Atlantic Canada’s food sector has always punched above its weight, driven by resourcefulness and a focus on practical innovation. Its foodtech leaders are extending that tradition into new territory—from smart packaging to circular materials to autonomous service systems. The region’s Foodtech Frontier 25 winners are showing how small-market ingenuity can create globally relevant technologies.
SmartSkin Technologies — Digital Twins for Smarter Packaging Lines
Fredericton’s SmartSkin Technologies has become a global leader in industrial sensing. Its patented “digital container” technology embeds pressure and motion sensors into replica bottles and cans, allowing beverage and food manufacturers to identify stress points along production lines. The company’s software platform converts that data into actionable insights to prevent damage, downtime, and waste. In August 2025, SmartSkin secured $7.5 million in growth capital from CIBC Innovation Banking to accelerate global expansion into packaging, pharma, and food manufacturing.
Impact: By digitizing how containers behave under real-world conditions, SmartSkin is helping global producers cut losses, improve efficiency, and extend the life of high-speed packaging equipment.
Dispension Industries — Automating Beverage Service With Precision Robotics
Based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Dispension Industries is redefining beverage service through secure automation. Its SmartServ kiosks use advanced ID verification, contactless payment, and tamper-proof dispensing to serve canned beverages in under a minute—ideal for stadiums, arenas, and airports. Following successful pilots at the 2022 MLB All-Star game in Los Angeles and in Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre, the company is scaling manufacturing to meet growing demand from event operators seeking to improve speed, safety, and compliance.
Impact: Dispension Industries is proving that automation can expand access and safety by redesigning service for scale, traceability, and trust.
Freshr Technologies — Extending the Life of Fresh Protein
Dartmouth-based Freshr Technologies is tackling spoilage through active packaging. Its FreshrPack film releases controlled antimicrobial compounds that slow bacterial growth and oxidation, extending the shelf life of fresh fish and meat by 15 to 30 percent. The coating, designed to bond with recyclable or compostable films, provides a sustainable alternative to chemical preservatives and heavy ice-pack logistics. This year Freshr closed on oversubscribed seed round before securing additional funding through CFIN’s Foodtech Next Program, helping them run pilot partners with industry partners and advance their commercialization efforts.
Impact: Freshr Technologies is cutting food loss across the protein supply chain by extending shelf life at the source — helping retailers and distributors reduce shrink while keeping food out of the landfill.
Infusd Nutrition — Making Nutrients Truly Soluble
Halifax-based Infusd Nutrition is pioneering technology that makes insoluble nutrients such as omega-3 oils and curcumin fully water-dispersible. Its nanostructured encapsulation platform enables precise, shelf-stable nutrient delivery for functional foods and beverages. In April 2025, the company closed an oversubscribed US $2 million seed round led by NextGen Nutrition Investment Partners, with participation from Nourish Ventures (Griffith Foods) and Agthia Ventures. Earlier, in July 2024, Infusd announced a partnership with Natures Crops International to develop plant-based omega-3 ingredients.
Impact: Infusd Nutrition is improving how functional foods are made by stabilizing nutrients that usually degrade or separate, allowing products to maintain quality and potency over time.
RFINE Biomass Solutions — Turning Coffee Waste Into New Value
Halifax-based RFINE Biomass Solutions is addressing the coffee industry’s waste problem by upcycling spent grounds into high-value materials. Its proprietary bioprocess converts coffee waste into natural additives and bio-based ingredients for agriculture and and food manufacturing. In September 2025, RFINE closed a $1.7 million equity round to scale production capacity and expand partnerships with Canadian roasters and foodservice chains. The company’s process reduces disposal costs by up to 80 percent and diverts organic waste from landfills.
Impact: RFINE Biomass Solutions is creating commercial value from coffee waste by converting it into usable ingredients for food and cosmetics — helping cafes and restaurants turn a disposal cost into a secondary revenue stream.
Atlantic Canada’s Foodtech Moment
Atlantic Canada’s foodtech ecosystem reflects the region’s strengths: ingenuity, collaboration, and a commitment to doing more with less. Its innovators are tackling freshness, automation, and waste with practical, exportable solutions. By pairing scientific precision with hands-on problem-solving, these companies are helping build a cleaner, more efficient, and more resilient food system from the East Coast outward.