438+ women entrepreneurs supported in fiscal 2025
1535 new local products introduced in our stores nationally in 2025
More than 48% of Own Brand products are 100% Canadian, Product of Canada or Made in Canada (per Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Competition Bureau Canada definitions)
Our Approach
We engage with suppliers to better understand how we can support and partner with them around the material risks to the grocery and retail sector. We believe strong collaboration across our supply chain can drive real change in how we tackle the world’s most pressing issues.
Collaborating as a Sector
Working in partnership with our suppliers is part of what sets our business apart. We believe everyone in our industry deserves to be treated fairly—which is why we have been a driving force behind advocating for a Grocery Code of Conduct in Canada. The code is designed to ensure fair dealings, enhance transparency and encourage collaboration, all while upholding healthy competition. We believe the code will safeguard stakeholders across the board—from our dedicated suppliers to the valued consumers we serve. Through our focus on bringing the code to fruition and our participation in other industry advocacy networks, we are working to address sector-wide risks and supplier requests, including providing data on various sustainability topics, such as greenhouse gas emissions, labour standards and climate targets.
Strong supplier partnerships are a critical component of our national, functionally led organization. Supplier engagement,
feedback and support ensure we successfully build growth plans for key categories; prioritize domestic manufacturing, production and supply chain solutions; manage risks; find opportunities to create efficiencies; and provide quality products and value to our customers. Working with our suppliers, we find new ways to support our stores and inspire our customers, while never losing sight of the need to deliver compelling value and build cost and margin discipline. We are also working to enable suppliers to more easily access the policies and procedures they need to work with us. This process enables us to streamline our business to focus on investments and resources that add real value for us and our customers.
Managing Supplier Relationships
Our Ethical and Sustainable Sourcing Policy (ESSP) is the basis of our responsible sourcing approach with our suppliers. Read more in Ethical & Sustainable Sourcing.
Operational responsibility for supplier partnerships sits under four streams:
National Sourcing
Own Brands
Local Sourcing
Strategic Sourcing
National Sourcing
Our national sourcing team is responsible for creating a strategy on which all national supplier negotiations, policies and procedures are based, including how we optimize supplier relationships, generate revenue and integrate sustainability commitments into merchandising activities.
This includes understanding industry, regulatory, environmental and geopolitical impacts to ensure we remain responsive and compliant. This national approach means we collaborate more efficiently with suppliers while also securing greater investments from them and delivering value for customers.
Own Brands
Own Brands is committed to fostering strong, long-term partnerships with both Canadian and international producers and manufacturers. Through these relationships, we prioritize transparency, ethical and sustainable business practices, and continuous improvement, ensuring that all our suppliers—whether local or global—align with our values and commitment to delivering unique, safe and high-quality products to our customers. Own Brands believes in supporting the growth of local businesses and is dedicated to reinforcing our commitment to local sourcing as we continue to collaborate closely with Canadian suppliers towards a stronger and more resilient domestic supply chain.
Local Sourcing
We remain committed to supporting local suppliers and growers in the communities where they live and work, helping them serve these local markets, while providing them with an opportunity to scale their offerings to reach more customers across Canada. Supporting local “food-preneurs” and growers is one of Empire’s core strategic pillars. The local development team works directly with suppliers, offering the necessary support to help them enter the market and scale their brands across our retail banners.
In fiscal 2025, we continued to implement a strategy to foster local products and local entrepreneurs, with goals including improving food security, reducing transportation-related impacts and empowering customers to buy sustainable, local products. We welcomed 143 new local suppliers, and we also helped 26 Canadian suppliers scale to national or regional levels so they could reach more customers within their provinces or jurisdictions.
We support our local suppliers through regular meetings, webinars and industry events that make it easier for small companies to engage with us. Based on feedback from our local suppliers, we are launching a dedicated “Local Supplier Resources” section within our online supplier portal. This initiative is designed to provide information and support, helping small- and medium-sized businesses navigate their interactions with us.
Strategic Sourcing
Our strategic sourcing team focuses on ensuring the procurement process drives the best value for our business. Goods-not-for-resale suppliers that are deemed of material importance to the business are required to report annually against a range of performance factors, including ESG-related performance metrics, as part of our Supplier Relationship Management program.
Learning Together Through Sustainably Connected
To help our national sourcing and merchandising teams better incorporate sustainability considerations in their supplier interactions, in fiscal 2024 we launched the Sustainability Connected program. This program includes equipping teammates with more information on topics related to supplier diversity, climate action, packaging and ethical sourcing through quarterly newsletters and a learning portal.
Fostering Innovation
Working with our suppliers is also an important way we drive innovation and inspire our customers with new products and services.
Our produce team fosters innovation by developing new partnerships, enhancing existing partnerships to develop new products, and capitalizing on emerging trends or new technology solutions. We continue to focus on controlled environment agriculture (CEA), which optimizes indoor growing environments, such as greenhouses or vertical farms, creating availability for locally produced fruits and vegetables all year long. CEA enables us to diversify our sourcing, build resilience in our supply chains and provide new ways to feed Canadians well into the future.
The IGA Local Accelerator program supports Quebec-based producers that represent the best of the province’s ingenuity and illustrate our shared goal to promote quality, local products. In the last year, the program has allowed new companies to emerge and find their way to store shelves, including:
- Nälkä: Protein drink mixes—the perfect combination of protein, organic and local.
- Gâteries Animalia: Circular economy company offering 100% natural and regional treats for pets.
- La Noix d’Érable: Energizing and delicious snacks made from nuts and maple.
- Face de Bœuf: A family business specializing in the production and sale of beef raised in a controlled, carbon-neutral manner with a local approach and a focus on animal welfare.
To foster support for diverse entrepreneurs, we also partnered with Venturepark Food Accelerator, a non-profit organization supporting early-stage entrepreneurs in food and wine industries.
Highlights
Buy Canadian
We are committed to championing local suppliers and helping customers shop Canadian with confidence. We’re proud to support Canadian suppliers through our Shop Canada program, which makes it easier for customers to identify and choose local products. Demand for Canadian-made goods continues to rise, and we’re responding by expanding our local sourcing and helping customers understand what origin labels really mean. From “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” to “100% Canadian,” our labels reflect Canadian Food Inspection Agency guidelines to ensure clear, accurate and compliant information. As part of our response to global trade challenges, we have accelerated efforts to find Canadian alternatives to tariff-impacted products.
Partnering With Local, Innovative Suppliers
Since 2018, we’ve celebrated our existing local partnerships while seeking opportunities to build new supplier relationships. We aim to curate brands from across the country that bring something unique and offer value to the communities we serve. Some of our most recent suppliers with a focus on sustainability (based on claims made by suppliers or information provided by them; they are not verified representations being made by Empire or Sobeys) include:
Donia Farms
British Columbia
Dairy products (milk, yogurt, butter, cheese)
A family dairy farm using grass-fed diets for their cows and sustainable farming practices, including circular water use and using cow manure as fertilizer.
Kingdom Coffee
Alberta
Coffee
A portion of every bag sold goes to help people without homes.
Piccola Cucina
Manitoba
Bakery
Ingredients for these gluten-free, dairy-free, almond-based products are sourced using sustainable practices.
Zero Soap Co.
Ontario
Soap, skincare and lip balm
Products sold in zero-waste packaging.
Annointment
New Brunswick
Natural skincare
Sustainably packaged skincare products based on whole, certified organic and vegan, locally grown ingredients.
Earthli Plant-Powered Superfoods
Nova Scotia
Plant-based protein
Sustainably grown and zero-waste plant-based superfoods.
Expanding Our Partnership With GoodLeaf
In fiscal 2024, we launched a national partnership with GoodLeaf Farms, a Canadian innovator in vertical farming. GoodLeaf specializes in growing leafy greens, including baby greens such as lettuce and spinach, nutrient-dense microgreens such as micro arugula and micro broccoli, and unique microgreen salad blends. With vertical farms in Guelph, Calgary and Montreal, GoodLeaf has the largest vertical farming network in North America, which enabled us to expand our CEA offering from coast to coast.
Offering Hyper-Local Mushrooms With Heartee Foods
In fall 2024, we launched unique mushroom varieties in Ontario with Heartee Foods and began a nationwide expansion in 2025. This gourmet mushroom producer uses reclaimed shipping containers to grow an incredible variety of mushrooms in vertical farms close to our stores, offering customers the freshest products available. Heartee Foods also offers a first-of-its-kind shelf-stable product to the market, providing access to exotic mushrooms without shrink or spoilage.
Extending Produce Shelf Life With HarvestHold Technology
Some produce items, such as broccoli, typically require large quantities of ice to preserve freshness throughout the supply chain. One box of broccoli typically requires about nine kilograms of ice, which is equivalent to about nine litres of water. HarvestHold Fresh® sheets gradually release 1-MCP, a well-established technology that slows the ripening process and extends the shelf life of produce. This eliminates the need for ice, saves water and still delivers the same or a better-quality experience. In 2024, this product saved about 5.7 million litres of water, according to the supplier.
Champions
For well over a century, we have proudly partnered with Canadian suppliers, fostering relationships built on trust, shared values and the commitment to quality. As one of Canada’s largest grocery retailers, we are proud to showcase our collaborative efforts on our shelves. Each product reflects the hard work, ingenuity and passion of local artisans, farmers, growers and producers—true advocates for tradition and authenticity. Together, we celebrate the spirit of Canada, one aisle at a time.”
Stephanie Amos, Manager, Responsible Sourcing, Sobeys Inc.
Learn More
Our work to support innovative suppliers is helping us achieve our goals to reduce plastics and take climate action.
As a family nurturing families, we want to ensure Canadians are taken care of today, tomorrow, and in the future. By doing OurPart™ for the environment, we hope to inspire our customers to do theirs. Every step we take together—big or small—can make a difference.
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