---
title: "A Taste From Home: How Canadians Abroad Are Savouring Comfort Food, One Snack At A Time"
description: Homesick Canadians in the US seek Canadian snacks like ketchup chips and Coffee Crisp. A Florida-based business ships treats that nourish cultural identity.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2025-09-29T11:48:00.000Z
updated: 2026-02-26T22:05:39.630Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/a-taste-from-home-how-canadians-abroad-are-savouring-comfort-food-one-snack-at-a-time
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/hnbo4jsxqay.jpg
categories: Food
content_type: Feature
region: Canada
publication: Rich Woman Magazine
---

Laura stares at the chip aisle in her local Fresh Market, scanning rows of familiar American brands. No ketchup chips anywhere. She checks the international section, still nothing. Twenty-four years after moving to the States, she still finds herself searching for that distinctive tangy-sweet flavour that defined her childhood snacking. It’s a small thing, really, but in that moment, standing in aisle seven, she feels the pull of home more acutely than ever.

Stories like Laura’s play out thousands of times across America, where an estimated few million Canadians now call the United States home. The ache for familiar foods runs deeper than simple preference – [research shows that comfort foods serve as tangible symbols of cultural identity](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7829482/), providing emotional comfort and a sense of belonging while living abroad.

## When Craving Becomes Calling

Ian White knows this feeling intimately. Back in the late 1990s, while living in Florida with dual citizenship, he found himself desperately missing two simple pleasures from home: Strub’s pickles and Tim Hortons coffee. After asking family members to send care packages, a realisation struck him. ‘We felt that if I was missing some of my favourite foods, there must be many more like me who are feeling the same way,’ White recalls.

That personal craving sparked what became CanadianFavourites.com in 1999, an online business connecting homesick Canadians with the tastes they left behind. The company grew through word of mouth, support from Canadian clubs and gained customers including Canadian embassies, celebrities and film sets worldwide. Though White sold the original business in 2008, the pandemic prompted him to restart with CanadianFoodtoUsa.com, offering an even larger selection to fellow expatriates.

## The Snacks That Unite Us

Some foods transcend borders, creating unexpected connections between Canadians and Americans. White’s t-shirt slogan captures it perfectly: ‘What Unites Us Is Greater Than What Divides Us.’ The truth is, Americans have developed their own obsessions with Canadian treats.

[Ketchup chips, a uniquely Canadian invention from the 1970s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup_chip), combine tomato powder, garlic, onion and spices into a sweet, smoky, tangy experience that simply doesn’t exist in American snack aisles. ‘Our coffee, candy and ketchup chips are very popular with Americans,’ White explains, ‘as are some of our cereals which are free of certain additives and dyes.’ [Other snack entrepreneurs are finding similar success](https://richwoman.co/article/tortilla-chips-for-the-table-simplyprotein-s-plant-powered-snack-brings-crunch-to-every-occas) by focusing on what makes their products special.

Then there’s [Coffee Crisp, the iconic Canadian chocolate bar created in 1938](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_Crisp), with its layered vanilla wafers and foamed coffee-flavoured candy covered in milk chocolate. With over 150 million bars produced annually, it remains as distinctly Canadian as maple syrup. Other cult favourites include Dempster’s Malt Bread (surprisingly popular, White notes), all-dressed chips, Nanaimo bars, Jos Louis cakes and Hawkins Cheezies.

### The Psychology Behind The Craving

The appeal goes beyond taste. [Psychologists explain that expats miss home country foods not just for flavour but because they represent identity, culture and emotional well-being](https://www.therapyinbarcelona.com/why-do-internationals-miss-food-from-their-passport-country-exploring-the-psychology-of-food-and-identity/). Food nostalgia helps maintain that crucial connection to roots, especially when everything else feels foreign. [Creative food innovators understand this emotional connection](https://richwoman.co/article/how-one-woman-s-snack-fix-became-a-patent-regina-ragonese-s-crunchy-new-chapter) and build their products around it.

## Stories From The Heart

The most rewarding part of White’s work comes from customer connections. When he restarted the business during the pandemic, something wonderful happened – original customers from the first venture began discovering them again. ‘It’s been a lot of fun reconnecting and catching up after all these years and they are still ordering the same products!’ he shares.

These aren’t just transactions; they’re relationships built around shared memories. A woman in Texas still orders the same butter tarts she discovered 15 years ago. A couple in California makes their monthly Timbits order like clockwork. Each package carries more than snacks – it carries a piece of home. [Building genuine connections between people](https://richwoman.co/article/how-three-friends-built-a-community-where-neighbours-share-a-life-not-just-a-building-and-why) who share common experiences creates lasting bonds.

Customer suggestions have become integral to building the product catalogue. When someone writes asking for a specific childhood favourite, White and his team try to source it. This collaborative approach has created a community where homesickness becomes connection.

Today, CanadianFoodtoUsa.com stocks over 900 products ranging from chocolate and chips to bakery items, cereals, sauces, jams and beverages. The top sellers remain telling: all-dressed and ketchup chips, chocolate, cereal and cookies – the comfort foods that bridge childhood memories with adult realities.

The operation runs seamlessly despite crossing international borders. Registered with the FDA and protected under CUSMA trade agreements, packages arrive without the hassle expatriates once faced trying to source Canadian favourites. Whether you’re a snowbird wintering in Arizona or a permanently transplanted Canadian in Chicago, that taste of home is just an order away.

[Canadian snacks like Hawkins Cheezies and Hickory Sticks hold special places in Canadian hearts](https://www.saveur.com/canada-best-snacks-candy/) precisely because they can’t be replicated elsewhere. The business has expanded beyond homesick Canadians to include Americans who discovered these treats during visits north of the border, only to find them unavailable once they returned home.

## Beyond Snacking

‘We really enjoy what we do and although it can be a lot of work, it’s great to connect with Canadians and our American customers every day and to hear their stories,’ White reflects. Each order represents someone’s attempt to bridge the gap between where they are and where they come from. [That connection to place and identity](https://richwoman.co/article/how-a-local-blog-is-inspiring-women-to-fall-back-in-love-with-havre-de-grace-one-story-at-a-t) matters deeply to people living away from home.

People today often live far from where they grew up, making these small comforts matter more than we might expect. [Food nostalgia provides emotional support and familiarity](https://fastercapital.com/content/Food-nostalgia--Savoring-Memories-during-Reverse-Culture-Shock.html), helping people maintain their sense of self while adapting to new places.

For Ian White and his customers, the lesson is simple: home isn’t just where you hang your hat. Sometimes it’s where you hang your ketchup chip packet. Thanks to businesses built on understanding that universal human need for connection and comfort, that taste of home is never as far away as homesickness makes it feel.