GUELPH, ON / SINGAPORE — September 30, 2026 — The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) and the International Centre for Industrial Transformation (INCIT) today announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will bring INCIT's suite of Industry 4.0 transformation tools — anchored by its globally recognized Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) — to Canada's food and beverage manufacturing sector.
The agreement is a milestone under CFIN's Food 4.0 vision — a national push to equip Canadian food and beverage manufacturers, particularly small- and mid-sized enterprises, with the tools and technology needed to modernize their operations and stay competitive. As global supply chains grow more complex and margins tighten, food and beverage manufacturers are under increasing pressure to adopt smarter, more connected production systems. This partnership gives Canadian SMEs a credible, independent way to understand where they stand on that journey — and where to invest next.
Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) is the world's first independent digital-maturity assessment toolkit for manufacturers. It evaluates a facility across Process, Technology, and Organisation, producing a benchmarked readiness score and a prioritized roadmap for technology investment. Because assessments are delivered by independent Certified SIRI Assessors rather than a vendor or consultancy, SIRI gives Canadian manufacturers an objective, third-party view of their digital readiness — grounding modernization decisions in evidence rather than guesswork.
Under the agreement, CFIN and INCIT will:
- Establish a joint task force to foster a growing community of Canadian food and beverage professionals engaged in digital transformation
- Promote and catalyze adoption of INCIT’s assessments among Canadian food and beverage manufacturers
- Build a Canadian network of Certified INCIT Assessors to serve domestic manufacturers
- Collaborate on advisory projects that apply INCIT tools as part of the framework to support Canadian manufacturers' modernization efforts
"Canadian food and beverage manufacturers know they need to modernize — what they often lack is an objective, credible direction on where to start," said Dana McCauley, CEO of CFIN. "Bringing INCIT's tools to Canadian businesses is part of CFIN's larger goal of accelerating plant-level adoption of Canadian automation, robotics, and digital technologies. This partnership gives our manufacturers a globally trusted benchmark to guide investments with confidence."
"The Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) supports Canada’s food and beverage industry in moving past expensive trial phases and into real manufacturing productivity. By grounding modernization decisions in evidence rather than guesswork, the SIRI approach uses anonymous micro-data to help small and medium manufacturers reduce investment risks, upgrading their technology alongside employee training.
Applied on a larger scale, these aggregated insights allow policymakers to target funding precisely, maximizing economic returns and keeping Canada’s productivity competitive worldwide." said Raimund Klein, Chairman of INCIT
The partnership takes effect immediately, with joint activities — including the first cohort of Canadian assessor training — planned over the coming months.
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About the Canadian Food Innovation Network
The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) is a national organization stimulating transformative and transferrable innovation within the Canadian food sector. Since 2021, CFIN has awarded more than $24.5M to 155 Canadian foodtech projects that derisk new technologies and make the food sector more competitive. With over 9,400 members and counting, CFIN has built the fastest-growing and most engaged food business community in the country. CFIN's free membership includes access to exclusive funding programs, five Regional Innovation Directors, and YODL.
About the International Centre for Industrial Transformation (INCIT)
The International Centre for Industrial Transformation (INCIT) is a global authority in industrial transformation, providing training, assessment, and certification to accelerate modernisation and Industry 4.0 adoption across enterprises worldwide.
Media Contact
Jamil A. Karim
Communications Director
Canadian Food Innovation Network
Jamil@cfin-rcia.ca
