When most Canadians think of the Prairies, farming is often the first thing that comes to mind. Vast ranchland vistas and shimmering fields of grain define much of the landscape in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, and agriculture has long been a pillar of the Prairies’ economy.
But the story of food on the Prairies is becoming as much about what happens after that food leaves the farm. In recent years, Canada’s breadbasket has begun to evolve into a thriving hub of foodtech. At the forefront of this transformation is Hubba Khatoon, CFIN’s Regional Innovation Director (RID) for the Prairies, who is leading efforts to build a vibrant food business ecosystem throughout the prairie provinces.
The Challenge: Connecting the Dots for Foodtech Innovators
Historically, the Prairies' focus on agrifood innovation has leaned toward on-farm technologies—think soil moisture sensors, automated tractors, and advanced crop breeding. Post-farmgate innovation—concerning everything that happens after the food leaves the farm—rarely received the same kind of attention from government or investors.
“There are so many entrepreneurs and innovators in the Prairies,” Hubba says. “But the food business ecosystem was fragmented. The talent, vision, and economic potential were here, but the connections between capital, research institutes, and government support weren’t in place. A lot of opportunities were being left on the table.”
Since joining CFIN shortly after its inception in 2021, Hubba has been a driving force in building those missing connections between entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and government agencies. With her experience at Calgary Economic Development and Prairies Economic Development, she has a keen understanding of where the region has potential to grow. Foodtech tops that list.
Building a Robust Foodtech Ecosystem
Hubba’s work with CFIN has been crucial in building a regional support network that would allow the Prairies to fulfill its foodtech potential. “We’re witnessing a real shift in how investors view food innovation here,” she says. “With initiatives like Plug and Play’s food and beverage innovation platform and new foodtech-focused investment funds, cities like Calgary, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg are transforming into ag and food innovation hotspots.”
CFIN’s own growth in the region speaks to the maturating foodtech ecosystem here. With over 1,000 members from across the three provinces, CFIN has cultivated a robust network of innovators. Examples include BetterCart Analytics, a Saskatoon-based startup using AI to create actionable industry insights for retailers and manufacturers, and Calgary's Earthware Reusables and Nutrimeals, which are building innovative solutions to food and packaging waste and subscription service for healthy, customizable ready-to-eat meals, while and Edmonton’s GreenCo Robots, is building a line of autonomous robots that can tackle an array of food sector tasks, efficiently and sustainably.
Hubba has supported countless more members across the Prairies who are similarly leveraging technology to address real-world challenges in the food system. Another standout success is Calgary-based Knead Technologies, a software application that helps food waste be redistributed to community partner associations. Knead’s co-founder Lourdes Juan counts the support from Hubba and the CFIN community as key to the company’s success. “The connections we’ve made and the insights we’ve gained through CFIN have been critical in helping us scale our platform, find new clients, and get food to those who need it rather than it be needlessly wasted” she says.
Putting the Spotlight on Prairies Food Innovation
While fostering direct connections has been a cornerstone of Hubba’s role with CFIN, she also plays a key role in driving regional and global attention to Prairie-based food innovation. Hubba’s efforts to establish a strong food innovation support system are helping to attract internationally recognized programs like the Terroir Symposium, a Calgary-based event that gathers some of the food sector’s brightest minds. These efforts are helping to anchor the Prairies on the global food innovation map, and creating vital opportunities for thought leaders, chefs, entrepreneurs, and investors to gather, collaborate, and spark new ideas.
"Hubba has been instrumental in broadening the conversation and fostering dialogue between food innovators and the wider culinary landscape," says Arlene Stein, Founder and Executive Director of Terroir Talks, the organization behind Calgary’s Terroir Symposium. "She's injected excitement and an appetite for innovation throughout Alberta’s food space, which is helping create new opportunities that simply didn’t exist in the region until recently.”
A Thriving Future for Foodtech in the Prairies
Hubba expects this momentum to only continue growing and sees the region as an emerging leader in innovative foodtech solutions that are responsive to the challenges and opportunities that tomorrow’s food systems will present. “We’re at the beginning of something huge,” she says. “As the ecosystem matures, I believe the Prairies can evolve into being a truly global food innovation hub.”
The Prairies are undergoing a transformation, expanding on their time-tested reputation as an agricultural powerhouse to become a leader in diverse foodtech domains including functional foods, robotics and hardware, supply chain monitoring and traceability, food waste mitigation, and much more. As CFIN and Hubba Khatoon continue to cultivate a vibrant and connected innovation community, foodtech may soon be as synonymous with the Prairies as farming itself.