Canadian hazelnut producers hoping to join the mix

While much of Canada’s food and beverage industry has been hit by disruptions caused by the pandemic, the country’s chocolate processors and hazelnut producers hope to benefit from a combination of consumer indulgence and a growing “buy local” trend.

“Chocolate and hazelnuts are two delicious things that go very well together,” says Erica Gilmour, owner and bar smith at Hummingbird Chocolate, in Almonte, Ont., conceding Italy has perfected the combination of the two ingredients with its world-famous Nutella spread.

“We are one of the few ‘bean to bar’ chocolate makers in Canada, which means we don’t purchase chocolate that is already made – we import our own cacao beans and make it all from scratch. If we could add Canadian nuts to our product recipes, that would make a lot of business sense for us.”

The pandemic has opened the door for Canadian chocolate makers with new consumer demand for local, convenient, healthy and sustainable foods. Dark chocolate and hazelnuts are part of this select list of powerful foods that consumers are considering for their benefits in reducing the risk of heart disease and as antioxidant-rich foods.

Canada imported 10 million kilograms of hazelnuts in 2020, mainly from Turkey, showing a 25 per cent increase from the previous year. The value of hazelnut imports was $105.8 million in 2020.

Several visionary producers in Ontario have started planting hazelnut orchards. Kevin Hodge is one of them. Hodge is a cash crop producer in Burford, Ont., and he chose hazelnuts to diversify his production.

“I started my hazelnut orchard in 2018, so it will start being profitable in about 10 years,” says Hodge. “I should be retired by then, but I have four children and they all like Nutella. I hope one will take over the hazelnut production and make

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