A look at two grassroots apps—ShopCANADA and Maple Scan—that are helping Canadians identify and support truly local products using crowdsourcing and AI
In early 2025, Canadian developers introduced tools like ShopCANADA, O SCANada, Buy Beaver, and Maple Scan to help shoppers distinguish Canadian-made products. These apps use QR/barcode scans or natural language processing to analyze origins—addressing confusion from shared barcode prefixes.
ShopCANADA, created in Montreal, scans packaging text (e.g., “Manufactured in,” “Bottled in”) to determine product origin. Developer Matt shared that within days, it hit #1 on both the Apple Store and Google Play, accumulating over 100k downloads and 30k crowdsourced ratings.
Meanwhile, Maple Scan, built by Alberta-based Sasha Ivanov, leverages AI to analyze label photos and provide nuanced origin data—not just “Made in Canada,” but also brand ownership, ingredients, and economic impact. Since launching, it has surpassed 110k downloads and 550k product scans.
Together, these tools represent a movement to bolster Canadian consumer confidence and economic loyalty through innovative, grassroots tech solutions.
Grass lawns are pictured along a street in Vancouver in August 2023 during water restrictions. Traditional lawns consisting of groomed turf grass are 'biodiversity deserts,' according to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Tuma is a secure money transfer app designed for the African diaspora. It lets you send money instantly from the UK, Europe, or the US directly to mobile wallets and bank accounts in over 14 African countries.
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