Inside SIAL Canada 2026: Driving Food Innovation Through Connection and Collaboration
CFIN had the honour of taking a bite out of SIAL Canada 2026 in Montréal 🍎—connecting with partners, members, and industry leaders shaping the future of food innovation across Canada and beyond. Representing CFIN on site were CEO @Dana McCauley and @Julie Daigle , Regional Innovation Director (Quebec), who engaged with the ecosystem throughout the event. Their presence reflected CFIN’s ongoing commitment to strengthening Canada’s food innovation ecosystem and supporting high-potential foodtech ventures. Attendees could also catch Julie as a Foodtech Focus expert at the SIAL Canada Expert Hub, where she connected directly with innovators and shared insights with the community. Dana also took the stage as part of the Dairy Talks program, contributing to a forward-looking discussion on innovation as a driver of market leadership in the Canadian dairy sector. Her session explored the shift from incremental product development toward a broader innovation mindset—highlighting next-generation ingredients, value-added dairy formats, new go-to-market strategies, and the role of Industry 4.0 technologies like AI, robotics, automation, and digital supply chains in strengthening productivity and global competitiveness. A key highlight of the week was CFIN’s involvement in the 7th edition of the Startup Pitch Competition, held on April 30 on the Food & Bev Connect stage. Julie Daigle participated as the President of the Foodtech jury, joining a panel of industry experts evaluating promising entrepreneurs from the Startup Village. Beyond the competition, the Startup Pitch stage served as a strategic platform connecting entrepreneurs with buyers, investors, and key decision-makers across the agri-food ecosystem. A standout moment for the CFIN community was the recognition of Maia Farms, a CFIN member and funding recipient, which earned the Gold Prize in the foodtec h competition 🍄🏆 CFIN’s presence at SIAL Canada underscored the momentum of Canada’s food innovation sector and the value of convening the ecosystem to accelerate ideas from concept to commercialization. 📖 Explore more from SIAL Canada 2026 R elive the stories, innovations, and key moments captured throughout the show in the official SIAL Canada Daily: SIAL Canada Daily – 2026 Edition (Photos Courtesy of SIAL)
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Five Years of CFIN: A Letter to the Network
Thirty years ago, I worked as a chef in the kitchen of one of Canada’s top restaurants standing should er to shoulder with people who ca red about the sensory experience of food above all else . Our tech stack was al most all analog and , to be honest, we didn’t give our ordering system or the way we did inventory a lot of thought. My career broadened over time , and I ’ ve also held roles where I developed recipes at Canadian Living and wrote about food trends; built innovation strategies and products for national brands, founded a business incubator, and ran a venture creation office at a prestigious Canadian u niversity . Food was always the thread , and technology was always present but in most of the food focused businesses I’ve worked for, it was taken for granted, and creativity and hard work were what drove the businesses forward. While smart people with great ideas are essential to food business success, it’s not enough to be competitive in today’s world. Old ways of running restaurants, innovation labs and food and beverage processi ng businesses can’t compete internationally or absorb the trade shocks that have become commonpla ce in recent history. That’s why I feel l ik e CFIN is the perfect place for me to be today and why we’re adding dozens of new members per week. When CFIN was created in 2021, the mandate was intentionally broad : cata lyze Canadian food innovation with funding , build community, connect an ecosystem that had been operating in silos for decades. The funding programs took shape quickly. Since 2022, we’ve awar ded $23.3 million to 133 projects across six program s. For every $1 CFIN invested, our members committed $7.65 of their own capital toward innovation. This leverage ratio of nearly 8-to-1 has unlocked over $140 m illion in private sector spending on R&D and capital infrastructure. The other work was harder to define . What do "build community" and "connect an ecosystem" mean in practice for a sector span ning startups, processors, researchers, investors, policymakers, and operators spread across this vast country ? Th at question didn't have a tidy answer. As a result , fostering and serving this network was (and remains ) an exercise in innovation itself : something new to be built , and then tested, adjusted, and iterated upon , ad infinitum . I’m immensely proud of what we’ve built so far . A team of Regional Innovation Directors who've supported more than 2,200 organizations, brokering the introductions that became commercial partnerships, strategic investments, leadership hires, and research collaborations. A digital platform , YODL, connecting Canada's food sector across industry silos and bridging interprovincial barriers . The first comprehensive analysis of Canadian foodtech . A network of 8,500 members from every province, every part of the food value chain, every stage of business . On any given week, our community is discussing topics ranging from precision fermentation bioreactor designs and funding stacks to food packaging labeling regulations and export strategies, all in the same space. Members benefit from purpose-built tools and resources — like our Funding Finder that aggregates food and beverage funding opportunities across the country and a growing library of original sector research and analysis — alongside direct access to our Regional Innovation Directors. Canada has strong regional funders, accelerators, trade associations, and tech transfer offices, each doing necessary work in a defined lane. What this sector didn't have was a place where the conversation s , the tools, and the connections all showed up at once — where the range of problems and the range of capabilities were dense enough that the right solutions could emerge . That's what CFIN has built. That foundation is important because the next five years will be even more dynamic, and often more challenging, than the last five . To keep pace and flourish in an increasingly volatile world, Canada's food sector needs to modernize faster and more strategic ally than ever before . Trade disruption is dramaticall y reshaping supply chains . L abour constraints are compounding a productivity gap that was widening long before tariffs became front-page news. Climate pressures are intensifying. Food 4.0 — a tech-enabled food s ector that's more collaborative, productive, resilient, and competitive — is the framework CFIN is building toward, and the case for it gets more urgent by the quarter. I ’m confident that we’re up to the task . Five years ago, Canada's food innovation ecosystem was fragmented, underleveraged, and often invisible to the investors, operators, policymakers, and media who needed to see it. That's no longer true. The capacity to respond to the challenges ahead is here. Not in any single program or policy, but in the breadth of this network — the founders , processors , researchers , and investo rs who are hungry to innovate and build a better Canadian food sector . My own wide-ranging path through the food sector taught me that no single role ever showed me the full picture. It took working across kitchens, labs, newsrooms, boardrooms, and startups to understand how innovation really moves through this industry — and where it get s stuck. CFIN was built on the same insight. A sector this complex, facing challenges this urgent, needs more than funding or advice or connections in isolation. It needs all of them in the same room. That's what we've spent five years building, and I'm betting the next five will prove its value at a scale none of us can yet imagine. Thank you for being part of it. Dana McCauley, CEO, Canadian Food Innovation Network
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How BC is Becoming a National Foodtech Hub
Editor's Note: This article was o riginally published in the Vancouver Tech Journal on March 13, 2026 The province has a diverse food processing industry, world-class research facilities, and a deep bench of tech talent — everything a foodtech ecosystem needs to thrive. Foodtech builds the software, automation, and applied science for how food gets processed, manufactured, packaged, distributed, and sold. The industry behind it is enormous — food and beverage processing alone is Canada's largest manufacturing sub-sector , bigger than automotive, bigger than aerospace. It's a serious market, and in British Columbia, it's growing fast. But if you work in the province's broader tech ecosystem, you might not even know that. Foodtech hasn't traditionally drawn the same attention as sectors like cleantech or enterprise SaaS despite being a comparable market in scale and complexity — and one where demand for new technology is accelerating fast. What BC brings to the table BC's food processing sector is substantial — over 3,200 companies producing roughly $12.6 billion in value-added products annually. And it's being treated as a strategic priority. The province has funded a network of shared food processing hubs, UBC just opened a Food and Beverage Innovation Centre with pilot-scale production labs that processors and startups previously had to leave BC to access, and SFU's BC Centre for Agritech Innovation is partnering directly with SMEs on cost-shared R&D. At the same time, much of what the food industry needs is already being built in BC for other thriving tech sectors. Process automation, energy management, supply chain software, safety and traceability systems, data-driven quality control — these are cleantech and software problems applied to production floors and distribution networks. The talent, research base, and trade infrastructure to support a serious foodtech cluster are all here. A different kind of tech sector Foodtech doesn't work like enterprise SaaS or consumer tech. Processors and manufacturers adopt slowly and carefully, because failure is expensive in ways that go beyond lost revenue — a food safety issue, a botched line integration, a regulatory problem. Sales cycles run in quarters. The investor community that understands food is small and specialized. And the industry's own networks run through trade associations, existing supply relationships, and sector-specific events that sit well outside the broader tech community's orbit. None of this means foodtech is closed off. It means that if you want in — as a founder, investor, developer, or potential partner — you need a way to access the conversations, the deal flow, and the operating knowledge that don't surface through the usual channels. The Canadian Food Innovation Network The Canadian Food Innovation Network is a national not-for-profit, established in 2021 that functions as the operating infrastructure for Canada's foodtech sector. CFIN runs cost-shared funding programs that help companies de-risk R&D and move technology into commercial settings. Since launch , the organization has awarded over $22 million to 122 Canadian foodtech projects, matched by $25 million in industry co-investment. Those funded companies have generated $90 million in economic impact, created over 355 jobs and co-op placements, and attracted more than $82 million in follow-on investment. The network's 8,000-plus members include food processors, technology companies, ingredient suppliers, retailers, researchers, and investors — connected through YODL, CFIN's member platform, and supported by Regional Innovation Directors embedded across the country, who work directly with members to broker introductions, navigate funding, and connect emerging technology with the processors and buyers who need it. CFIN also produces the sector's most detailed intelligence . The Foodtech in Canada 2025 Ecosystem Report mapped investment flows, identified sector strengths, and gave both companies and investors a clearer picture of where the Canadian foodtech market stands. And then there's Foodtech Frontier , CFIN's annual program identifying the country's highest-potential foodtech companies. The inaugural cohort of 35 winners included eight BC companies. For investors, it works as curated, vetted deal flow in a sector where sourcing is otherwise hard. For the companies, it's structured national visibility. Plug into Canada’s foodtech ecosystem If you work in technology or investment and you've been curious about the food sector, then signing up for a free CFIN membership is the best place to start. Members get access to funding programs, sector intelligence, a national innovation community, and regional team members that know the BC landscape specifically.
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Other Articles
IN 30 – Cobots
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . Sometimes, all it takes is 30 minutes to learn the ins and outs of new food technologies and trends that are transforming the food and beverage industry. In this series, we’ll dig into a food innovation topic and link you to content and resources so you can become a master on the topic in 30 minutes (or less!). This week, we’re looking at the use of cobots , collaborative robotic systems that work alongside human workers, and their use in the food industry . The Overview WiredWorkers - What is a cobot? The ultimate collaborative robot guide Learn how cobots differ from robots, and how their use can benefit any manufacturing operation. WiredWorkers - Cobots in the foo d industry A deeper dive into the ways cobots are being used in the food and beverage industry to solve common challenges such as labour shortages and safety concerns. Collaborative Robotics - 7 reasons why manufacturers should invest in cobots Even more reasons why food companies are looking at cobots to boost efficiency and ensure product consistency. The Canadian Connection Cyberworks Robotics provides autonomous self-driving technology for material handling forklifts and tow-tuggers as well as industrial floor scrubbers. Kinova produces robotics including the Link 6, a collaborative robot designed to work with grippers, vacuum applications, weld tips and other cobot tools. Social Medi a @Universal_Robot (Twitter) Denmark’s Universal Robot offers cobots for food manufacturing worldwide. Cobotnation (Instagram) Cobot Nation creates custom designed automation systems for a range of industries. Overtime If you’ve got more than 30 minutes, these are for you: YouTube – What are Cobots?
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Staff Picks – Adrianne Assenheim
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . A lot of material comes across our desks at CFIN, and we love to share new information with YODLers! This one in a series of articles highlighting what CFIN staff are reading, listening to, watching, and posting. This time we’re checking in with CFIN’s Communications Specialist Adrianne Assenheim . What are you reading? Lately I have been devouring Lenore Newman’s Lost Feast: Culinary Extinction and the Future of Food . Her books are as delicious as a beach read, and as filling as the OG Noma tasting menu! I also spend a lot of time leafing through my cookbooks (which I never follow but am very inspired by) to soak up tips on zero-waste cooking, foraged / local / seasonal produce and preserving. Most recently I have been gravitating to Love and Lemons Everyday in preparation from what I hope will be a big heirloom veg gie haul from our garden this year. I’ve also been reading up on using foraged plants for pigments in art . What are you listening to? I’ll be honest, I spend most of my spare listening time turning my dogged curiosity to pondering cold cases , so lately it’s been a lot of Buried Bones , Tenfold More Wicked and CBC True Crime podcasts. Otherwise, you’ll find me on Spotify listening to anything I can belt out. Singing keeps me present. Who are you following? It’s officially veggie gardening time in Ontario, so I am mostly following heirloom gardeners like @poppy.okotcha . I can’t get enough of her content. What are you watching? When I need a hit of dreamy regenerative ag, I’ll watch The Biggest Little Farm again and again, but I’ve been catching up on Schmigadoon! and Only Murders in the Building lately as I get ready for a juicy summer of The Great and Bridgerton . I am always interested in how creatives choose to tell stories visually, so I tend to consume anything and everything I can, when I’m not chasing my two kiddos, shoemaking or gardening. What are you posting about? I’ve been turning to YODL for great advice on podcasts to listen to now that the weather is nice enough to walk the dog for more than a minute. Our members always have their fingers on the pulse of the food industry, and are so open with their advice!
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AI + Food – Savormetrics
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . This series showcases Canadian foodtech companies that are using AI to solve a wide variety of industry challenges, including improving efficiency, pricing analysis, inventory management, quality control, food safety assurance and more. In this installment, we’re featuring Mississauga, ON-based Savormetrics . What They Do The company offers r eal- t ime bi ophysical and b iochemical q uality a nalysis through FoodSafe Analyzers, a fully integrated, food quality analysis tool. The integration of cutting-edge hardware and software technology allows for non-destructive quantitative and qualitative measurements of fresh food products. The tool works by extracting and analyzing t he desired biochemical and biophysical quality metrics using advanced artificial intelligence algorithms. The company’s team of food scientists and engineers then train the algorithms to help achieve the desired business outcomes. How They're Using AI Savormetrics applies advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to: Develop new, more meaningful food quality metrics Develop taste metrics Predict shelf-life Predict best time to harvest Predict ripening processes Predict yields for food processing applications Identify contaminants Track the movement of foods and predict its impact on quality metrics through the food supply chain Develop efficient grading classifications In the Media Foodservice & Hospitality - Technology innovations for Canada’s foodservice industry - Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine YouTube - Savormetrics 2022 RIT Pitch Competition
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50 Canadian FoodTech Resources – Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . Canada has an extensive range of research centres, food incubators, accelerators and labs supporting food and beverage innovation through the research they do and/or the services they offer. Each week throughout 2023, we’ll be highlighting an organization that’s supporting food innovation in Canada. Want to catch up? Click here to view our master list of foodtech resources. Name: Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster Location: Hamilton, ON Mission: T hrough Next Generation Manufacturing Canada ( NGen ) , the cluster’s goal is t o build up next-generation manufacturing capabilities, such as advanced robotics and 3D printing. Focus : The c luster is positioning Canadian companies to lead industrial digitalization, maximizing competitiveness and participation in global markets . The cluster’s technology focus includes I nternet of Things, machine learning, cybersecurity, and additive manufacturing (3D printing) . Services: There are several different program streams offered through the cluster. They include: High Potential Technology Development — Developing and scaling new technologies with significant commercial potential. Ground Breaking Process Transformation — Adopting advanced technologies to transform existing manufacturing processes. Technology Diffusion — Expanding the user base for new and unique applications of technologies developed in Canada. Ecosystem Development — Support for training, collaboration, and the development of tools and test beds. SME Capacity Building — Strengthening and scale up for SME partners. What you need to know: Some of the recent projects supported by the Advanced Manufacturing Cluster include the d evelopment of bacterial frameworks for biomanufacturing of industrial and therapeutic products with partners Mediphage Bioceuticals Inc., Ardra Inc. ; g lobal l eadership in l ife s ciences by e nabling c ommercial s cale m anufacture of c ell and g ene t herapies ; and development of a m icro- p ower p lant a dvanced m anufacturing d emonstrator . Notable News: The impact of programs and services offered through the cluster are expected to include the creation of more than 13,500 jobs and more than $13.5 billion in GDP over 10 years. Get Involved: Contact NGen at info@ngen.ca, or through Bridget Bohan , director of the cluster accelerator. Or reach out to our Regional Innovation Director Linda Fox .
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EXPLAINED: Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . What is it? Machines and systems that are programmed with AI can simulate human intelligence , can acquire and apply knowledge in order to perform tasks, solve complex problems, and improve performance. Machine learning is a subset of AI algorithms. Why you should care New food technologies and the introduction of AI programs in the computers that control production lines have the potential to change the way the food industry works, especially as businesses look for automated solutions to address issues such as supply chain traceability, production efficiency, food safety and quality control, and waste reduction. Some of the manufacturing technology included under the category Industry 4.0 relies on AI to process the data captured by Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, and connected remote access monitoring software. By using AI, businesses can collect and analyze data that enables them to generate business intelligence, giving them a competitive advantage. Most AI-driven functions are machine-to-machine transactions. AI-driven systems can add value and efficiency to many areas in food operations, including to: Automate tasks across different departments, such as accounting, IT, customer service and marketing. Streamline resource tracking throughout the supply chain and ensure compliance from vendors. Provide data for forecasting sales, resource demand and R&D on consumer trends. Automate production activities, including management work. Provide more effective quality and safety control in real time. Help create “smart” factories that run more efficiently with less downtime, using less energy and lower operating costs. Help drive greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. Help scale operations using predictive technology. Offer real-time monitoring of security systems. Provide technical support for employees and customers. Monitor and automate social media activity. Provide customized offers for consumers based on data analysis. Perform self-service analytics. Opportunities in Canada There are a range of companies offering AI-enabled software and equipment to Canadian food and beverage companies. Saint John, NB-based independent brewery Moosehead uses a conveyor belt at its bottling plant embedded with Internet-enabled sensors and data analytics software to monitor pasteurization, filling, labelling, capping and packaging, increasing capacity while lowering costs. Sobeys ’ fully automated Customer Fulfillment Centre, a $150-million, 500,000-sq.-ft. warehouse and distribution centre in Vaughan, ON, features AI-driven automated case picking and palletizing systems. The system can stack up to 10 per cent more products on each pallet, saving up to 40 per cent on labour costs. Fredericton, NB-based Eigen Innovations produces machine vision solutions powered by AI to help businesses automate their quality control system. Toronto, ON-based Canvass AI provides industrial AI software such as its Canvass Platform that can help food companies boost production efficiency and output, while reducing waste.
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IN 30 – Machine Learning
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . Sometimes, all it takes is 30 minutes to learn the ins and outs of new food technologies and trends that are transforming the food and beverage industry. In this series, we’ll dig into a food innovation topic and link you to content and resources so you can become a master on the topic in 30 minutes (or less!). This week, we’re looking at the use of machine learning in the food and beverage industry. The Overview YODL - EXPLAINED: Machine Learning Computer sciences are responsible for revolutionary process changes in many sectors, including the food industry. Every year, new innovative solutions emerge that can improve the efficiency and profitability of companies, and machine learning is a prime example. SPD Group - Machine Learning and AI in Food Industry: Solutions and Potential Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions offer many possibilities to optimize and automate processes, save money, and reduce human error for many industries. Softwaretestinghelp.com - Top 13 BEST Machine Learning Companies An in-depth look at how machine learning is used, and how to select the best machine learning company to meet your company’s needs. The Canadian Connection Canadian Grocer - What ChatGPT and AI could do for the food industry Sylvain Charlebois discusses C hatGPT , machine learning and AI, and it’s potential impact on how the food industry embraces new technologies in the future . YODL - 50 Canadian FoodTech Resources – EMILI Manitoba’s Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative (EMILI) works with industry organizations and academic institutions from across the technology sector to increase integration of intelligent technologies, empower people with digital skills, support scale-ups to grow in the Prairies, and accelerate Canada’s growth as a leader in digital agriculture. Social Medi a @ vividmachines (Instagram) Toronto-based Vivid Machines has developed a multispectral computer vision platform to digitize fruit production. TheoryMesh (LinkedIn) Winnipeg-based TheoryMesh is working through the entire supply chain from growers to consumers to revolutionize traceability through application. @InData Labs (Facebook) InData Labs is one of the world’s top machine learning companies. Overtime If you’ve got more than 30 minutes, these are for you: YODL - Interview with Nestor Gomez on Algorithms
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Staff Picks – Alex Barlow
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . A lot of material comes across our desks at CFIN, and we love to share new information with YODLers ! This one in a series of articles highlighting what CFIN staff are reading, listening to, watching, and posting. This time we’re checking in with CFIN’s vice president of Programs, Alex Barlow . What are you reading? I just finished a C.S. Sansom book called Tombland . C.S. Sansom writes these huge books about a lawyer back in the 1500s. I’ve always been a sucker for long mysteries set in the way back times , I inherited that interest from my father. What are you listening to? Recently I’m obsessed with a band called Lake Street Dive that a friend introduced me to. Podcast wise, I really like The Big Story which is a daily 20 - to 30 - min ute episode on Canadian topics – recent ones around grocery prices, single - use plastics, or how our cup of coffee helps us understand global inflation are some favo u rites. My listening habits, unlike my reading habits, are all about short and sweet ! Who are you following? Most of my “following” these days happens on Instagram. I really enjoy Dr. Rhonda Patrick , who focuses a lot on the science behind health and longevity . On a more professional basis, I follow groups like Foresight Canada and many of the “Top 50” style lists on LinkedIn to understand who the great up and comers are in this country. What are you watching? Yellowjackets and RuPaul’s Drag Race . What are you posting about? Anything to do with our great members, funded products, as well as new opportunities for funding and commercialization support. You can find me on LinkedIn !
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Meet a Member – Leonardo Calcagno
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . Since launching in 2022, CFIN has grown to more than 2,600 members, which includes professionals from every sector of the food industry. This series highlights the many different CFIN members across Canada who visit YODL to learn, make connections, find funding, and discover new ways to grow their businesses. Leonardo Calcagno Editor, podcaster, marketing for BaronMag.com / Boisson Québec Laval, QC Tell us about your job I'm the editor of BaronMag , a trade publication about the beer and beverage industry. I’m also a podcaster, guest speaker and industry consultant. How is YODL helping you do your job? I use YODL to find interesting topics for my podcasts, to get news , and meet people . How often do you visit YODL ? On a d aily basis . What is your favo u rite aspect of YODL ? The f orum . Can you tell us something you learned on YODL? For now, getting info rmation and meeting with people to better understand the industry. What type of connection partners are you looking for? All of them! We need to meet as many people to better understand the industry. What areas of food innovation interests you the most? Packaging , sales, distribution , and innovation . What has been your favourite discussion post? The articles on packaging. Favourite food and/or beverage ? Gin, beer and wine.
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50 Canadian FoodTech Resources – InBe NomadLab
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . Canada has an extensive range of research centres, food incubators, accelerators and labs supporting food and beverage innovation through the research they do and/or the services they offer. Each week throughout 2023, we’ll be highlighting an organization that’s supporting food innovation in Canada. Want to catch up? Click here to view our master list of foodtech resources. Name: InBe NomadLab Location: Québec Ci ty, QC Mission: To connect innovators to their consumers in real time and provide actionable insights to guide decision making. Focus: InBe works with innovative consumer brands from a variety of industries, including food and beverage manufacturing, to provide consumer feedback on concepts, products and services. Services: The company offers different methods of capturing consumer interests, including through testing based on client concepts, value propositions and products, as well as market research and validation. Clients receive customized on consumer responses in real time. It also offers workshops on how to design, implement and optimize a front-end innovation system. What you need to know: InBe provides a platform for users to give feedback, allowing clients to stay connected with consumers during innovation projects, gain consumer insights, and send targeted surveys. This could include home testing to fine-tune strategies. Notable News: InBe stands for “in between,” and symbolizes the organization’s role as a catalyst between innovators and consumers. Get Involved: Contact Sebastien Leduc , h ead o f S trategic Development and p artner at InBe , at (418) 263-4760 , or reach out to our Regional Innovation Directo r Julie Daigle .
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Let’s talk innovation: SIAL Canada unveils the inspirations of 2023
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . Welcome to Let’s Talk Innovation with Isabelle Marquis, a French-language video series covering every area of food innovation. Today, Isabelle speaks with Nicolas Trenteseaux, Managing Director of the SIAL network, who discusses the SIAL Innovation competition and the 10 finalists in the 2023 Canadian edition.
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IN 30 – Robotics in the food and beverage industry
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . Sometimes, all it takes is 30 minutes to learn the ins and outs of new food technologies and trends that are transforming the food and beverage industry. In this series, we’ll dig into a food innovation topic and link you to content and resources so you can become a master on the topic in 30 minutes (or less!). This week, we’re looking at the use of robotics in the food and beverage industry. The Overview YODL – Robotics in Action: Top 5 Takeaways T he use of automation, robotics and data analytics has the potential to transform Canada’s food and beverage industry. Foodservice & Hospitality - Technology innovation fuels change for Canada’s foodservice industry Trends in robotics and automation in the foodservice industry. Canadian Food Business – Rise of the Robots Next-generation tech n ology is tackling some of Canada’s greatest challenges in the agri-food sector . The Canadian Connection Cyberworks Robotics Markham, ON-based Cyberworks Robotics provides autonomous self-driving technology for material handling forklifts and tow-tuggers as well as industrial floor scrubbers. Relocalize Relocalize Inc. is a Montreal, QC-based company that hyper-localizes packaged food manufacturing with autonomous factories that eliminate middle mile logistics (and CO2 emissions), reduce product costs and cut waste. SJW Robotics Toronto’s SJW Robotics is a f ood technology company developing autonomous kitchen robotic systems for the hospitality industry. Social Media @tiny_mile (Twitter) Tiny M ile is a robot delivery service . @fanucamerica (Instagram) Fanuc is one of the world’s largest robotics manufacturers. KUKA (LinkedIn) KUKA is another giant in the world of automation and robotics. Overtime If you’ve got more than 30 minutes, these are for you: YouTube - Robotics in Action – Seeing is Believing
Community Manager-
Staff Picks – Nestor Gomez
Welcome to YODL! In addition to daily original content, YODL helps CFIN Members find new partners , resources , and funding opportunities to grow their food business. Learn more about this growing community and become a CFIN Member (for free!) today . A lot of material comes across our desks at CFIN, and we love to share new information with YODLers! This one in a series of articles highlighting what CFIN staff are reading, listening to, watching, and posting. Here’s CFIN’s Chief Technology Officer Nestor Gomez . What are you reading? Work-related / professional ly I’m reading Isaac Sacoli ck’s Digital Trailblazer , a compila tion of important lessons in digital transformation and technology leadership. This resonates a lot with my past years working at a large food and beverage corporat ion . The other one is Winning the R oom by Bill Franks, one of my favourite gurus in data analytics . This packs practical and proven recommendations for creating and delivering data-driven presentations. Personally/for fun I’m reading Del templo al temple : silencios y esc á ndalos de la masoner í a cubana , by Camila Acosta. This is an absorbing investigative essay into the history of the Cuban Freemasonry, splendidly crafted by a brave independent Cuban journalist. What are you listening to? I listen to podcast s . Lots of them. And I also follow their equivalent YouTube channels. Among my favourites are Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell that focuses on overlooked and misunderstood yet significant events in history ; Sean Carroll’s Mindscape , a 360 view of p hiloso p hy and science with a lot of cosmology and particle physics ; StarTalk Radio , with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Chuck Nice , a fun take on very serious astrophysics and science ; The E zra Klein Show ; Freakonomics Radio ; The Hidden Brain ; and the list goes on and on… Who are you following? I don’t tend to follow people . Perhaps some of the authors I mentioned in my previous answers. I rather follow topics o f interest and those vary substantially. Right now , like millions of people, I am fascinated with generative AI . T he technology itself is captivating , but how to embrace it, reject it or react to it is even more mesmerizing . In my opinion , when it comes to g enerative AI, we are in between the “ Innovation Trigger ” and the “ Peak of inflated Expectations , ” using G artner ’s hype cycle terminology . I’m not looking forward to the “ Tro ugh of Disillusionment , ” but it is inevitable. When you have lived through a few of these cycles (i.e. dot coms bubble, 3D printing, Blockchain) you learn to identify the patterns. What are you watching? Do you mean what’s in my Netflix’s list? I think Netflix lists are aspirational lists. I have several of these aspirational lists, including one on Amazon. I think they reflect the person I wish I could be if I had time to watch or money to buy it all . The genres I prefer include historical fiction, thrillers , comedies, horror, and some sci-fi. Recently I have been watching Transat l antic on Netflix and Chance on Disney+ . What are you posting about? I tend to post about the latest advancements in AI and machine learning, sharing articles and discussions on ethical considerations in AI development. I also post about privacy and security issues, raising awareness about the importance of safeguarding our digital identities and about cybercrime and people awareness as the first line of defense against it. Occasionally, I share content related to food security, human rights, and the promotion of peace and equity. Anything else to add? I am looking forward to this fiscal year and to all the exciting plans we are working on for CFIN’s content production, YODL 2.0 and all the technologies we want to bring to our member’s attention this year.
