New Year, New (Local) Habits:

Easy New Brunswick Swaps You’ll Actually Stick To

Shopping local does not have to mean overhauling your entire lifestyle or memorizing every local business within a 100-kilometre radius. In fact, supporting local businesses can be as simple as a few thoughtful swaps you make during your regular routines.

Whether you are running errands, planning a weekend, or restocking household essentials, here are quick, low-effort ways to trade big box and national brands for local options, without sacrificing quality, convenience, or fun.

Your Morning Coffee (The Easiest Win)

Swap the the double-double drive-thru for a local café.

If your order includes a “double-double” and muscle memory pulls you into the same drive-thru every morning, this one’s for you. Swapping that routine stop for a local café doesn’t require waking up earlier or learning a complicated new order—just pulling into a different parking lot.

New Brunswick cafés are brewing great coffee, roasting locally, and creating spaces that feel more like a community than a queue.

Here are some of our favourites!

Like to brew your coffee at home? Try out some coffee beans from local roasters:

• Epoch Chemistry
• Picadilly Coffee Roasters
• Duck Duck Coffee Roasters
• Java Moose Coffee Roasters
• Saltwinds Coffee Roasters

Delivery Nights and Fast-Food Cravings

Swap out the late-night delivery app scroll for a local eatery.

When dinner plans fall apart and the couch wins, it’s easy to open that app, scroll past the same familiar logos, and reorder the same burger and fries you’ve had a hundred times.

Next time, try skipping the app and heading straight to a local diner, pub, or food truck instead. You’ll still get the comfort food you’re craving (just with fresher ingredients, bigger portions, and fewer mysterious service fees.)

Check out some of our favourites:

Groceries Without a Full Personality Change

When the big box Stores aren't so super, switch to a local grocery store or market!

Grocery shopping is already enough work. This isn’t about visiting five stores or suddenly growing your own vegetables.

Instead, try redirecting part (or all) of your weekly shop to a local grocery store, neighbourhood market, or farmers’ market. These spots often carry locally grown produce, New Brunswick–made products, and familiar staples, just without the warehouse-sized aisles.

Even swapping one grocery run a month makes a difference, especially when you’re buying from businesses that live and work in your community.

Visit some of these local markets and grocers on your next shop (be sure to check the opening dates/times of markets before heading out!)

The “I Need a Gift and I Need It Yesterday” Moment

Swap overnight shipping for local shops and makers

We’ve all been there. A birthday sneaks up, an invitation appears, or you suddenly remember you said you’d bring something. The reflex is to open a familiar website, click “buy now,” and hope it arrives in time.

Local shops offer a better solution—no tracking numbers required. From handmade goods to thoughtfully curated finds, New Brunswick retailers make it easy to grab something meaningful without waiting days (or paying for express shipping).

Check out some of our favourite local finds:

Raising a Glass to Local

Swap out your usual six-pack for something brewed closer to home.

When it’s time to unwind, it’s easy to grab what you always do. But New Brunswick brewers, cider makers, and distillers are offering creative, small-batch options worth trying—often made with local ingredients.

Pick up something local at the liquor store, or (even better) stop in at a local winery, cidery, brewery or distillery!

Sip some of our local favourites:

Choose Local Swaps

Shopping local doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s about small swaps, familiar routines, and choosing local when it’s easy to do so. One coffee, one meal, or one gift at a time, those choices add up, and make New Brunswick a better place to live, work, and explore.