GUELPH, ON, March 16, 2026 — The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) is awarding $1,060,467 to 11 southern Ontario-based companies through the second intake of the Ontario Food Technology Pilot program. Delivered by CFIN and funded in part by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the program helps early-stage companies validate and demonstrate new technologies that address post-farmgate challenges in the food supply chain.
Industry partners will match the federal investment, bringing total project value to more than $2.1 million. The selected pilots demonstrate how southern Ontario innovators are developing solutions to modernize production and strengthen competitiveness across the food sector.
This second cohort highlights how southern Ontario's foodtech companies are building technologies that drive operational efficiency gains throughout the food sector: Cheffer Technologies is synchronizing purchasing and contract data across fragmented hospitality supply chains; HalalMeals is turning AI-generated dietary insights into demand signals for foodservice and retail partners; and Harvest Systems is converting waste heat from commercial fryers into ventilation heating—eliminating the need for traditional make-up air units.
The rest of the cohort spans hybrid cultivated meat, precision-fermented dairy protein, cocoa-free chocolate, biodegradable and reusable packaging, food waste valorization, meat preservation, and restaurant loyalty technology—reflecting the diverse capabilities of southern Ontario's foodtech ecosystem. Several companies are recent graduates of CFIN’s Unpuzzling: Foodtech Ontario—a 12-week mentorship and peer cohort program designed to support early-stage foodtech entrepreneurs as they prepare to scale and commercialize their innovations.
The Ontario Food Technology Pilot funding recipients and their projects are:
- ALT TEX Inc. (Kitchener): Food to Fabric Fermentation Technology ($99,975)
- AuX Labs (Toronto): Fermentation Casein that Achieves Parity Pricing with Animal Dairy ($100,000)
- Cheffer Technologies Inc. (Cobourg): AI-Enabled Foodservice Supply Chain Synchronization System in Southern Ontario ($99,646)
- Chocovate Labs Inc. (Oshawa): Scaling Cocoa-Free Chocolate: Finalizing Pilot-Ready Formulation for Commercialization ($100,000)
- Circulr Inc. (Toronto): Large Scale Packaging Reuse ($100,000)
- GreenVeil Packaging Inc. (Ottawa): Pilot Demonstration of Ultra-Biodegradable, Antimicrobial Fruit Blister Trays ($100,000)
- HalalMeals Ready Foods Ltd (Scarborough): AI-Powered Healthy Meal Plans and Demand Insights for Foodservice and Retail ($86,624)
- Harvest Systems Inc. (Hamilton): Fryer-Based Harvest System with Ventilation Air Duct Heating Within a Restaurant Environment ($94,972)
- Myo Palate Corporation (Toronto): Next-Generation Hybrid Protein: Integrating Cultivated Pork Fat with Mushroom-Based Ingredients at Pilot Scale ($99,250)
- Smooth Commerce (Toronto): Connected Dining: Loyalty Integration Pilot ($80,000)
- Tewari De-Ox Systems, Inc. (Richmond Hill): DNA Sequencing Confirming the Food Safety Attributes of Patented Zero-OxTech Packaged Retail-Ready Portion Meat Cuts ($100,000)
"This funding round demonstrates the range of what southern Ontario's foodtech ecosystem is capable of. These companies are addressing pain points across the food supply chain, and each one of them is building the kind of infrastructure that makes Canada's food sector more productive, competitive, and resilient. CFIN looks forward to helping them to level up, make pan-Canadian connections and modernize the food sector.”
– Dana McCauley, CEO, Canadian Food Innovation Network
”Southern Ontario’s foodtech innovators are using cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced materials to modernize how food is produced, processed and delivered. Through investments like this, the Government of Canada is helping Canadian companies scale made-in-Canada solutions, strengthen supply chains and build a more competitive and resilient food sector.”
– The Honourable Evan Solomon, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
The Ontario Food Technology Pilot provides non-repayable funding to help early-stage companies validate and demonstrate innovative food technologies developed in southern Ontario. By supporting in-market pilot projects across processing, foodservice, retail, and distribution, the program reduces cost and risk, accelerates commercialization, and strengthens industry collaboration around high-impact, post-farmgate innovations.
Eligible projects are led by Ontario-based foodtech businesses with under $5 million in annual revenue and advance technologies at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6–9. The program supports pilot projects that align with CFIN’s national innovation priorities, including food manufacturing technology, digital supply chains, packaging, circularity, and foodservice innovation.
The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) is a national organization that’s stimulating transformative and transferrable innovation within the Canadian food sector. Since 2021, CFIN has awarded more than $22,301,276 (matched by $25,138,939 in industry investment) to 122 Canadian foodtech projects that derisk new technologies that will make the food sector more competitive. CFIN-funded companies have generated $90 million in economic impact and created over 355 jobs and co-op placements. Our funding recipients have attracted more than $82 million in follow-on investment.
With over 8,000 members and counting, CFIN has built the fastest growing and most engaged food business community in the country and our members come from across the globe, representing all parts of the food value chain. CFIN’s free membership includes access to exclusive funding programs, five Regional Innovation Directors, and YODL.
Since 2009, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impact the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our investment profiles, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.
Canadian Food Innovation Network
Office of the Minister of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Innovation and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario