Compliance support for convenience and grocery stores (2024)

Here are some important steps you will take to prepare your store and staff, and to sell alcohol responsibly.

Post your licence and Sandy’s Law poster

You must post your AGCO liquor retailer licence and the Sandy’s Law poster in a place that is visible to customers. Learn more about the Sandy’s Law signage requirement.

When you work with the LCBO, they will support you in fulfilling your recycling signage requirement.

Keep clear records of purchases and sales

Keep the following records and make them available upon request by AGCO inspectors:

Read the Registrar’s Standards for Grocery Store and Convenience Store Licensees to learn more about your record keeping requirements.

Buy alcohol wholesale through the LCBO

You will need to work with the LCBO to arrange for the purchase of liquor products that you sell under your licence. When we issue a new licence, we notify the LCBO and share your contact information with them. The LCBO will reach out to you to guide you through the process of ordering products.

Wholesale products only

You are only permitted to sell beverage alcohol products in your store that have been purchased through your business account with the LCBO. You cannot buy alcohol from an LCBO retail location and sell it at your store. Only products ordered and paid for through the LCBO’s online ordering system are allowed to be sold.

If you have questions about products, or ordering and distribution, please direct them to the LCBO. Visit the LCBO’s website for businesses to learn more about working with the LCBO.

Product offering is limited to beer, cider, wine and ready-to-drink beverages. Spirits may not be sold in a grocery or convenience store.

You also cannot sell a brand of liquor that you (or your affiliates) have a direct or indirect financial interest in the brand or its trademark.

Displaying alcohol products

Energy drinks should not be displayed alongside alcohol products and must be placed in a separate area of the store.

On the shelf

Alcohol on display must meet shelf space requirements related to the product display category.

• Beer: ≥20% of beer containers on display is beer produced by small breweries
• Cider: ≥20% of cider containers on display is cider produced by small cideries
• Ready-to-drink beverages: ≥20% ready-to-drink beverage containers on display must be beverages produced by small breweries, small distilleries or small wineries
• Wine: ≥10% of wine containers on display is produced by small wineries. Additionally:
  • ≥40% of the wine on display is produced using grapes from a single country and at least one of the following:
    1. the wine is quality assurance wine,
    2. the wine was produced by a small winery, or
    3. the country where the grapes were grown produces, in the aggregate, less than 150 million litres of wine annually from grapes grown in that country.

Note: the LCBO will identify which alcohol products are produced by small manufacturers in their catalogue, including which wine products will meet display requirements.

When an AGCO Inspector visits your store, they will:

• count the number of front facing bottles / cans on display
• count how many are from small manufacturers
• calculate the % small / craft of products from the total number of bottles / cans

Storing alcohol products

Required:

• Alcohol inventory that is not on display must be stored in a secure storage area somewhere on or off the premises that is not accessible to the public. You must let the AGCO know (via iAGCO) where you will store liquor if it isn’t at your retail location. Liquor can’t be stored in your home or any other dwelling.
• Liquor that has been ordered for pick-up or delivery has to come from the store’s on-site inventory.

You decide:

• Whether coolers or storage areas need to be locked.
• Whether to store alcohol warm or cold.

Advertising

All advertising must comply with the requirements outlined in the LLCA, its regulations and the Registrar’s Standards for Grocery and Convenience Stores.

Here are some examples of what is permitted under the requirements. You may advertise:

• That you have alcohol for sale
• The brands you carry
• Prices, including discounts or deals (always above the legal minimum price)
• Inside and outside your store
• Alcohol with food or non-alcoholic beverages (excluding energy drinks)
• The responsible use of alcohol

Here are some examples of what is not permitted under the requirements. Your advertising cannot:

• Associate drinking with driving, or with any activity that requires care and skill or has elements of danger.
• Appeal to minors.
• Offer free or discounted merchandise that requires the purchase of alcohol

Learn more about advertising by reading the Guide for Grocery Store and Convenience Store Licensees: Advertising and Inducements.

Inducements and relationships with liquor manufacturers

You can work with liquor manufacturers on supply/demand planning, forecasting and category management related to liquor products in your store so long as no party is paid for these services.

• Compensation or non-monetary benefits in exchange for things like:
  • Advertising any specific brands
  • Agreeing to carry a manufacturer’s products
  • Exclusively carrying certain brands or products
  • Offering special or exclusive placement on shelves
• Free items or services for your business operations like, furniture, lighting, fridges, coolers, signage, staff uniforms, shelf stocking, and renovations.

Learn more about inducements and incentives by reading the Guide for Grocery Store and Convenience Store Licensees: Advertising and Inducements.