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An Ontario ice cream company says it will replace more than 70 per cent of its American ingredients and won’t increase prices for two years.
Chapman’s Ice Cream is shifting away from American suppliers as the trade dispute between Canada and the United States continues. The family-owned company also says it won’t raise prices for its ice cream until March 2028.
It began looking for alternatives to U.S. suppliers in March 2025, when the first round of tariffs from the Trump administration was announced, CEO Ashley Chapman said.
“We made a statement at that time that we weren’t raising prices and we were going to start this journey. And here we are. We have not been sitting idle. We have been working very hard,” Chapman told CBC’s London Morning on Thursday.
The company said it’s on track to replace more than 70 per cent of its American ingredients and components with Canadian or non-U.S. sources by mid-2027.
One of the biggest changes involves sugar cones.
There are no producers of industrial sugar cones in Canada, so the company partnered with Original Foods, a company outside Hamilton, to bring in a cone oven, Chapman said.
“We are going to be the only company in Canada who has a 100 per cent Canadian cone line.”
The company is also moving production of wafers used in its ice cream sandwiches to Canada, and is sourcing ingredients such as almonds from Australia and cherries from Chile.
Ashley Chapman, CEO of Chapman’s Ice Cream, says trade dispute between Canada and the U.S. has prompted Canadian companies like Chapman’s to reconsider what they produce domestically. (Chapman’s Ice Cream)
The trade dispute has prompted Canadian companies like Chapman’s to reconsider what they produce domestically, he said.
“The first round last year of tariffs really opened the eyes of a lot of industry in Canada. Companies that we’ve known for years that would never consider producing certain products, suddenly they were saying, ‘You know what, maybe we should look at this.’”
He said some of the changes have also proved to be more affordable than expected.
“It’s crazy what this has done for businesses in this country. Almonds from Australia, are you crazy? How is that possible that we could get an even better price, plus freight, from Australia instead of the United States? So we’re finding a lot of opportunities out there.”
Chapman said some of the changes are long-term commitments, including the five-year contract for Canadian-made cones.
Chapman’s is also working to make its production more efficient to help control costs, he added.
“I am fully confident that we are going to make it to the other side of this.”
The company said it will continue to use 100 per cent Canadian dairy in its ice cream.
