SKS Japan is the country’s largest foodtech conference, bringing together global innovators and Japanese industry leaders across foodservice, retail, processing, and investment. CFIN is helping Canadian companies seize the opportunity to connect with this ecosystem. For Toronto’s NS/TX Industries, that means introducing their breakthrough plant-based salmon to one of the world’s most discerning seafood markets. We connected with NS/TX founder and CEO Chris Bryson to discuss how the company plans to use SKS Japan to build credibility, forge partnerships, and validate its ingredients and manufacturing technology in this high-potential market.
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Tell us a little about what problem your company solves and why it matters right now.
NS/TX Industries is a Canadian food technology company that has developed a patented manufacturing process that creates next-generation meat & seafood alternatives. Today’s alt-meat products do not appeal to most customers because more than 90% of products are made using a limited technology called extrusion, which cannot recreate the taste, texture or cooking experience of meat.
NS/TX has developed a revolutionary assembly line that is purpose-built to create meat & seafood alternatives, from beef steaks, to salmon filets, to bone-in ribs, and ground products. NS/TX’s technology authentically recreates the taste, texture, cooking experience, and nutritional profile of meat - thereby meeting customer expectations.
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What’s unique about your technology or product that sets you apart from others in the market?
NS/TX’s technology can create whole-cut meat and seafood products like a full steak, or a filet of fish. The technology recreates both the muscle fibers and the fatty connective tissue of meat, which other technologies are unable to do. This blend of textures provides an authentic mouthfeel and better flavour delivery.
Unlike extrusion, the process does not pre-cook the proteins, so the product appears raw when sold, and transforms upon cooking, just like meat, providing an authentic cooking experience.
NS/TX’s process mostly uses off-the-shelf equipment for high volume, rapid scalability, and affordable product pricing.
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What specific goals or outcomes are you hoping to achieve during SKS Japan?
We are looking to find food corporations who are interested in partnering with NS/TX to commercialize these products for the Japanese market.
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Japan is home to some of the most discerning seafood consumers in the world. Why is this the right market for New School Foods, and why is SKS Japan the right venue?
The products that NS/TX has created are considered the most authentic meat alternatives on the market, as they are served on menus including the Park Hyatt, and many Michelin-star restaurants. The opportunity to produce products for the Japanese market aligns with our goal of producing the most high-quality products possible, as well as our goal to continuously improve the products as much as possible so that we can delight the most discerning consumers. This is why Japanese customers are at the top of our list. Now that we have a commercial production line and a platform technology that allows us to rapidly adjust our products in terms of taste, texture and more, we feel that our products are ready to be sold to, and improved for, the Japanese market.
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How do you see participating as part of the Canadian Food Innovation Network delegation helping you achieve things in Japan that would be harder — or even impossible — on your own? Can you share the kinds of introductions, visibility, or market insights you expect this collective presence to create?
CFIN helps to provide credibility and open doors. We are looking for introductions to major Japanese food companies.
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Looking ahead, how do you see NS/TX shaping the future of food globally — either in Japan or elsewhere?
Our long-term mission is to make our production technology available to brands across the world, and make it the dominant process/technology used to create the meat and seafood alternatives of the future. As such, we envision ourselves creating food manufacturing facilities across the globe, often via regional partnerships.
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If SKS Japan opens doors to new markets and high-volume orders, how do you plan to finance the export expansion required, and how did you know that NS/TX was ready to deliver at that scale?
Yes, we have just scaled up our V1 assembly line and are building out our V2 assembly line in 2026, which will add significantly more capacity to support international expansion. We have strong investor support from existing investors, as well as access to low-interest debt should we need to increase our production output.
Want to learn more about what makes Japan a high-potential export opportunity for Canada? Read CFIN’s Going Global: A Market Guide for Canadian Food Innovators for insights on where the biggest international opportunities lie, and how we’re helping Canadian companies take their technologies to the world.