In addition to being CFIN’s Regional Innovation Director for BC and Yukon, Lavina Gully is a food scientist and product developer with almost two decades of experience helping food and beverage companies innovate. In this series, Lavina answers questions from CFIN members on everything from product development, R&D, food industry careers, manufacturing best practices, and co-packing—just to name a few!
This month, Lavina answers your questions about identifying the right ingredient suppliers and what innovation centres can do to help food businesses develop new products and bring them to market successfully.
Q: What strategies can food businesses use to narrow down their ingredient supplier options to find the best fit for their specific needs and values?
There are many—often conflicting—variables to consider when sourcing ingredients, including food safety, nutrition, quality, price, location, minimum order quantities, and much more. While there is no shortage of ingredient suppliers out there to choose from, identifying the ones that will genuinely meet your unique operational needs and complement your brand identity requires some legwork.
To narrow the list of potential suppliers into something more manageable, start off by identifying the ones that share your brand’s core values. For example, if sustainability is core to your brand, it should also be core to your supplier, in both the characteristics of the ingredients themselves and how the supplier conducts their own operations. Collaborating with suppliers adhering to the same certification programs as you (i.e. Organic, Fair Trade, or B Corp certified) is a logical first step to ensure the ingredients going into your products are aligned with your brand values.
Once you have a shortlist of value-aligned suppliers, it’s time to assess their operations to see if they will be a good match. Details you will want to learn more about include:
-
Minimum Order Quantities (MOQs): A mismatch between the scale of your operation and that of your suppliers can create unnecessary headaches. For example, a large, global ingredient supplier might have MOQs far above what your business requires, while a small regional supplier may struggle to fulfill orders if you’re working with larger ingredient quantities. Doing some initial calculations about your quantity needs can help inform these discussions and ensure compatibility.
-
Flexibility: Some suppliers are willing to customize sizes or specifications to fit your unique needs. But many take a what is essentially a “my way or the highway” approach—you will have to adapt to their processes and standards, not the other way around. Flexibility correlate to higher costs, but often results in reduced waste, improved operational efficiency, and higher-quality products. Weigh these trade-offs carefully.
After considering these factors, your shortlist of viable suppliers will be whittled to the real contenders—this is where you should acquire samples and evaluate firsthand.
You can use spec sheets to guide you here, but don’t rely on them entirely. I’ve seen businesses create problems for themselves because they made ingredient decisions going solely off spec sheets without scrutinizing the details closely enough. You often need to see, taste, and work with an ingredient yourself to confirm that it will be a good match. Try to ceach supplier whether their sample is from a production batch or a lab sample. It can be worthwhile to request a sample most representative of the production batches you would be receiving if you do pursue a partnership.
When you arrive at your top one ortwo potential suppliers, it’s time to really dig in and complete your due diligence. Conduct a site visit to evaluate the supplier's facilities and request recent audit scores. This documentation will provide insights into their operational standards and quality control measuresing the potential for unpleasant surprises down the road.
Putting in the work to find alignment with your ingredient suppliers not only sets you up for short term success, it also lays the foundation for your business partnerships to flourish over years, or even decades, of working together. This is another reason to strive to find value-aligned suppliers—they will understand your vision and be more receptive to joint development, collaborative projects, and flexible, mutually beneficial partnership agreements as you grow your business.
Q: I heard about the upcoming opening of the Food and Beverage Innovation Centre in Vancouver. How can innovation centres support food entrepreneurs like me with new product development and market entry?
I had the opportunity to co-host a tour of the new FBIC facilities earlier this month, and I’m excited that BC finally has its ownfood focused innovation centre.
Innovation centres are an incredible resource for food entrepreneurs. Many operate on a sandbox concept—they are essentially a big playground where you can experiment with state-of-the-art equipment without making huge capital investments yourself. This setup is perfect for testing concepts and validating product ideas before committing to full-scale production.
But pairing cutting-edge equipment and facilities with food science expertise is what makes centres like the FBIC truly invaluable. Staff researchers and technicians can offer support and advice on formulation, production techniques, and market trends. They will act as a sounding board for your ideas and help refine them into market-ready products. Innovation centre staff can also provide crucial insight into food safety and will guide you through potential risks and regulatory requirements. This support is particularly helpful when responding to new opportunities or external requests, allowing you to develop and market new products quickly.
Access to sophisticated equipment and industry experts is a game-changer, especially for food businesses working to establish themselves or scale their operations. for fulfilling small-scale production needs, innovation centres are equipped to push product development and forward, helping businesses stand out in a hyper-competitive market.
Finally, innovation centres may also offer access to funding and grants. They can connect you with financial resources to support your research and development efforts, making it easier to test and validate innovative products, and to successfully bring those products to market.
The FBIC is slated to open later this year, and it will be the first facility of its kind in BC. There are other food innovation centres operating on a similar model already supporting businesses throughout Canada. Here are a few to check out: