Put your technology in front of manufacturers who are ready to buy.
FAST funds Canadian food and beverage manufacturers to adopt plant-floor technology, and the funding can only be spent with suppliers on the CFIN Approved Supplier Registry. We’re building the Registry now, before the program opens to manufacturers, so approved suppliers are listed on day one.
About FAST
Canada’s food and beverage manufacturing sector is the country’s largest manufacturing employer. Mid-sized manufacturers want to modernize, but they face three barriers: tight capital, limited in-house expertise to evaluate vendors, and no independent way to check that an investment will pay off before they commit.
FAST addresses all three.
- Funding: FAST covers 50% of eligible project costs, up to $65,000 per manufacturer. The program has $12.5 million over five years.
- Independent readiness assessment: Before choosing a technology, each approved manufacturer completes a Smart Industry Readiness Index (SIRI) assessment. The result is a roadmap that shows where the real capability gaps are.
- Canadian supply: Manufacturers choose their technology from the Approved Supplier Registry, a pre-vetted pool of Canadian suppliers.
Eligible manufacturers have 50 to 150 full-time employees and work in food (NAICS 311) or beverage (NAICS 312) manufacturing. FAST launches in January 2027, and manufacturer applications open shortly after.
How it works for manufacturers
- The manufacturer applies to FAST and receives conditional approval.
- The manufacturer completes its SIRI assessment.
- Within 16 weeks, it selects a supplier from the Registry and submits that supplier’s quote.
- CFIN gives final approval and signs a project agreement with the manufacturer.
- The supplier delivers the project. The manufacturer pays the supplier, and CFIN reimburses the manufacturer for its share.
Why join the Registry
- Qualified, funded buyers. The manufacturers you meet through FAST have been assessed, have a readiness roadmap, and have half their eligible project costs covered.
- Exclusive eligibility. FAST funding can only go to Registry suppliers.
- Credibility. Listing shows that CFIN has reviewed your company and product, and approved suppliers can use the CFIN Approved Supplier logo.
- Visibility. Your company, products and categories appear on the public Registry, in front of CFIN’s national network of food and beverage businesses.
- A simple process. One application covers your company and every product you want listed. Renewal is an annual update to your submission, not a new application.
Listing does not guarantee projects or sales. Manufacturers choose their own suppliers.
Eligible technology
- Automation and robotics on the plant floor
- Traceability software
- Process monitoring and control systems
- Food safety platforms
- Production scheduling software
- ERP systems with direct operational impact on the plant floor
Who qualifies
1. Baseline requirements
- Your product is in an eligible category and commercially available today. Pre-launch and prototype products are not eligible.
- Your company is in good standing, with no active insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings.
- You carry at least $2 million each in commercial general liability and professional liability insurance.
- Your are incorporated in Canada, and leadership and product decisions are made here.
- More than 50% of your full-time employees and more than 50% of your payroll are in Canada.
- Foreign investment is permitted. Canadian subsidiaries of foreign companies are reviewed case by case. Branches and sales offices of foreign companies are not eligible.
2. A product you own
Each listed product must be one of the following:
- Your own platform or product, or
- Your own product built on a third-party platform (for example, a vertical solution on Microsoft Dynamics). In this case you must own the IP, have developed the product mainly in Canada, show it does materially more than the base platform, sell it under its own name and price list, maintain it on a shared codebase with a release roadmap, and have at least three paying deployments.
Resellers, and integrators without their own productized offering, are not eligible for listing.
Fees
Joining the Registry costs nothing until May 2028. After that, suppliers pay a modest annual listing fee, plus a referral fee only on FAST-funded projects they win.
- Certification fee: $1,000 per year, waived until May 2028.
- Referral fee: 7% of approved eligible costs on each FAST-funded project where you are selected, up to $9,100 per project. This is billed annually.
Apply
The application takes about 15 minutes. You will need your incorporation details, the share of your staff and payroll in Canada, product and IP information, references, and proof of insurance. CFIN reviews applications within 30 days.
Questions? Contact innovation@cfin-rcia.ca.
Start your application below.
