To most people, a pile of mandarin orange scraps would be considered trash, or—at best—fodder for the compost pile. But when chemist-turned-entrepreneur @Andrew Tait looks upon that same pile of mandarin peels, he sees medicine. And opportunity.
In 2015, Andrew founded Tait Laboratories, a company that upcycles citrus scraps into functional ingredients. Their flagship ingredient, called Mandrimax®, is a prebiotic derived from mandarin orange peels. The lab pioneered an innovative water-based extraction process to extract polyphenols, soluble fibre, and other gut health-boosting compounds out of the peels.
Like many entrepreneurs, Andrew enjoys the process of innovation—of discovering new ways to improve things and to solve problems. That much is clear in the approach taken at Tait Labs, where he and his team are developing new extraction processes, valorizing new products, and even building new supply chains, as “waste citrus peels” is not exactly a request most suppliers are able to fulfill.
Finding Support from CFIN
Andrew discovered CFIN’s Innovation Booster Program in 2023, while exploring funding and guidance opportunities to fuel the work of his company. He recognized the program as the perfect opportunity to fund a clinical trial—a critical and challenging step in the process of validating the health benefits of functional ingredients like Mandrimax®.
With only a few days until the application deadline, he reached out to Lavina Gully, CFIN’s Regional Innovation Director for BC and Yukon. “He had a well-considered project proposal already in mind around funding a clinical trial. I saw the potential of the proposal and the product, so I was eager to support him in ironing out the details and getting an application in before the deadline.”
Drawing from her own experience developing health food products in past R&D roles at companies like Vega assembling what was ultimately a successful application, sing funding for Tait Labs to undertake a clinical trial. This trial not only provided scientific backing but also increased the credibility and marketability of his product. With the project now in its final stages, Tait Labs is close to bringing Mandrimax® to market, and recently
“Lavina has been an incredible resource in our efforts to develop a new generation of prebiotic ingredients that go beyond our initial demonstration product,” said Andrew. “Creating innovative ingredients that mitigate food waste while benefiting human health is deeply rewarding, but navigating regulatory requirements, establishing R&D processes, and sourcing feedstock requires deep expertise in the industry. Lavina has not only offered her own expertise as a food scientist and R&D Manager but also connected us to new potential partners and clients.”
Through an introduction facilitated by Lavina, Andrew is now pursuing a project with fellow BC company Beach Labs, and Lavina continues to help him understand how to successfully market functional ingredients to product teams throughout the supplement industry.
Leveraging the Power of Connection
With a knack for recognizing powerful, but unlikely connections, like the one between mandarin peel scraps and medicine, it is not surprising that an active user on YODL —CFIN’s online community and resource hub for food business professionals. “YODL allows me to connect with a community of innovators solving similar problems,” he said. 'It offers not just technical expertise but also a diverse range of insights and resources that are crucial for navigating all aspects of the business.”
Andrew also shares plenty of his own expertise in upcycling, functional foods, and the supplement industry with fellow innovators seeking guidance on YODL. He even built a free tool to help food processors and aspiring upcycling entrepreneurs calculate the nutrient content and potential upcycled economic value of food byproducts.
With an engaged network of food industry professionals and a team of Regional Innovation Directors, CFIN provides members with expert guidance, specialized resources, and a diverse community—everything that innovators like Andrew need to connect the dots and turn their ambitious ideas into reality.
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