Marketing, websites and AI for businesses in Waterloo Region
Market day since the 1830s. Still building.
nuordinary helps established businesses, healthcare practices, manufacturers and nonprofits work out honestly what needs to change, then builds what moves them: strategy, brand, websites, marketing, search, AI and systems. Our head office is in London, Ontario, and we work with organisations in Waterloo Region and across Canada.
Three cities, one economy.
Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge are the region’s three cities, with four townships around them. Between 2016 and 2021 the region grew 9.7%, faster than Ontario’s 5.8%.
Mennonite settlers held outdoor markets in Berlin in the 1830s. In 1916, during the First World War, Berlin became Kitchener.
The University of Waterloo opened in 1957 with co-op education built in from the start. Its Velocity incubator has backed more than 1,200 founders and over 500 companies.
Who’s building here
A few of the people and places building Waterloo Region:
[01] The makers
Cookies since 1892.
Charles Doerr started making cookies and candies in Berlin in 1892. When fire destroyed the plant in 1943, his grandson Carl rebuilt it the same year. Two years later the company became Dare. It’s still private, still based in Kitchener, and sells in more than 50 other countries.
This summer FedDev Ontario put nearly $40.5 million into 23 businesses and organisations across the Waterloo and Brant regions, to help them expand and compete.
Making it is the hard part. Being found for it shouldn’t be.
[02] The people who care for people
A hospital in Galt since 1888.
Cambridge Memorial Hospital began in 1888 as Galt Hospital, which it calls the region’s first community hospital. In 2024-25 its teams welcomed 1,567 babies and handled 47,220 emergency visits.
Waterloo Regional Health Network is planning a new hospital at the David Johnston Research + Technology Park in Waterloo. Its planners say the region will need more than 500 additional hospital beds over the next two decades.
Around them are the clinics, practices and allied health professionals people see every week. Their job is care. The website, the booking and the paperwork should make that easier, not harder.
[03] The main streets
The town made room for the market in 1869.
In 1869 Berlin’s council set aside $7,000 for a town hall that would also house the market. Today the Kitchener Market runs every Saturday at 300 King Street East.
Uptown Waterloo formed its business improvement area in 1972, and Downtown Kitchener’s is now the largest in the region. In Cambridge, Downtown Galt’s shops line Main, Water and Ainslie streets.
This autumn Oktoberfest ran for the 58th time, from 25 September to 17 October.
Owners on these streets run the shop, the books, the staff and the social media. They shouldn’t have to figure all of it out alone.
[04] The organisations working for something bigger
621,854 visits. The most on record.
The Food Bank of Waterloo Region recorded 621,854 hamper visits between July 2024 and June 2025, the highest number on record and up 205% since 2019. More than a third of the people it serves are children. CEO Kim Wilhelm: “Food assistance is no longer just a short-term safety net.”
It relies on 4,800 volunteers.
The Waterloo Region Community Foundation made 1,175 grants worth $7.6 million to 434 organisations in 2025.
Small teams carry a lot. The systems behind them should carry some of it.
Good work, recognised.
The Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce runs awards for the region’s small businesses. Its 2025 Small Business Award winners:
Congratulations to every one of them.
We want to tell more of these stories in our Field Notes. If you’re building something in Waterloo Region, tell us about it.
Building here isn’t always easy.
- 01
Unemployment in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo was 8.6% in March 2026, against 6.7% nationally.
- 02
Waterloo EDC estimates that 60,000 to 70,000 jobs in the region are exposed to US tariffs (2026).
- 03
Food bank visits have tripled since 2019.
- 04
The region will need more than 500 more hospital beds over the next two decades, says the team planning its new hospital.
Those pressures land differently on everyone:
A business owner needs more revenue without more hours in the week.
A manufacturer could serve new markets but struggles to show buyers what it makes.
A practice wants to see more patients with a team that’s already stretched.
A nonprofit needs more supporters without more work for its staff.
Different problems. Different answers. Sometimes the first step is to stop adding activity and work out what will actually make a difference.
Where Waterloo Region owners get help
There’s real help in the region for owners and founders:
Programmes and eligibility change, so check with each one directly.
Sometimes the most useful thing we can do is point you to the right resource, even when that resource isn’t us.
Waterloo Region is part of a bigger region.
Waterloo Region
How nuordinary works with Waterloo Region organisations.
nuordinary’s head office is in London, Ontario. We take on work across the province and the rest of Canada, Waterloo Region included.
You know your organisation better than anyone else does. Our job isn’t to arrive with a package. It’s to understand what you’ve built, where you want to go and what’s in between.
See where you are. Define what comes next. Build what gets you there. Measure the movement.
- Local businesses
- Easier for the right customers to find you and choose you, with systems that don’t depend on you for everything.
- Healthcare practices
- Easier for patients to find you and book, with less paperwork for your team.
- Manufacturers
- Complex capabilities explained clearly, to the buyers who need them.
- Nonprofits
- A mission that’s easier to find, support and sustain.
Capabilities that fit what’s happening in Waterloo Region: lead generation, AI implementation, brand identity, ecommerce and brand strategy.
Questions
Can nuordinary work with organisations in Waterloo Region?
Yes. nuordinary is based in London, Ontario, and takes on work for established businesses, healthcare practices, manufacturers and nonprofits across Ontario and the rest of Canada, Waterloo Region included.
What can nuordinary help a Waterloo Region business with?
Strategy, brand, websites, marketing, SEO and AI search visibility, AI and automation, and better systems. We start with the outcome you want, then choose the capabilities that get you there.
Can you help a manufacturer in Kitchener or Cambridge?
Yes. Manufacturers often need help explaining what they make to new buyers, getting found for it and following up on enquiries properly. With tariffs reshaping markets, finding new customers is often the place to start. nuordinary doesn’t give trade or legal advice.
Can you work with Waterloo Region nonprofits?
Yes. Nonprofits are one of the four kinds of organisation nuordinary focuses on. With food bank visits at a record, systems that let a small team do more are often the place to start.
How do we start?
Start a conversation. You don’t need a brief or a list of services. Tell us what’s happening and what you’d like to change.
Other places we celebrate
Sources (28)
- City of Waterloo, 2021 census report (opens in a new tab)
- Regional Municipality of Waterloo (opens in a new tab)
- Kitchener, Ontario (opens in a new tab)
- Kitchener Market, history (opens in a new tab)
- University of Waterloo, co-op history (opens in a new tab)
- University of Waterloo, Velocity momentum (18 June 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Dare Foods (opens in a new tab)
- Government of Canada, FedDev Waterloo and Brant investments (23 July 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Cambridge Memorial Hospital, about (opens in a new tab)
- WRHN, Waterloo Region’s new hospital (opens in a new tab)
- Community Edition, business improvement areas (7 July 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest (opens in a new tab)
- Food Bank of Waterloo Region, hunger in Waterloo Region (opens in a new tab)
- Food Bank of Waterloo Region, record demand (6 November 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Waterloo Region Community Foundation (opens in a new tab)
- Greater KW Chamber, past award winners (opens in a new tab)
- Unemployment in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (11 April 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- CTV Kitchener, jobs exposed to tariffs (opens in a new tab)
- Waterloo Region Small Business Centre (opens in a new tab)
- City of Kitchener, Summer Company (4 May 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- Government of Ontario, Starter Company Plus (opens in a new tab)
- Communitech (opens in a new tab)
- Accelerator Centre (opens in a new tab)
- Futurpreneur, core startup programme (opens in a new tab)
- St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market (opens in a new tab)
- Township of Woolwich, Elmira Maple Syrup Festival (opens in a new tab)
- Mennonite Archives of Ontario, Ontario Mennonite Relief Sale (opens in a new tab)
- Parks Canada, Stratford Festival (opens in a new tab)
Where next for your Waterloo Region organisation?
Dare started with cookies in 1892. The Kitchener Market started outdoors in the 1830s. Tell us where you’re starting from, and where you want to go.
Fig. 07. An ION light rail train on a winter night test, 2018. Credit