To launch your own coffee brand in Canada, decide first whether you will roast in-house, partner with a contract roaster, or white-label; this choice sets your capital needs, MOQs, and speed to market. Register a business number and GST/HST, secure trademark clearance via CIPO, and, if you will import green coffee, obtain a CFIA Safe Food for Canadians (SFCR) import licence and write a preventive control plan; for in-province roasting, confirm public-health food-premises requirements. Lock reliable green suppliers or a Canadian roaster that offers profile development, sample roasting, cupping, and consistent MOQs (e.g., 300-1,000 bags). Build packaging with degassing valves, batch/roast dates, metric net quantity (e.g., 340 g), bilingual common name, dealer name and address, and a GS1 UPC; unflavoured coffee is typically exempt from a Nutrition Facts table, but flavoured or sweetened SKUs require one. Target unit economics: COGS at <=35% of retail, wholesale margins near 40%, DTC gross margin >=65%; ship via Canada Post flat-rate or regional 3PLs (Toronto/Vancouver) to hit sub-$12 delivery. Start with 2-3 SKUs (light, medium, decaf), dial profiles with cuppings, and launch on Shopify with subscriptions and pre-paid bundles. Validate with cafes and offices, collect batch-level feedback, then scale with seasonal microlots and corporate gifting.
