The holiday season is one of the most important times of year for our local businesses. When you shop at local innovative startups during the holidays, you’re doing more than crossing names off your gift list; you’re directly fueling innovation in our community.
Every purchase helps founders test ideas, improve their products, and grow sustainable businesses. For early-stage entrepreneurs, holiday sales often become the turning point that allows them to reinvest, scale, and take their next big step. Your holiday dollar doesn’t just buy a gift; it supports creativity and innovation right here at home.
How Your Purchases Drive Local Innovation:
They help founders validate ideas.
Early-stage manufacturers, and food producers depend heavily on real-world customer feedback. A busy season of holiday purchases tells them which products resonate, what needs improvement, and where they should go next. In many cases, holiday sales become a live testing ground, helping entrepreneurs refine their ideas based on actual demand.
They fund the next version of a product.
Strong seasonal sales give small businesses the breathing room they need to reinvest in growth. This might include upgrading equipment, improving production processes, trying new ingredients, or refining packaging and branding. Your purchase becomes the fuel behind better, more innovative products that will launch in the new year.
They support local jobs and future talent.
Buying products from local startups directly contributes to job creation and business expansion. As demand increases, businesses often bring on seasonal employees, part-time staff, or even their first full-time team members.
Additionally, supporting youth entrepreneurs, whether through school markets or youth programs, also inspires confidence at a crucial stage. A single sale can be the moment a young entrepreneur realizes their ideas matter.
They strengthen entire local industries.
Purchases from tech developers, artists, bakers, Indigenous entrepreneurs, and small-batch manufacturers help diversify and stabilize the regional economy. Your holiday shopping contributes to a ripple effect, supporting not just the maker, but local suppliers, growers, designers, and the innovation ecosystem around them. Buying local strengthens the entire foundation of our community.
Creative Ways to Support Local:
Holiday gifting becomes more meaningful, and far more impactful, when it supports the people building unique products and fresh ideas right here at home. Here are some simple but innovative ways to weave local support into your holiday giving:
Gift Meaningful Local Products
- Curate your own “Local Innovation Gift Basket.”
Mix and match artisan foods, small-batch wellness items, candles, handmade soaps, craft drinks, or locally produced treats. - Choose items from early-stage makers launching their first product lines.
Your purchase helps them validate their ideas and keep growing. - Include products from youth entrepreneurs.
It’s a unique way to encourage the next generation of creators and innovators.
Think Outside the Traditional Gift Box
- Pre-orders for 2025 — a forward-thinking way to support small businesses with early cash flow and planning.
- Corporate gifts sourced entirely from local makers.
Perfect for workplaces that want to show community pride while supporting small businesses.
Why It Matters
When you choose local this season, you’re helping real people build real businesses, the kind that bring creativity, resilience, and new ideas to Northwestern Ontario. Holiday dollars are more than transactions; they’re investments in our community’s future and the type of region we want to build.
The more we support local entrepreneurs now, the more innovative, diverse, and vibrant our community becomes. This holiday season, let your spending spark new ideas, fuel growth, and help local businesses thrive.
By Abby Sherlock, December 1st, 2025
