Canada’s hidden export success stories: Makeup, pet food and rubber

Forget oil, wheat and NHL hockey players, Canada has other small, diverse and perhaps surprising exports that are making a big splash in the global marketplace.

According to a new report from the Conference Board of Canada, we’re big global players in cosmetics, pet food and synthetic rubber (that’s right, tires). We’re also a growing exporter of photonics devices, such as 3-D scanners, as well as sodium chlorate used as a bleaching agent in the pulp industry.

The Conference Board calls these five exports Canada’s “hidden success stories,” and believes other companies could to learn from their success, especially if Canada wants to remain globally competitive.

"The common perception is that Canada only does well at exporting natural resources,” states Conference Board economist Kristelle Audet. “Very few people think of Canada as being a global player in the cosmetics industry or being competitive at manufacturing and exporting high-tech equipment or chemicals … It comes down to creating innovative products for niche markets.”

Cosmetics

According to the report, Canada is the world's 10^th largest exporter of cosmetic products, accounting for 3 per cent of the global trade. It says Canada exported close to US$900 million of cosmetics, a 33 per cent increase since before the 2008-09 recession. More than 95 per cent of these exports came from two provinces, Ontario (76 per cent) and Quebec (21 per cent). Canadian private label manufacturers that received a shout out in the report include Cosmetica laboratories, Apollo Health and Beauty Care, Aquatech Skin Care and Hunter Amenities. Canada’s proximity to the U.S. was a main reason cited for its growing clout in the cosmetics space.

Pet food

In the rapidly growing pet food industry, Canadian exports account for 3.5 per cent of the global pet food trade, the report says. That makes Canada the world’s 9^th largest exporter of animal feed. Being close to the U.S. helps, but the “Made in Canada” label is also boosting sales given our reputation for making high-quality food for our four-legged best friends. The report cites companies such as Elmira Pet Products, whose Nutram super premium pet food brand is distributed in more than 25 countries worldwide, as well as Champion Petfoods from Alberta, behind the Acana and Orijen pet food brands available in 50 countries, among others.

High-tech

Canada also ranks in 10th place when it comes to exporting photonics devices, which are those 3-D scanners and imaging systems used across a wide-range of sectors. An industry cluster in Central Canada, which has come up with some specialized and innovative products in this area, are getting the credit for our country’s increasing dominance in this field.

Bleaching agents

We are the world’s largest exporter of the sodium chlorate. Our edge is due in part to relatively low electricity costs used to produce the inorganic chemical and access to some of the world’s largest pulp manufacturing plants across North America. In fact, global trade of sodium chlorate almost doubled between 2006 and 2012, from US$332 million to $651 billion, the report says, due to the growing demand for bleached chemical pulp.

Rubber

If our capacity for making makeup, pet food and chemicals aren’t the kinds of things you like to brag about as a Canadian travelling overseas, how about our capacity to crank out butyl rubber, a key ingredient in making tires? According to the Conference Board report, Canada is the world's fifth largest exporter of butyl rubber, accounting for almost 15 per cent of global trade. What’s more, exports come from a single plant in Sarnia, Ont. But don’t get too boastful, the report warns our butyl rubber competitiveness is under threat from the U.S and Asia.

While the value of these five exports aren’t likely to surpass what we send out in our still-dominant natural resources sectors, the Conference Board believes they are good examples of what Canadian companies can achieve abroad, if they put their backs into it. The trouble is, according to the report, not enough companies have a hankering for the global good life.

“Most Canadian companies do not feel the pressing need for offering innovative products to be able to compete in world markets,” the report says. “This lack of global ambition characterizing most businesses is a key reason why our global competitiveness rests on the shoulders of so few companies.”