Canadians like it firmer, blander, and not as sweet as our American counterparts.

At least that’s what Starbucks studies have found.

“Canadians have a different palate,” wrote Starbucks public affairs director Luisa Girotto in an email.

When companies release new menu items, usually in the U.S., they don’t always come to Canada and if they do, it’s often much later on.

But it’s not that Canadians are getting left out. Rather, companies do extensive research on what’s popular in various regions. And Canada is decidedly different than the U.S.

At Starbucks, drink menus in the two countries are similar though some items, like blonde roast coffee, are more popular in Canada.

But when it comes to food, Canadians outside Quebec like things less sweet and more neutral. The exception is holiday treats, which Canadians like with more spice, especially ginger and cinnamon, according to Girotto. Canadians also like muffins that are firmer and more crumbly, with real fruit and sugar toppings.

Canadians aren’t into Mountain Dew breakfast drinks or the dragon fruit flavoured Pepsi X, according to PepsiCo, which has released those drinks south of the border but has no plans to do so in Canada.

At PepsiCo, many products are developed and released in the U.S. and then picked up by other countries, if it suits their preferences.

“Each country makes its own call about which U.S. products to introduce, and many countries create their own innovation and share it with other markets,” said an email from Sandy Lyver, communications manager at PepsiCo Canada.

The company launched a U.S. contest to pick a new chip flavour, selling Chicken and Waffle, Sriracha and Cheesy Garlic Bread chips for a limited time after which consumers can vote on which will stick.

But those flavours won’t be available north of the border—Canada is getting its own “pick your flavour” campaign.

A 2010 consumer profile by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada noted that Americans tend to place high priority on food that’s tasty, convenient and cheap, while nutrition and quality were higher priorities north of the border.

Canadians consumed 80.3 kilograms of fruit per person in 2009 — almost 25 kilograms more than the average American.

Similarly, the average Canadian ate 113.4 kilograms of vegetables in a year, compared to the U.S. average of 67.5 kilograms.

Canadians eat nearly four times the amount of seafood but less meat.

It used to be Canadians were teetotallers when compared to Americans. But increases in Canada and drops in the U.S. have left the two nations almost on par when it comes to alcohol consumption.

Even within Canada, there are regional taste differences, said McDonald’s spokesperson Stephanie Sorensen, citing Atlantic Canada’s McLobster and Quebec’s poutine. The fast food giant recently launched Fish McBites south of the border and is opening vegetarian restaurants in India.

“It really comes down to taste and demographics. We do extensive research,” said Sorensen. “Canada is a different market than the U.S … Different markets will have different products.”

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But Canada doesn’t just get the healthy castoffs of American menus. Starbucks in Canada have oat bars, Nanaimo bars, butter chicken wraps and Thai tuna sandwiches that aren’t sold in the U.S.

Lay’s ketchup chips were invented in Canada, along with Munchies snack mix and Doritos sweet chili tortilla chips. Those items later spread to the American market.

Canada is also the birthplace of Lay’s dill pickle chips. But they’re still sold exclusively here.

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