For Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics Inc. of indigenous property, the impact of the Canadian Buy movement has been unmistakable.
Jenn Harper, founder of the Cosmetics brand based in St. Catharines, Ontario, said that the company saw a 52 percent increase in businesses in the period between January and April, compared to the same period last year, with an increase of 190 percent in March specifically.
Harper said his company has seen significant growth during political events before, as in 2020 with the Black Lives Matter movement. But they have always been temporary impulses for the business. She is more optimistic about the current Growth Cheekbone Beauty is experiencing due to the number of customers who have become repeated buyers. The sales income of Cheekbone Beauty are in the range of seven figures, with electronic commerce sales by 2025 that is anticipated, 40 percent will grow from 2023, the company said.
This new interest has led her to rethink the company’s objectives to focus on the United States to grow: now she is turning to build her client base in Canada first, she said.
“(We want to really become a Canadian makeup brand that all Canadians know,” said Harper. “We are here to build a brand that goes to the last generations, as well as our indigenous roots.”
Cheekbone is not the only company of Canadian cosmetics that has seen a greater interest and loyalty of Canadian beauty buyers in response to the commercial war launched by the Trump administration in January: the actors of the industry, both small and large, told the Financial Post that they are seeing to increase sales, and are optimistic that the change will last.
“We have seen a wave of activity and, ultimately, perhaps a permanent change in consumer behavior to support Canadian businesses,” said Charles Wachsberg, co -founder of Apollo Healthcare Corp., an important manufacturer of private canadic labels of health and beauty with headquarters in Toronto. Wachsberg said the company has produced more than 64,000 products, including lotions, shampoos, baby products and pet products. The company was taken privately for $ 327 million in 2021 and has nine -digit sales, the company said.
“I would say that our Canadian business has probably increased in the vicinity of 20 percent since the commercial war began,” Wachsberg said, adding that Canadian buyers are paying much attention to the labels of the products while buying, looking for the Arce sheet and verifying where the product originates. “They are looking for Canadian innovation and Canadian content in their behaviors, and are prepared to pay more for it.”
This growth in the Canadian beauty industry is based on an existing trajectory. According to the Market Research Company Inc., beauty was the fastest growing industry of Canada in the first semester of 2022. The non -profit trade facilitation office (TFO) Canada estimated that the Canadian market for beauty and personal care amounted to $ 11 billion in revenue in 2023, forecasting the market to grow 1.76 percent between 2023 and 2028. Australia Ibisworld Pty Ltd. and the beauty products manufacturing market in Canada by $ 4.2 billion in 2024, which increased 0.1 percent by 2024.
The question is whether the commercial war will allow growth in the sector in Canada or hindered it.
The Cosmetics Alliance of the Canada Commercial Association identified around 60 Canadian brands within the sector, and most are small to medium -sized companies.
“His market share today is not close to that of the big brands, but there are certainly opportunities for them to grow,” said Darren Praznik, president and executive director of the organization. “And certainly the retailers express a greater interest in them.”
The skin care company based in Vancouver Elleboxco Inc., which functions as Blume, has seen a dramatic increase in Canadian sales, even through its various retail partners, such as Sephora Canada and Amazon.com, Inc., according to its founders Bunny and Taran Ghatrora. The company backed by Venture, which was launched in 2018 and has raised more than $ 3 million according to Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, is on the way to eight -digit revenues this fiscal year, said Bunny Ghatra.
Canadian sales of Blume have grown 35 percent year after year until now in 2025, with a growth of 25 percent in general, the company said.
Even so, despite the demand of local buyers, Canadian beauty companies are not immune to the negative consequences of a commercial war. Smaller brands are particularly vulnerable, especially if they depend on US sales.
“A Canadian business cannot survive without the US market,” said Harper De Cheekbone. “We need the American consumer.”
Canadian beauty companies can also face higher costs associated with the manufacture of their products, since many ingredients and packaging components cannot be obtained locally.
Blume, for example, uses a chamomile flower as one of the ingredients and sources of its product and sources bottles and droppers of China.
“The cosmetic industry is probably one of the most integrated internationally,” Praznik said by Cosmetic Alliance. “They manufacture and distribute and sell their products in supply and distribution chains that are like a website worldwide.”
In fact, many small brands of Canadian property that seek to grow and expand internationally often end up being bought by large US companies that can operate on a larger scale. The examples include Mac Cosmetics Inc. and Skincare Company Decie Inc., owner of Brands as The Ordinary, acquired by Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
“Our industry has supported free trade throughout the world and is because it has meant great efficiency in production,” Praznik said, citing the benefits of better quality and less expensive products for more options for the consumer. “Then, everyone has benefited.”
As Canadian cosmetics companies deal with the consequences of rates, they are weighing a variety of strategies.
Although Blume has focused mainly on North America sales, Ghatrora sisters said that the commercial war has led them to consider more seriously expand to countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia to diversify the company’s client base.
Praznik said that some Canadian manufacturers are evaluating whether they can import Chinese manufacturing components directly to Vancouver and not through the United States.
Others seek to use custom manufacturers in other countries to make certain products and avoid rates. For example, an option would be to make a product for the US market in the United States, while making products for Canadians and other Canada countries, Praznik said.
Groupe Marcelle Inc., based in Montreal, on the other hand, has always prioritized the Canadian market, with some exports to the US and online sales to other countries, said the company’s president, David Cape.
Groupe Marcelle is the largest local cosmetic company in Canada, with revenues of approximately $ 147 million in 2024 according to Ibisworld. Its brands, including Marcelle, Watier and Annabelle, are sold through retailers such as Shoppers Drug Mart throughout the country.
Many of the company’s products are manufactured in Montreal, which means that it has not needed to transmit higher costs to Canadian consumers, Cape said.
At the beginning of the Buy Canadian movement, CAPE said that many beauty buyers in search of Canadian property brands began to try the Groupe Marcelle products for the first time and that the main retailers approached the company immediately to determine how they could meet the additional demand.
But nervous consumers can still counteract the nationalist feeling that drives the current growth of the Canadian beauty industry. Commercial tensions have caused many consumers to retreat their discretionary expenditure, according to a TD Economics report in March.
Marcelle is seeing a little more growth in its massive beauty lines, which have a more affordable price compared to their Watier prestige line, since consumers are being more careful with their dollars, Cape said.
While there is an advantage with consumers to be a Canadian company, Cape said that the commercial war is not yet good for the economy in general.
“We want to see that it comes to an end and as soon as possible,” Cape said. “And even when I do, we still hope … people remember that buying Canadian is a good thing for our country in any situation.”
• Email: slouis@postmedia.com
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