Hello Rossana,

Food and Beverage Industry News - January 2024!

The Labour, Trade and Economic Development Branch supports economic growth

across Ontario’s agri-food value chain by helping businesses, rural communities and

organizations to prosper by providing information, resources and programming, as

well as helping to make direct business connections with buyers, suppliers and

investors.

To contact one of our Economic and Business Advisors please send an email to ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca or call 1-877-424-1300.

Edition features:

• Highlight
• Funding programs
• OMAFRA Webinars
• Trade Events
• Industry News
• Research and Innovation Opportunities
• Resources

HIGHLIGHT

New funding opportunity to boost efficiency in farming and food processing!

The Governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $25 million, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), to expand production capacity and boost energy efficiency in the agriculture and food sector.

Through the Agri-Tech Innovation Initiative, funding will be provided to eligible farm and food processing businesses to help them invest in innovative technology, equipment or processes that will expand production capacity or enhance efficiency.



Applications for the Initiative will be accepted starting on February 15, 2024.

Learn more about this opportunity here: Governments Driving Innovation in Food Production | Ontario Newsroom

FUNDING PROGRAMS

Intake for Ontario Agri-food Research Initiative

The Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) Intakes for the following 3 streams are open until January 11, 2024.

• Applied research
• Pilot and demonstration
• Commercialization (Note: This stream is being delivered through Bioenterprise)

Please visit OAFRI and Bioenterprise websites for guidelines, application forms and contacts.

For more information on eligibility for these funding supports visit the OAFRI webpage.

Apply now for the Grow Ontario Market Initiative!

The Governments of Canada and Ontario are investing up to $8 million in market development efforts under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) to help eligible agri-food businesses and industry organizations expand into domestic and foreign markets.

The Grow Ontario Market Initiative is a new, cost-share initiative that helps food and beverage processors, farm businesses and agri-food sector organizations take actions to reach new markets. Examples of eligible projects could include:

• Market analysis and planning
• Product development activities
• New market-entry promotional efforts to expand opportunities for Ontario food products

Under the Grow Ontario Market Initiative, applicants can receive up to 50 percent cost share for eligible costs, to a maximum of $60,000 per business for producers and food and beverage processors, and up to $125,000 for sector organizations. Eligible businesses can apply for support through this program that opened on May 19, 2023.

Grow Ontario Market Initiative Guidelines and Application can be found on the website here.

Sustainable CAP is a five-year (2023-2028), $3.5-billion investment by federal‐provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation, and resiliency of the agriculture, agri‐food and agri‐based products sector.

Strategic Energy Management Program - Apply Now!

Save on Energy recently launched a new program for industrial, commercial, and institutional organizations in Ontario. This Strategic Energy Management (SEM) Program places organizations within a cohort of peers to receive coaching, training, peer support, and financial incentives to help meet their energy reduction goals.

Given the importance of the food and beverage sector in Ontario, the program plans to build a dedicated Food & Beverage Cohort to address specific energy challenges and opportunities in the sector and support efforts to reduce utility costs and improve sustainability. We encourage you to join your peers and take part.

Applications are being accepted now!



Program Highlights:

• Earn up to $5,000 towards energy management tools
• Earn up to $100,000 in performance incentives per year (at $0.02 per kWh saved)
• Participate in facilitated activities to identify energy-saving opportunities at your facility and identify gaps in your energy management practices
• Work with experts to develop a facility baseline model to monitor energy performance

To connect directly with the SEM Program team, schedule a 15 minute zoom call with an SEM Coach. 

TRADE EVENTS

Calling all potential exhibitors for Expo ANTAD Mexico 2024!  

OMAFRA in collaboration with Toronto Region Board of Trade, federal and provincial partners will be leading an in-person trade mission to Expo ANTAD.

Expo ANTAD the largest trade show in Mexico dedicated to the retail sector. It takes place in Guadalajara from March 12 to 14, 2024.

Interested in Expo ANTAD Mexico? Exhibit with OMAFRA

Program will include education sessions, B2B meetings, briefings and

space at the Canadian Pavilion at the show.

Register here by January 15: ANTAD

2024 Trade Mission (March 2024) (pointerpro.com)

For more information contact Fabiola Sicard at fabiola.sicard@ontario.ca

Grocery and Specialty Food West Show - Be Part of the Ontario Pavilion in Vancouver, BC!

Join the excitement at the Grocery and Specialty Food West 2024 event! Prepare to be blown away by the vibrant Choose Ontario Booth Pavilion at the Vancouver Convention Centre in beautiful Vancouver, BC April 22-23, 2024. This isn’t just any trade show—it’s the pinnacle of Western Canada’s grocery exhibition and conference scene.

Choose Ontario Booth Pavilion Package

Exhibit with OMAFRA and save! While a standard booth space typically costs $24.50 per sq. ft., the exclusive Choose Ontario deal slashes that to an incredible $15.50 per sq. ft.! Receive a 10x10 booth for just $1,550.00—complete with a décor package that elevates your total value to well over $3,000.

For more details, visit www.gsfshow.com

To secure your spot at the Ontario Pavilion, reach out to Rolster Taylor at rtaylor@cfig.ca or dial 419-492-4878.

Restaurants Canada Trade Show – April 8-10, 2024

There is still space available to exhibit as part of the Ontario Pavilion at the 79th edition of Canada’s leading hospitality and foodservice event at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place!

This year’s event theme “Level Up” will bring the industry together to fuel their profitability and success for the upcoming year.

OMAFRA and Restaurants Canada are pleased to provide Ontario food and beverage companies the opportunity to display their unique, local products in the Ontario Pavilion. This feature pavilion showcases Ontario-made products and connects you with international buyers, as well as chefs, caterers, distributors, brokers, restaurateurs, and foodservice operators.

Exhibit with OMAFRA and Save!

We are offering am exclusive booth and promotion package at a discount rate of $2,499 for a 10’ x 10’ or $1,249.50 for 5’ x 10’. Corner booths are complimentary and assigned on a first come, first serve basis. Limited space available.

For more information, and to register, please contact Lerna at lerna@restaurantscanada.org.

The Future of Agriculture - An evening with McKinney & McConnell

On February 12, 2024, the Canadian Agri-Food Automation & Intelligence Network will present "The Future of Agriculture" at the Ottawa Westin Hotel. Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and Kim McConnell, co-founder of AdFarm, will be speaking at the event.

The conference explores global agri-food issues and places a strong emphasis on systems, technology, and procedures to meet the world's expanding food needs. There is a limited amount of seating available, and registration will close when it is full.

Donations to the Ottawa Food Bank are recommended in order to support local food security. This event is a lead-up to Farm Credit Canada's "Future of Food" event, which takes place in Ottawa's Shaw Centre on February 13, 2024, in conjunction with Canada's Agriculture Day. 

Register Here

Calling all potential exhibitors for SIAL Canada 2024! 

Salon International de l ‘Alimentation (SIAL) Canada 2024 is being hosted in Montreal for an in-person trade show from May 15 to 17, 2024 at Palais Des Congrès, Montreal.

As the largest food innovation trade show in North America, this show offers an opportunity for companies in this sector to gain deeper insights into market dynamics and global food trends.

OMAFRA and SIAL Canada are pleased to provide Ontario food and beverage manufacturers the opportunity to display their unique, local products in the Ontario Pavilion.

This feature pavilion showcases Ontario-made products and connects you with international buyers.

Interested in SIAL Canada? Exhibit with OMAFRA

Register now at an exclusive and discounted rate of only CAD $1,500 +HST ($1,695.00) for a 10x10 ft. single booth or CAD $3,000 +HST ($3,390.00) for a 10x20 ft. double booth to exhibit with the Ontario Pavilion. Take advantage of this special turnkey offer.

Corner booths are complimentary and assigned on a first come, first serve basis. Limited space available.

Interested in exhibiting? Register here

Interested in participating in IDDBA 2024?

For the first time ever, OMAFRA is providing Ontario food and beverage manufacturers the opportunity to display their products in the Ontario Pavilion at the at the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) Show.

IDDBA 2024 will be held in Houston, Texas from June 9 - 11. This show is the largest industry-only show for the dairy, deli, bakery, and foodservice industries. Spend three days growing your business by meeting decision makers from around the globe face-to-face and building relationships.

To learn more, please visit the IDDBA website: www.iddba.org

Interested in IDDBA? Exhibit with OMAFRA!

Register now at an exclusive and discounted rate of only CAD $3,400 +HST ($3,842.00) for a 10x10 ft. single booth or CAD $6,800 +HST ($7,684.00) for a 10x20 ft. double booth to exhibit with the Ontario Pavilion. Take advantage of this special turnkey offer. 

Space is extremely limited. If you are interested in exhibiting, please register here: https://iddba2024.omafrabdb-events.ca/register/

If you have additional questions about the Ontario Pavilion program, please check the event website. 

OMAFRA WEBINARS

Webinar: Exporting to the EU - Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) - March 20 at 10am EST

Join the Government of Ontario in collaboration with the Canadian Mission to the European Union for a free webinar on exporting to the EU focusing on the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA).

Topics will include:

• General overview of the CETA agreement
• Deeper dive into tariffs and Rules of Origin 
• Logistics and distribution in the EU 
• Labelling requirements 

Featured Speaker: Julie Ferguson-Ceniti, Trade Commissioner, Canadian Mission to the European Union, Brussels

Register Now

INDUSTRY NEWS

Applications for the 2024 Alizés Awards are now open! 

The Group Export Agri-Food is opening of the 2024 Alizés Awards application period. The Alizés Awards celebrate the excellence of the work accomplished by Canadian agri-food companies that have distinguished themselves on international markets and are presented by FCC.

To be eligible, your company must:

• be a Canadian agricultural or food processing company
• have its main head office in Canada
• market products that are mainly manufactured in Canada
• have been in business for at least 3 years
• be an active exporter outside Canada for at least 2 years
• have annual sales of at least $1 million

Canadian agri-food companies can visit the lesprixalizesawards.ca website to register and receive their application form for the Alizés Awards.

Applications will close on February 28, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. EDT.

Hire a Co-Op Student for Summer 2024!

It's quick and easy to find the ideal candidate to help with your recruitment needs. U of G co-op students bring their skills and enthusiasm to positively impact your organization. 

Employers can hire students from co-op programs including Business, Engineering, Computing, Science, Agriculture, and Arts, for 4, 8 or 12-month work terms (select programs). 

Learn more & post your jobs - https://www.recruitguelph.ca/cecs/news/2024-co-op-job-postings

Food and Beverage Wholesale distribution industry ranks its top ten risks

To gain a deeper insight into the top health and safety concerns in Food & Beverage Wholesale Distribution, Workplace Safety & Prevention Services (WSPS) facilitated a risk assessment workshop engaging workers and supervisors in the industry. Employing Ministry of Labor, Immigration, Training and Skills Development risk assessment methodology, industry experts identified the leading risks in the sector and are working collaboratively with OHS facilitators and stakeholders to propose solutions to protect workers.

Learn more about the results and find out the top 10 hazards in the Food and Beverage Wholesale distribution industry.

SSFPA Launches Venture-Capital Ready: Investment Training For Women Entrepreneurs

Empower your agri-food or beverage business with the Venture-Capital Ready Program!

Designed for women entrepreneurs, this initiative offers participants coaching and expert feedback to enhance their investor interactions. With pitching practice and use of the Investor Pipeline, get your company in front of interested investors and create strong opportunities.

Join in on the training to elevate your business and secure the funding you need for growth!

Learn More about the Venture-Capital Ready Program!

New DEI Training for Food & Beverage Employers 

Food Processing Skills Canada is now offering new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion-Conscious (DEI) training starting with "The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conscious Organization."

This e-course has been designed for employers, senior leaders, and HR professionals to gain insights on DEI principles of fairness, respect and collaboration, and to learn strategies on how to create an inclusive workplace.

The course's expert-led modules guide learners in navigating workforce challenges, enhancing employee engagement, and increasing productivity. Broaden your leadership skills and make workplace culture improvements that will drive a welcoming and cohesive organization. 

Learn more HERE.

Hire a college or university student now for the winter semester!

Ready to add new talent and skills to your business but don't where to start? Try a student for a work integrated learning placement (co-op or internship) and receive up to $7,000 in wage subsidies per semester.

Employers can hire students in programs such as food science, marketing, and engineering from local colleges and universities, and receive funding through Food Processing Skills Canada's SWPP+ program. Follow the lead of other successful food companies who connect with young talent early in their careers. 



Visit SWPP+ to Hire a Student

The Art and Science of Meat and Poultry TASTING - A comprehensive course that Explores Theory to Palate

Designed for culinary experts, food & wine enthusiasts, butchers, meat industry professionals, hospitality leaders and more.

After completing this course you will be able to:

• Understand personal taste buds & profiles
• Use a unique language for describing meat texture and flavour
• Understand the various basic cuts and their unique taste profiles
• Describe how cooking styles affect overall taste characteristics
• Upgrade your sales tactics to connect and sell to consumers
• Explain the basics of pairing beef, pork and chicken with wine

Course Details:

Thursday, February 1st, 2024

10am-5pm

Woodward Meats, Oakville

Early bird $495 (After Jan. 8th $595)

Register here

New jobseeker recruitment campaign launched by Food and Beverage Ontario for CareersNOW!

If you are an employer in Ontario's food and beverage industry now is the time to create a free account with CareersNOW! and post a job or participate in a virtual job fair to benefit from the program's jobseeker recruitment campaign. This campaign will connect thousands of jobseekers and students with employers through CareersNOW! employment resources. 

Visit www.careersnow.ca for more information.

RESEARCH AND INNOVATION OPPORTUNITIES

Webinar: Food For Thought: Insights From Peers In Dutch Food Industry - January 24 at 9:00am EST

Join this 1-hour webinar on January 24, 2024, and learn from SMEs in the Netherlands how they have used automation to successfully off-set current challenges.

This webinar will showcase two food processing companies from the Netherlands that have based their success (amongst others) on automation. The Food Strategy Institute will also give a wider picture of all the current challenges and share innovative ways to address these.

Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Time: 9:00AM- 10:00AM EST

Location: Online

For more information, visit the event page and register now: Food For Thought: Insights From Peers In Dutch Food Industry Tickets, Wed, 24 Jan 2024 at 9:00 AM | Eventbrite

Fanshawe Centre for Research & Innovation (CRI)

Presenting an innovative research project success from Fanshawe CRI: Evaporation and spray-drying of herbal tinctures for Perfect Herbs. Perfect Herbs is a group of Registered Herbalists and Naturopathic Doctors who started out by tincturing their own herbs for patient use. Their mission is to keep high-quality herbs accessible, affordable, and sustainable for practitioners in Canada.

The challenge:

Perfect Herbs needed to address the challenges in both evaporating and spray-drying their herbal tinctures in order to assess the best drying technology for their products.

The result:

The research team at Fanshawe:

• Produced a custom formulation process (food-grade) for evaporating and spray-drying different herbal tinctures
• Custom spray-drying technique made it possible to produce powder with improved physical, chemical, and biological characteristics suitable for further product development
• Compared the success of different binding agents in dried products in addition to other parameters that will increase yield and quality of the dried tinctures.

Learn more about Research and Innovation at Fanshawe College.

Announcing the Packaging Advancement Centre

The Packaging Advancement Centre (PAC) will be operational at the start of 2024. PAC will be housed at The Grove at Western Fair District to help small- and medium-sized food processing enterprises to develop packaging for new products on a small scale.

“The Packaging Advancement Centre will help shorten the commercialization gap for food processing companies” – Alison Ewart, Dean of CRI

Learn more about the Packaging Advancement Centre (PAC)

Get Ready for Retail: R&D Support Available at George Brown College

The Food Innovation & Research Studio works with companies of all sizes to tackle food science challenges and get you ready for retail. FIRSt offers support in product development, optimization, shelf-life testing, nutritional analysis, consumer sensory feedback and much more from our lab at George Brown College in downtown Toronto. The team of food scientists, chefs, and industry professionals are ready to be your R&D experts.

For more information visit the George Brown College website.

Aiming to launch a new beverage product? Niagara College’s HACCP Certified Beverage Pilot Plant can help

We help you be market-ready by focusing on getting the food safety and quality parameters right at the initial stages of development so you can prove your concept in the market and be confident in your next steps of scaling to commercial co-packing/manufacturing. We de-risk the product launch process and plug in where you need support most by helping to:

• Develop, reformulate, and initial scale-up new (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) beverage products
• Provide GMP food safe small batch processing from 50 L to 1,000 L
• De-risk process and formula optimization through pilot trials and scale-up feasibility studies
• Conduct food safety risk assessments, shelf-life studies, beverage formulation, mixing, carbonating, bottling/canning, and pasteurization
• Ensure peace of mind by being HACCP Certified, CFIA Licenced under Safe Food for Canadians Act and Approved for Inter-provincial Trade, and AGCO compliant
• Provide fee-for-service rates and funding options that can offset applied research project costs subject to eligibility criteria

Click here to contact us and get the conversation started!

Conestoga Food Research and Innovation Lab (CFRIL) is your partner in applied food research

With Conestoga College's research network integrating the expertise of their industry experts at the Institute of Food Processing Technology, School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts and Packaging Technology they offer support from concept to finished product. From their 8,000 sq ft pilot plant to culinary arts labs they can test at a scale that best suits your current business needs. Their pilot plant offers end-to-end beverage, retort, vegetable processing and bakery lines, along with vertical flow wrapping, tray sealing and vacuum sealing.

Reach out to Nicole Detlor at ndetlor@conestogac.on.ca to discuss how they can collaborate or check out their website to learn more about their capabilities.

Free Resources for Food Entrepreneurs in Canada! 

Venturepark Labs is, a non-profit consumer packaged goods ecosystem now provides a FREE entrepreneur resource to support food businesses in their growth efforts. This resource is called "Park Guides."

The Park Guides collection is a set of free resources that is carefully curated to assist aspiring and growing food, beverage, and wellness product brand owners as they scale their businesses. Each guide contains valuable insights, relevant questions, and customized lists of resources that cater to every stage of the consumer-packaged goods journey. Explore Park Guides to access the information you need!

To download guides from Park Guides, please follow these instructions:

1. Go to the website's URL at https://www.ventureparklabs.ca/entrepreneur-resources.
2. Select the desired topic from the options provided.
3. Click on the "Get Your Guide" button.
4. Fill out the required fields, which include your name and email address.
5. Once you have inputted the necessary information, you will be able to download your guide immediately.

Private units are now available!

Venturepark Labs are now offering private units ranging from 230 - 750 sqft (with lease rates below $9/sq ft) available for food entrepreneurs who require more space for production with great facilities, including:

• 24/7 access to the building
• Loading dock with full-size transport truck access
• Full production utilities
• Shipping and receiving support
• Cold ambient and food storage available (some bundled and some additional costs if large volume)
• Access to boardroom and business services (WiFi & Printing)
• Access to shared kitchens at a preferred rate
• Access to all our programs, events, experts, and coaching

The kitchen is in North York, with readily available public transportation alternatives close by, as well as all the conveniences and assistance you'll need. This incubator might provide everything your startup needs to grow and succeed.

Location: 76 Densley, North York, Ontario, M6M 2R3

Connect with Ventureparks Labs: stella@venturepark.ca