Great question! And you’ve come to the right place to get an answer. A POCO is a Product Of Canadian Origin – a term we use to describe products that bear one of the following three labels: “Product of Canada”, “Made in Canada”, or “Assembled in Canada”. A POCO product is a consumer product that has all or some of its manufacturing process occurring within Canada!

POCO: Product of Canadian Origin. A POCO includes products “Made in Canada”, “Assembled in Canada”, and “Products of Canada”.

Let’s take a closer look:

Product of Canada: A product that has had it’s last substantial transformation happen within Canada, and the vast majority (>98%) of the manufacturing cost has been incurred in Canada. Products bearing this label are very Canadian.

Made in Canada: A product that has had it’s final substantial transformation happen within Canada, and the majority (>51%) of the manufacturing cost has been incurred within Canada. This label is generally used with a qualifying statement indicating that imported materials were used in the production of the product (ex. “Made in Canada of domestic and imported goods”). Products bearing this label are Canadian with a some international zest!

Assembled in Canada: Some of the manufacturing cost associated with producing the product have been incurred within Canada, but it is less than 51% and therefore can not bear the “Made in Canada” label. These products are more international than domestic.

The Competition Bureau provides a more in-depth (and long-winded) explanation of the above labeling categories here.

Another great question which we will explore over the course of the next few blog posts. For now, here’s the Reader’s Digest Version:

POCOs.ca promotes POCOs – Products Of Canadian Origin and discusses the importance of buying locally on a national level – buying canadian!

- Kevin
  POCOs.ca