British Columbia continues to set the national pace for sustainable food innovation. From fermentation to packaging to process technology, the province’s Foodtech Frontier 25 winners are proving that environmental impact and commercial growth can advance together — and that the West Coast’s combination of science, design, and systems thinking is quietly reshaping how food gets made.
EnWave — Drying Technology That’s Changing Global Supply Chains
Vancouver-based EnWave has transformed one of food manufacturing’s oldest processes: dehydration. Its patented Radiant Energy Vacuum (REV™) technology uses controlled microwave energy under vacuum to dry foods rapidly at low temperatures, preserving nutrients, flavour, and structure while using significantly less energy than conventional methods. With more than 50 licensed partners across over 20 countries, EnWave’s systems are now used to produce everything from fruit snacks to dairy and pet food ingredients. The company’s success as a technology licensor — rather than a traditional food processor — has turned it into a quiet export engine for Canadian-made processing innovation.
Impact: EnWave demonstrates that Canadian-built equipment can redefine manufacturing efficiency on a global scale — making food preservation cleaner, faster, and less wasteful.
Fresh Prep — Pairing Circular Thinking With Meal-Kit Convenience
Vancouver’s Fresh Prep began as a regional meal-kit service but has evolved into one of Canada’s most advanced direct-to-consumer food companies. With a new 80,000-square-foot facility in Burnaby and over 35 weekly meal offerings, Fresh Prep blends local sourcing, waste reduction, and proprietary packaging systems that dramatically cut single-use plastic. Its Zero Waste Kit, featuring reusable containers and returnable inserts, has saved millions of packaging items from landfill since 2022. Beyond sustainability, the company’s emphasis on chef-designed recipes and ultra-local logistics gives it an edge against multinational meal-kit competitors.
Impact: Fresh Prep proves that convenience and circularity can coexist — and that regional meal production can compete nationally when paired with logistics innovation.
Maia Farms — Building a Mycelium-Based Protein Platform
Maia Farms is part of the vanguard shaping Canada’s alt-protein sector. The Vancouver company develops mycelium-derived ingredients designed to enhance the nutrition and texture of plant-based and hybrid foods. In 2024, Maia won the Canadian grand prize in the NASA–CSA Deep Space Food Challenge, recognized for its closed-loop fermentation system capable of producing nutritious biomass in limited-resource environments. That same year, the company secured additional funding through CFIN’s Innovation Booster program and raised $2.3 million in pre-seed funding to expand pilot production through partnerships with two CDMO facilities. Maia recently received additional support from Genome BC’s Industry Innovation Fund to accelerate commercialization.
Impact: Maia Farms is showing how fungi can help close the global protein gap, transforming B.C. into a node of North America’s growing fermentation economy.
Crush Dynamics — Upcycling Wine Waste Into Functional Ingredients
In Penticton, Crush Dynamics is transforming wine industry byproducts to create the next generation of functional ingredients. The company ferments grape pomace — the skins and seeds left after pressing — into natural compounds that enhance flavour, extend shelf life, and reduce sodium and sugar in foods. Its ingredients are now certified under the Upcycled Certified® program and validated by sensory and nutritional studies with multinational partners.
Impact: The firm turns agricultural waste into high-value inputs, helping the food industry meet reformulation and sustainability targets simultaneously.
Renaissance BioScience — Engineering Better Yeasts for a Safer Food Supply
Vancouver’s Renaissance BioScience designs and licenses proprietary yeast strains that improve safety, sustainability, and product performance. Its acrylamide-reducing yeast received FDA GRAS approval in 2023, giving food manufacturers a drop-in biological solution to cut this common carcinogenic compound in baked and fried foods. Renaissance also works on fermentation yeasts that boost flavour, efficiency, and nutrient content, with partnerships spanning North America, Europe, and Asia.
Impact: By embedding functionality into the microorganisms that drive production, Renaissance is showing how microbial biotechnology can clean up food manufacturing at its source.
ThisFish — Bringing Transparency to Seafood Supply Chains
Vancouver’s ThisFish is a global leader in seafood traceability and plant-floor digitization. Its Tally software replaces paper tracking with tablets and real-time data capture across processing lines, allowing seafood companies to trace every fillet, monitor yields, and validate sustainability claims. Clients in Canada, Belize, and Thailand report major efficiency gains and labour savings, while the platform’s new AI-driven TallyBot module predicts quality issues before they occur.
Impact: ThisFish turns traceability from a compliance exercise into an operational advantage — giving processors, regulators, and consumers shared visibility into the seafood supply chain.
FPS Food Process Solutions — Modernizing Canada’s Food Manufacturing Backbone
Headquartered in Richmond, FPS Food Process Solutions is one of Canada’s most advanced food equipment manufacturers. The company designs and builds custom freezing, cooling, and processing systems used in facilities across the country—and around the world. Its 140,000-square-foot Canadian manufacturing hub supports projects for leading domestic food businesses, while its engineering teams in B.C. continue to develop new solutions that advance every aspect of food processing.
Impact: FPS anchors Canada’s manufacturing capacity for advanced food processing—helping homegrown producers modernize, expand export capacity, and meet sustainability goals without outsourcing critical infrastructure.
Cronometer — The Nutrition Tracker Trusted by Scientists and Clinicians
Based in Revelstoke, Cronometer has become one of the world’s most trusted nutrition platforms, with more than 13 million downloads and users in over 100 countries. The app’s appeal lies in accuracy: every data point is verified against scientific sources, making it the go-to tracking tool for researchers, clinicians, and performance-focused consumers. Cronometer’s analytics suite also helps users connect biometric data from wearables to nutrition planning, bridging consumer wellness and health science.
Impact: Cronometer has made precision nutrition tools accessible and actionable. Built on verified, lab-analyzed data, it gives millions of people a trusted way to understand what they eat and how it shapes health.
British Columbia’s Foodtech Moment
British Columbia’s foodtech sector continues to flourish, exporting technology, ingredients, and ideas with global reach. From fermentation breakthroughs to digital traceability tools, the province’s leading startups are demonstrating that serious innovation can emerge from a clear sense of purpose to make the food sector cleaner, smarter, and more resilient.