The Unico Story: Italian Flavour at Canadian Tables

The story of Unico — from a 1917 Toronto beginning to a leading Canadian Mediterranean-food brand — and what “Mediterranean Foods Since 1917” really means.

Italian flavour at Canadian tables since 1917

Unico was established in 1917 to serve Toronto's growing Mediterranean community. Its founder, Edward Pasquale, had a clear goal: to bring the “culture of Italian eating” to every Canadian table, and to make Unico the country's leading distributor of authentic Mediterranean-style ingredients. More than a century later, that mission still defines the brand.

Milestones

• 1917 — Unico founded in Toronto by Edward Pasquale
• Two generations of Pasquale family ownership
• Later, three successive corporate owners
• 1973 — Sun-Brite Foods founded, producing quality canned tomato products
• 1997 — Sun-Brite Foods acquires Unico, returning it to family management

What the name means

In Italian, unico means “unique” — one of a kind. The brand takes that to heart: traditional, authentic products made with high-quality ingredients, spanning pasta, tomatoes, oils, beans, olives, fish and more.

A Canadian company with Mediterranean roots

Unico is a national, coast-to-coast Canadian company that specializes in Mediterranean-style foods. It sources ingredients internationally to stay true to authentic flavours while remaining, at heart, Canadian. Today, with parent company Sun-Brite Foods, the brand offers over 160 products — a “total meal solution” for Mediterranean cooking.

What Unico stands for

• Authentic Mediterranean flavour, made accessible
• High-quality ingredients and sources
• A full-meal range across the pantry
• Family-managed ownership since 1997
• A Canadian company, Mediterranean at heart

The Unico story, made simple

From a 1917 Toronto beginning to a pantry in kitchens across Canada, Unico has spent over a century bringing Mediterranean flavour to Canadian tables — which is exactly what “Mediterranean Foods Since 1917” means.