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
CFIN Member Spotlight - Escarpment Laboratories
This is one of a series of profiles of CFIN members that have successfully applied for and received funding through CFIN’s Innovation Booster program . Guelph, ON-based Escarpment Laboratories supports the beer and fermentation industry through excellent yeast cultures, knowledge and education resources. The company enables brewers and fermentation businesses to unlock efficiencies and launch new products using our microbial strains and know-how. Escarpment Labs focuses on sustainability and circularity and use these as guiding principles for future decision-making. The company received $63,262 to produce Canada’s first commercial tempeh and koji cultures. CFIN sat down with Escarpment Labs co-founder Richard Preiss to talk about the company. Q: What is your company’s mission? A: Our purpose is to make fermentation easy for everyone. We do this by focusing on knowledge, trust, and community. The future of the planet depends on efficient fermentation processes for foods and fuels. While our focus right now is on the beer industry, we think a lot of what we’ve learned will be translatable to bigger problems in the future. Q: Why did you apply for this funding and how will you use it? A: We have had a lot of success with our craft beer yeast business, but see an opportunity to offer value to other fermentation industries, especially food fermentation. We applied for this funding so that we can accelerate the development of high-quality tempeh and koji starter cultures to support the growing plant-based protein and industry in North America. Q: What excites you most about working in this area of the food industry? A: I am excited about the idea of being able to walk into a grocery store and see the real-world impact of our company on the shelves, like we already can do in beer/alcohol stores. I am also excited about food fermentation especially alternative proteins which will play a role in reducing global carbon emissions. Q: Please comment on the importance of public funding to help companies clear innovation hurdles and access leveraged funds. A: Put simply, we would not have been able to invest in this project at this scale without public funding. As a result, it would be several years longer until Canadian food companies got access to high-quality specialized fungal starter cultures. Q: Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for your company? A: We are primarily focused on supporting Canadian craft brewers, especially through the ongoing COVID-19 recovery. This year has been the hardest one yet for craft brewers, so it's critical for us to offer solutions that help improve the profitability and sustainability of craft breweries. Moving forward, we are excited to extend our skill sets to new ventures such as food fermentation starter cultures. We are also testing the idea of becoming a scale-up partner for food tech startups that need fermentor and processing capacity to test their ideas. Q: What are your passions or hobbies outside of work? A: My hobbies are pretty consistent with my work – I love cooking for friends and family, homebrewing, gardening, and music. Q: If you had to pick one person to make you a meal, who would you choose? A) Guy Fieri B) Martha Stewart C) Gordon Ramsey D) Dana McCauley E) Your Mom F) Other (if it’s other, tell us who it is!) A: Apologies to my mom but I think I've got to go with the mayor of Flavortown, Guy Fieri. Ready to access funding for your innovative initiative? Click here to find out more about CFIN’s funding programs.
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Revisited: Roundtable Discussions
One of the hardest parts of finding alternatives to plastic packaging is financing. Innovations that replace plastic are often more costly in the short term, or may need expensive adjustments to fit exact product requirements. But there are options available to food and beverage operators looking for funding. We asked for input from professionals helping food and beverage operators access funding. Participants Bonnie Bain, senior relationship manager, Corporate & Commercial Financing (Manitoba), Farm Credit Canada Alex Barlow , director of programs, CFIN Kyle Burak, senior economist, Farm Credit Canada Nathan Chick, marketing specialist, Mentor Works, a Ryan Company Alex Lau, senior relationship manager, Corporate & Commercial Financing (BC), Farm Credit Canada Graham Legge, senior relationship manager, Corporate & Commercial Financing (Ontario), Farm Credit Canada Q: Many food and beverage operators say lack of financing and time to research alternatives are the key reasons they haven’t removed plastic from their operations. Where should they start in their search to access funds and research their options? Alex Barlow: This is definitely a tough challenge, with upcoming regulations on Single-Use Plastics many businesses will be scrambling to address plastics, especially in food service. I think we can expect to see some new federal funding be released to help develop new solutions in this space, or to help operators trial new solutions as these new regulations roll out. In terms of resources, the first one I would point out is the Canadian Plastics Pact, which has a number of resources and tools for food and beverage operators to consult and consider integrating to address this issue. There are a lot of simple solutions that can take place at the design level to help improve recyclability and recovery of plastics, and lots of non-plastic solutions out on the market already (paper straws, bioplastic take-out materials, and more). Secondly, not to toot our own horn, but I would encourage operators to sign up for CFIN’s digital member platform, where we have a lot of upcoming content and discussions about plastics. It’s a good spot to potentially find a supplier, hear from other operators, and members can also connect with their local Regional Innovation Director to hopefully facilitate some meaningful connections. We’ve also developed a call under our Food Innovation Challenge, opening September 1, 2022 for collaborative research, development, and demonstration projects titled Plastics Solutions for Foods: Reduction, Replacement, and Recyclability. We’re looking for projects that either improve the recovery/recyclability of plastics, reduce their use, or replace them with bioplastics or bio-based solutions that meet industrial composting certifications. Funding is 50 per cent up to $2 million per project in grant funding from CFIN. There are lots of new and scaling firms in Canada offering solutions, so I encourage operators to get connected with CFIN, their local innovation hubs, Natural Products Canada, Ignite Atlantic, etc. to tap into these up-and-coming firms and evaluate their solution. Nathan Chick: The government funding landscape is complex and changes often. That’s why many Canadian businesses use the Government Funding Directory to easily filter through the top Canadian programs available today. This free directory allows filtering by region and business activity. If your business is trying to search for programs by industry, please visit the Government Funding Programs by Industry Directory for more specific opportunities. For businesses that are looking to get started with government funding, it is always important to establish what your business is trying to achieve, as well as what resources and capital will be required to achieve your desired outcome. Once you have determined your desired outcome, we encourage businesses to learn how to create a smart funding plan by using our free Build a Government Funding Plan slide deck. It’s crucial that you contact a government funding professional prior to beginning the application process to receive industry expertise on the current funding landscape and key application support to ensure the best chance of success. If your business is a startup, there are certain criteria that you must meet to apply for many government funding programs. To see if you qualify, please use our free Startup Funding Checklist . We also recommend that readers visit our article on How to Stack Canadian Government Grants, Tax Credits, and Loans to learn how some programs can be used collectively to maximize funding potential. Alex Lau: At Farm Credit Canada we can provide support. We have a team specialized in supporting food and beverage companies across Canada. We have customers who are already making changes and moving to alternatives to plastic, using other recyclable, recycled, and compostable packaging materials. We also have connections we can support you with. We work closely with other associations. We can share our knowledge and connect you to those who have walked in your shoes or have the expertise that can help you. Q: Are alternatives to plastic as expensive as operators believe? Alex Barlow: That is a good question. In terms of strategies to make plastics more recyclable, I believe there are some cost-effective design strategies that can be implemented, and the Canada Plastics Pact has released its Golden Design Rules for Plastics Packaging which is an excellent place to start. When it comes to bioplastics, my experience is that producers of these products have yet to reach that critical scale point where they achieve economies to their pricing. This is one of the reasons CFIN is funding our plastics themed call, to support the demonstration of these technologies, reduce the financial pain of pilots of demonstrations, and support scalability of sustainable national solutions that meet consumer, operator, and retailer expectations of safety, aesthetics, and performance. This issue is messy; there are inconsistent recycling and composting practices across the country, and a lack of consumer knowledge about recycling and industrial composting generally. There is a lot of work to do, but as prohibition and a cost model comes into place, and funding is available to help make the transition, hopefully there will be enough carrots and sticks to motivate change on all levels. Kyle Burak: For most, alternative packaging remains more expensive, but this is expected to change over time and consumers appear willing to pay an additional cost for sustainably packaged items. Businesses need to also take into account related costs. Does it require a change to production? Will it change transportation costs? For example, plastic is durable, light and often compact, but some alternatives could offer savings. Another thing to consider is whether product shelf life will change. If so, what are the potential impacts of additional shrink? There is more to consider than the cost of the new packaging itself and some may require changes to pricing. Nathan Chick: Finding new and innovative ways to improve a product, such as with alternative packaging, can pose challenges that may increase costs, resources, and more. However, there are often ways to reduce these costs for businesses that strategically implement government funding strategies. Alex Lau: I recently worked with a vegetable production company which packed in plastic clamshells. Because of a drive towards sustainability and environmentalism, they decided to make a change to use less hard plastics. They are now packaging in soft plastic bags that use four times less plastic and a cardboard shell on the outside for durability. There was cost to that. They needed new equipment for the new packaging system. Ultimately, they have reduced their environmental impact (less plastic used), they did pay for equipment, but the cost of alternative packaging materials was comparable. In addition, they can market their products and business in a way that aligns with consumer preferences. Q: Can operators access funding for retooling equipment to new packaging specifications? Bonnie Bain: For retooling equipment or specialized equipment needs, FCC can provide standard term financing for equipment (terms depend on the type of equipment and its useful life). We can offer an interest-only period during the installation and commissioning stage. We can offer fixed interest terms and flexibility to repay the loan at any time without penalty. And for those companies who have long-term annual needs for financing cap ex, we have a solution for that too. Alex Barlow: There are certainly several funds targeting the manufacturing sector, either for food and beverage manufacturers, or for those who make plastics and packaging alternatives. I would encourage operators to look at their local Regional Development Agencies and contact their provincial government economic development folks to chat about their project. Some of the groups who tend to be left behind by these funds are the foodservice and retail players, but I do feel these groups are further along in the availability of plastics replacements. We’ve seen some good progress made in single use plastics and circular economy practices in food take out. Nathan Chick: There are government funding programs available to assist in innovation for food and equipment costs, such as: FedDev Ontario Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) Program ; Eastern Ontario Development Fund (EODF ) / Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF); Bioenterprise FoodShift Program ; and Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) . Lastly, the Canadian government has recently announced a new agreement to replace the current Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) program, which will be called the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP). SCAP will start its five-year initiative in April 2023 with $500 million in new funding designed specifically for addressing sustainability in agriculture and food. Therefore, there are likely to be many more future government funding opportunities available to address sustainable packaging challenges in the new year. To learn more about SCAP, review our recent SCAP blog today. Alex Lau: 100 per cent! FCC is a financial institution 100 per cent committed to supporting Canadian food and beverage. We can absolutely support these types of requests. We are here to support Canadian food processors, agriculture producers and agribusinesses. In addition, we are here to help the industry meet the federal government’s goal to reduce plastic waste and transition to a national circular plastics economy. Graham Legge: We have flexibility in what we offer. Whether that means tradition capex, or solutions that are tied to R&D or sustainability. Q: Anything else you need operators to know about accessing funds? Bonnie Bain: Stay in touch with your local food and beverage associations, industry publications and events to stay on top of the latest developments. Talk to your customers to see what they want. Use social media to learn how important it is for your customers to eliminate plastic. Alex Barlow: The best strategy is to have one – think about what your pain points are, look at the existing resources, get connected with your peers in industry to understand best practices, even engage a consultant if you feel that will help you take charge in this area. Industry associations and groups such as CFIN can help you understand your options, and potentially connect you with partners. This pre-funding work is critical to success; government grants and their applications need to be approached with a clear plan and identified solutions. Have your numbers ready – how much plastic do you use, and what would be the impact post-project? Nathan Chick: There are two main approaches to government funding, a proactive approach, and a retroactive approach. Proactive government funding programs include grants, loans, and more to plan projects in the future by applying for programs that fit your business activity. Retroactive government funding programs often include tax incentives that allow businesses to claim tax credits on projects that they have already completed, as long as the business followed proper protocol. Most government funding programs, retroactive and proactive, will focus on four major funding activities with varying criteria that businesses must meet to be successful. The four funding activities are: Hiring & Training ; Research & Development ; Business Expansion ; and Capital & Technology Adoption . Watch our educational video to learn more about the four funding activities today. Alex Lau: Start asking questions now instead of waiting. It takes time to research, implement and put changes like this into action. Don’t wait. Start today. I encourage you to leverage FCC and your own financial institution in discussions for supporting this green initiative. This article originally appeared on YODL on July 6, 2022. CFIN’s first Executive Roundtable looks at consumer demands and changing access to food, with input from Ken Keelor, CEO of Calgary Co-op , and Arjan Stephens, president of Que Pasa Mexican Foods and executive vice-president of Nature’s Path Foods . Q: How has technology such as ecommerce, QR codes and mobile apps changed how consumers access your products? Ken Keelor: Technology has greatly improved the customer experience and allowed for two-way communication with our members, so we immediately know what our members are looking for and how we can help them with their day-to-day shopping decisions. For example: Digital communication was used by us throughout the pandemic for health and safety, as well as to share value/couponing/information/inspiration through regular communication such as social media channels, our flyer, website and member emails. Apps: Our Calgary Co-op app allows members to stay in touch, update their own personal information, receive valuable offers exclusive to them through our Mewards program and access to exclusive member pricing on tickets including the Calgary Flames and Hitmen. E-commerce makes it easy for our members to shop remotely and have their items delivered or picked up at a time and location that is convenient for them. Our shop online programs continue to evolve to offer even more convenience and choice on our Food, Wine Spirits Beer and Cannabis sites. Arjan Stephens: Ecommerce has allowed consumers to access our products through several channels including online marketplaces, grocery delivery apps like Instacart and our website. This has shifted the way we think about user experience. We are focusing on content creation and search optimization to ensure we’re giving the customer a robust user experience, which includes easily searching and accessing our products. QR codes on products and packaging create an easy, rapid and touch-free transaction for consumers. There are about twice as many scans of barcodes at points of sale each day as there are Google searches. Our customers currently use them to purchase our products through Amazon Fresh stores in the U.S., and we are currently looking at how implementing QR codes on our packaging could provide more product and brand information, ultimately building another channel for connecting directly with our consumers. Additionally, the sunset of Google’s third-party cookie in 2023 makes analytics less accessible. QR codes can significantly help our business identify important customer data to inform our overall business. Q: What new experiences are consumers looking for when they shop or dine in person? Keelor: Convenience, choice and freshness, along with local and healthy options. We are pleased to be re-opening our salad bars, curry and olive bars and self-serve kombucha stations. In many of our locations we have seating areas where members can enjoy a light lunch, coffee with friends, or a few moments to themselves. We are also pleased to see in-person events coming back, including our famous pancake breakfasts in the summer, our Grape Escape event in 2023, in-person tastings at our Wine Spirits Beer locations, and partnering with our vendors to offer unique sampling opportunities for our members. We are proud to offer a unique experience to members when they come into our stores and know that they are looking for more from us than just a simple shopping trip! Stephens: When it comes to dining, consumers are looking for elements that support the storytelling aspect of a dining experience. This creates a unique, memorable experience that is shareable with their friends and on social media. These elements could be part of the food itself, the restaurant space, the customer service or other methods. Examples include unique food creations, robot-waiters, personalized chef cooking-at-table and more. Q: What will grocery stores look like in 2035? Keelor: It’s hard to say exactly what stores will look like that far down the road but we certainly expect multi-channel shopping to continue to evolve with more choice, convenience, delivery options and support to help meal plan and budget accordingly. We have also seen a number of recent trends emerge from the pandemic that we expect will continue including: Bigger baskets, but less trips to the stores Less families shopping, more single-person trips for the household More focus on health and wellness More focus on value, budgets and “what do I need to prepare meals” Even more focus on locally sourced products Reduced assortment in some categories because suppliers have narrowed the number of lines they are manufacturing ie: paper category Stephens: The future of grocery stores will be focused on providing experiences versus things. It will be a seamless online/offline mobile enabled, high tech, high convenience food shopping experience. Touch-free transactions will become commonplace and Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be indispensable. The grocery store of the future will enable customers to use apps to input dietary needs and taste profiles to be connected to products through advanced AR features providing audible information about the products selected, almost like having a personal assistance accompanying you to the store. There will be a large influx of plant-based alternatives to animal products created through 3D printing and AI technologies. Grocery stores like Alibaba’s Hema and Amazon Fresh are really just the beginning of the grocery store revolution. This article originally appeared on YODL on July 12 2022. Topic: Should Start-ups treat their companies like products? Dana McCauley recently began a lively discussion on YODL about merger and acquisition activity in the food industry, noting that for some time now larger food companies have chosen to expand into new categories and markets through acquisitions of innovative start ups and SMEs rather than through internal investment. As a result, some entrepreneurs are adopting an exit-strategy mindset as part of their initial start-up plans. If the trend continues, Dana believes it will result in great branding and marketing expertise being required to create new categories; and that more co-packers will be needed to provide plants and equipment for exit-minded entrepreneurs looking to keep their operations as simple as possible to make acquisition attractive. We wanted to know more about what YODLers thought about the topic, and how it will affect your businesses and the food industry in Canada. Here’s what some of you had to say. Participants: Gunjan Syal , founder and chief strategy officer, GoEmerald , ON Marc Wandler , co-founder/CEO, Susgrainable , Vancouver, BC Q: Does having an exit-strategy mindset limit the company’s potential in terms of innovation and growth? @Gunjan : I do not believe having an exit strategy mindset always limits the innovation or growth. It is practical for companies to have the worst-case options identified, including practical exit strategies to ensure the business can survive. On the other hand, it is important to note where the connections are between the firm’s overall growth strategy, the leadership, values and the skillset on the team. These are ingredients to create a culture of innovation. Circularity ensures the innovation culture can be resilient during the desperate times. Some businesses may create products or services with the intent of exiting from the start; others may be committed to drive long-term growth by investing in, what I call a culture of circular innovation. @Marc : I would argue it often has the opposite effect. Having an exit-strategy makes you focus on creating something valuable enough for someone else to want to purchase what you have created. This ensures you constantly have an end customer in mind. Having an exit-strategy can also indicate that your company has thought of innovation and growth up to a certain point and through the exit, the mission could potential be advanced even further with the resources from the acquirer. Q: Do difficult economic times push companies to become more efficient and innovative, or do they push more entrepreneurs to exit the industry? @Gunjan : T he uncertainty during difficult economic times may propel companies to reflect back on their underlying values and mission. When resources are dwindling, companies will need to strategically choose where to focus for the greatest impact and alignment towards the right consumers – these are the consumers who will benefit from the services/ products. The difference in the post-pandemic world is that the rapid changes in consumer behaviours are creating a new layer of uncertainty. Inflation is also impacting drastic changes in supply chain operations. This will propel companies to invest in innovation, when resources are available and investments appear to drive long-term value. At the same time, innovation will suffer because ROI cannot always be calculated in advance – it requires trial-and-error to some degree. Novel partnerships, simplifying business models and solutions that can be pivoted quickly, will thrive in the difficult economic times. @Marc : It does both in my opinion. Difficult economic times push customers to really evaluate where their dollars will go. For those companies who don’t panic and focus on their core offerings it will push them to become more focused and efficient. Any company that becomes spread too thin is at risk during these difficult times. At the same time, other entrepreneurs may get pushed out for several reasons – sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. For those entrepreneurs whose mission or vision is completely wiped out, exit may be the best strategy. Q: Are M&As beneficial in the long run for the industry, or do they impede innovation? @Gunjan : M&As can be beneficial when there is alignment in product strategy as well as the end user impact among the firms. However, M&A strategy may also severely limit a company’s ability to innovate as the culture of circular innovation may dwindle over time, if not deliberately harnessed after M&A. It will be key to ensure special attention is allocated to developing and aligning a culture of circularity, human capital and profit along with the customer needs. @Marc : Again, it could be either. If the acquisition is between two values-aligned companies focused on growing the mission together, and they can leverage the skills and resources that each brings, then it will foster innovation. In other cases, it may be a strategic acquisition made by a bigger entity acquiring a smaller company that could be a threat in the future but isn’t quite there yet. Depending on how this acquisition is managed, especially when there are big differences in culture, this type of acquisition can impede innovation.
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Canada's Import Replacement Opportunity
During CIFST ALT , CFIN's CXO @DanaMcCauley
Community Manager-
The Tablesetter – November 14, 2022
Happy Monday CFIN members! Here’s your weekly heads up on what’s happening on YODL and around the food world this week. The YODL Menu Did you notice we added a YODL Menu widget to our homepage? Now you can easily access all of our articles and keep track of what’s coming up. Monday: The Tablesetter – November 14 Tuesday: Canada’s Import Replacement Opportunity (video featuring @Dana McCauley ) Wednesday: CFIN’s roundtable discussions revisited Thursday: Member profile – Escarpment Laboratories Friday: News File Something to Celebrate Today is National Pickle Day! Pickles have been made for thousands of years, and there’s evidence that the Mesopotamians began pickling cucumbers as early as 2400 BCE. There’s a wide range of sweet and sour pickles on the market today, including favourites dill, kosher, bread and butter, and gherkins (also known as cornichons). Food Facts According to New Canadian Media , Canada is one of the top five buyers of pickles worldwide, and imported US$47.1 million worth of pickles in 2020. Although not all pickles are fermented, and are instead processed with vinegar, fermented varieties offer probiotic benefits and antioxidants. Pickles are low in calories have almost no fat, and contain calcium, vitamin K, vitamin A and potassium. A study in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise also revealed that drinking fermented pickle juice can relieve muscle cramps. At the same time, pickles are packed with salt, so some sources say be wary of overconsumption. Happy YODLing!
Community Manager-
News File – November 11, 2022
Each Friday we’ll bring you a roundup of news from CFIN, YODL and around the food world. As seen on YODL Check out this week’s most viewed discussions: Is honey plant based? | Open Forum (cfin-rcia.ca) The Flight of the Private Label Category | Open Forum (cfin-rcia.ca) Should plant-based products be sold alongside meat? | Open Forum (cfin-rcia.ca) Around the Food World Air Canada’s enRoute magazine has published its list of the Top 10 new Canadian restaurants for 2022 . Mintel has released its Global Consumer Trends report for 2023. The EU-funded Like-A-Pro project is hoping to move the alternative protein category from niche to mainstream with consumers. Did you Know? The Specialty Food Association recently released The State of the Specialty Food Industry Report . The survey asked consumers who share in or take primary responsibility for grocery shopping in their household about their purchasing habits when it comes to specialty food. Here are some of the findings: 76% of consumers surveyed say they buy specialty food. Incidence of purchase has remained the same for all demographic groups, but has risen 6% in the past year among millennials, the core specialty food consumers. Purchases in eight of the top 10 specialty food categories have increased in the past two years, primarily from consumers cooking more meals at home. 25% of consumers buying specialty foods say they like to shop in stores that feature diverse suppliers, such as women-owned businesses. Specialty food consumers say they care about attributes such as organic, sustainable and upcycled, and look for products that are better for the environment. Specialty food consumers buy an average of 6.4 items online, compared to 15 items during in-store purchases.
Community Manager-
Company Spotlight – PLAN Automation Inc.
This is one in a series of profiles of CFIN members that have successfully applied for and received funding through CFIN’s Innovation Booster program . Bolton, ON-based PLAN Automation Inc. uses state-of-the-art X-ray technology to inspect clients’ products, separating good from suspect product, in order for clients to feel secure in releasing its products to market. This technology works with a variety of food and beverage and consumer goods and can flag various types and dimensions of foreign matter at line speed. PLAN Automation received $100,000 in funding towards its pilot of novel foreign matter reclamation technology for food and beverage products. CFIN sat down with PLAN Automation’s CFO Marcello LaGrotta to discuss the company. Q: What is your company’s mission? A: PLAN Automation Inc. seeks to continuously expand both its knowledge and category leading manufacturing and service base to provide clients large and small an exact equipment and service solution to their specific needs. Q: Why did you apply for this funding and how will you use it? A: Since its inception, PLAN has been a key partner to several food and beverage clients, providing goods and services designed to both improve the manufacturing process as well as keep our food supply safe. It came to our attention that to help serve as many clients as possible, PLAN needed to provide a reclaim service that was completely reliable, flexible (could be performed at the client’s site as well as at our facility), and cost effective. This funding will go a very long way in assisting PLAN in meeting these objectives, for the betterment of all our food and beverage providers. Q: What excites you most about working in this area of the food industry? A: Food and beverage is a necessity, and PLAN is proud to be a significant part of a safe and reliable food and beverage supply chain. Q: Please comment on the importance of public funding to help companies clear innovation hurdles and access leveraged funds. A: Public funding is critical to any Canadian SME participating in a very competitive market. PLAN has the potential to reach hundreds if not thousands of clients large and small and assist them in achieving their production and safety goals in a very cost-effective manner, which improves competitiveness for all Canadians. PLAN also employs a highly skilled workforce. Public funding allows companies like PLAN to stretch its workforce in ways that would otherwise not be possible. Q: Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for your company? A: As a result of this funding, PLAN can continue its journey to reaching as many clients as possible with our novel solution to food safety. Q: If you had to pick one person to make you a meal, who would you choose? A: We surveyed all team members and the clear winner is…our moms. Ready to access funding for your innovative initiative? Click here to find out more about CFIN’s funding programs.
Community Manager-
Collaboration in the Food and Beverage Industry
Community Manager-
Preview of CFIN’s Cybersecurity Webinar Series
Community Manager-
The Tablesetter – November 7, 2022
Happy Monday CFIN members! Here’s your weekly heads up on what’s happening on YODL and around the food world this week. The YODL Menu Did you notice we added a YODL Menu widget to our homepage? Now you can easily access all of our articles and keep track of what’s coming up. Monday: The Tablesetter – November 7 Tuesday: Preview of CFIN’s cybersecurity webinars (video) Wednesday: Collaboration in the food and beverage industry (video) Thursday: Member profile – Plan Automation Friday: News File Something to Celebrate November 8 is National Cappuccino Day! Cappuccino beverages first appeared in late 17 th century Vienna, Austria, and were thought to have been created by the Capuchin monks – the name cappuccino refers to the dark brown colour of the monk’s hooded robes. Today an average cup of cappuccino has 30 mL of espresso and 60 mLs each of steamed and frothed milk. Food Facts Canadians consume between 210 to 238 mg of caffeine per day each, making it Canada’s most widely used psychoactive substance according to CAMH . Naturally occurring caffeine is found in coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate, and is added to energy drinks and some medications. The amount of caffeine in a beverage varies, with up to 154 mg in an average cup of cappuccino, to 135 mg in brewed coffee, and between 36 and 50 mg in a 355-mL can of cola. CAMH says moderate consumption of up to 400 mg of caffeine a day (about three 237-mL cups of coffee) will rarely harm a healthy adult. Happy YODLing!
Community Manager-
News File – November 4, 2022
Each Friday we’ll bring you a roundup of news from CFIN, YODL and around the food world. As seen on YODL Check out this week’s most viewed discussions: Access $12K in non-equity funding for your food sustainability startup! Food Safety Innovation Une journée sur le numérique présentée par le Carrefour de l'Industrie Bioalimentaire de l'île de Montréal (CIBÎM) Around the Food World CFIB’s latest Business Barometer shows that only 38% of small Canadian businesses believe they are in good financial shape. Bioengineering company The Cultivated B. has opened a 130,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Burlington, ON. Researchers in France are looking at banana DNA to help future-proof the sector. Did you Know? According to a recent Equifax Canada consumer survey , inflation and rising interest rates have led more Canadians to rely on credit to get by. Yet only 50% of those surveyed said they feel comfortable about their personal economic outlook. Other findings include: The average credit card balance was $2,121, a record high, at the end of September 2022. Average non-mortgage debt per consumer was $21,188. 59% of Canadians surveyed said they’re looking for deals at grocery stores more than last year, and 54% said they’re cutting back on groceries altogether. 52% of all respondents said they are worried about paying their bills, but 73% of consumers aged 65 and older say they are worried. 53% of respondents said they have a lot of anxiety about their personal debt levels. Although average credit card debt decreased during the pandemic, credit card usage has increased for six consecutive quarters and is reaching “historic highs.”
Community Manager-
Company Spotlight - Forward Water Technologies Corporation
This is one in a series of profiles of CFIN members that have successfully applied for and received funding through CFIN's Innovation Booster program . Toronto, ON-based Forward Water Technologies can extract pure water from liquid streams with no energy input and without consuming any chemicals. The company can concentrate liquids to intensify flavours and aromas without damaging the tastes and fragrances using minimal energy, which also minimizes CO 2 emissions. Forward Water Technologies received $97,773 in funding to complete its forward osmosis foodstuff concentration system polymer study and production project. CFIN sat down with Forward Water Technologies’ president and CEO Howie Honeyman to talk about the company. Q: What is your company’s mission? A: Forward Water is working to eliminate wastewater and make water a circular part of manufacturing infrastructure, meaning it gets used indefinitely and never needs to be discarded. Q: Why did you apply for this funding and how will you use it? A: Concentrates are critical parts of the food industry, so making them better at lower costs without producing CO 2 is a huge advancement. This funding will allow us to accelerate by aiding the scaling up of an enabling and proprietary material needed for our process. Q: What excites you most about working in this area of the food industry? A: Making current food products better and creating new ones, while reducing CO 2 emissions and at the same time lowering costs, is a win for everyone. So what motivates us is making products that can impact everyone in a positive way. Q: Please comment on the importance of public funding to help companies clear innovation hurdles and access leveraged funds. A: Public funding has been critical to supporting innovation especially in cleantech. Forward Water has been fortunate enough to greatly benefit from this type of funding and without it never would have been able to achieve lift off. The CFIN Booster funding is enabling for us. Q: Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon for your company? A: Specifically for this project the horizon goal is on building partnerships within the food and beverage industry to deliver a wealth of improved and new concentrates. Q: What are your passions or hobbies outside of work? A: Outdoors when we can. We all enjoy hiking, camping and canoeing – which touches on how much we see water as an important resource! Q: If you had to pick one person to make you a meal, who would you choose? A: Guy Fieri. We’re street food kind of people and he’s closer to that than the rest. Ready to access funding for your innovative initiative? Click here to find out more about CFIN’s funding programs.
Community Manager-
Preview of ADM Montreal 2022
Click here to see which CFIN members will be at the show. Registration to ADM is free for qualified attendees. Click here for more information about the show and to register.
