GUELPH, ON, AUG 23, 2023 — The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN), a national member-based organization that’s stimulating innovation and collaboration across the food sector, is helping food companies access new partnerships, funding, and technologies to grow their business and create new jobs. With 3300 members and 450 based in Quebec, CFIN has already established a strong national community and is eager to support more Quebec innovators and help them grow their businesses.
Since their launch, CFIN has received more than 300 funding applications from innovative companies across Canada and has generated significant interest and demand for its services from its 450+ Quebec-based members. To date, more than $11 M have been awarded in grants to 40 projects in Canada, with more than $1.4M to four Quebec-led food tech projects that are tackling sustainability, inventory, and food waste challenges.
CFIN’s Quebec-based members represent various sectors of the food industry, including manufacturers, processors, retailers, foodservice, researchers, tech companies, and funders. The free membership offers a wide-range of unique benefits, including exclusive funding programs and access to YODL -- a member-exclusive platform to find new partners, read daily original content, and connect with a growing community of 3,300+ food professionals.
“Quebec has the potential to become a global leader in food innovation. I’m fortunate to have a front-row seat and work with the country’s most innovative food companies that are changing the way we manufacture, transport, and preserve food. As CFIN continues to expand its programs and services, we want to ensure the Quebec food community has access to these support systems to help build strong and thriving businesses that can significantly benefit our local economy,” said Julie Daigle, CFIN’s Regional Innovation Director (Quebec).
Quebec-based projects funded by CFIN in the last year:
Innodal (Quebec City): $943,592
Increasing the shelf life of food with natural and clean label antimicrobials, as an alternative to traditional chemical preservatives.
Relocalize (Montreal): $246,618
Deploying the world's first autonomous micro-factory for food and beverage at their launch customer’s facility. This system will produce packaged ice hyper-locally on-demand at their distribution centre, thereby eliminating upstream logistics and transportation costs. As part of the demonstration phase, the system will produce ice that will be distributed in up to 71 retail grocery stores.
Foodarom (St-Hubert): $99,834
Developing and validating a solution composed of one or more natural ingredients with antimicrobial properties to eliminate multi-resistant fungal contaminants that are often found in concentrated fruit syrups and purees.
Radish Cooperative (Montreal): $98,549
Developing a lightweight digital twin system that will enable restaurants to easily monitor and predict their inventory stores, with a focus on accessibility and accuracy. The initial R&D phase of the combined hardware and software solution will allow kitchen staff to use networked scales, thermometers, and measuring cups to accurately measure their stock levels of raw ingredients and finished product output -- helping restaurants reduce waste, save money, and minimize their carbon footprint.
The food sector is a substantial economic contributor in Québec, making up 11% of jobs and 10% of export. The industry generated $31.6 billion in manufacturing shipments, with 54% of deliveries staying within Quebec, 20% being exported to international markets, and 18% going across Canada. “We are very excited by the activity and opportunity we see in Quebec,” says CFIN CEO, Dana McCauley. “With Julie leading the way, we’re building a collaborative food ecosystem in Quebec where key players can come together, share new ideas, and bring new technologies to market that have the potential to transform the way we feed our growing population.”
In October, Julie will be moderating a panel at BÉNÉFIQ2023 – Quebec City’s International Rendezvous on Health Food and Ingredients. Quebec food innovators are encouraged to attend this event, connect with the CFIN team, and learn how they can take advantage of CFIN’s services and programs. In the interim, Quebec-based food companies are encouraged to sign up for CFIN’s free membership and join a growing community of food professionals from across the globe.
The Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) is a national organization that’s stimulating transformative and transferrable innovation within the Canadian food sector. CFIN has over 3,300 members from across the food value chain -- including manufacturers, processors, distributors, operators, tech companies, funders, and innovators – and connects the Canadian food ecosystem to fresh insights, ideas, and technologies to grow their business and increase their innovation capacity. CFIN’s free membership includes access to exclusive funding programs, five Regional Innovation Directors, and YODL. CFIN was established in 2021 and is supported by Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund and Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program.