Protein Industries Canada (PIC) is announcing another partnership — this time, one that will develop plant-based food products and beverages.
YoFiit, Avena Foods, and Roquette Canada have partnered to solve technical challenges in formulating plant-based beverages, probiotic rich yogurt, and other functional plant-based analogues. The partnership’s key focus will be on maintaining the nutritional equivalency to animal-based products, achieving higher functionality than existing products in the consumer packaged goods industry.
The $1.7 million project will showcase Canada’s capacity, not only as a supplier of quality ingredients, but also for embracing cutting-edge food technology and patent-pending processes to develop products that are unique in the global plant-based protein marketplace.
YoFiit, a food-tech start-up with plant-based snacks and milk alternatives available in grocery stores across Canada, will lead the development of new food manufacturing techniques and novel food products.
Avena and Roquette Canada will build off the success of their prior PIC projects, which will allow the companies to find innovative, direct applications for their ingredients in products like YoFiit’s plant-based foods and beverages, while also bringing new ingredients and technical expertise that will help drive the project forward.
Avena and Roquette Canada will also supply the ingredients for the project and will gain important knowledge about the functionality and performance of their ingredients in unique and innovative CPG products.
“This project demonstrates the power of collaboration and importance of building capacity along the ecosystem. By pairing YoFiit, a young start-up, with global leaders like Avena and Roquette Canada, innovation, commercialization, and scale-up happens quicker – with the economic value and associated expertise staying in Canada,” says Bill Gruel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada. “By increasing ingredient and food processing capacity in Canada, we are strengthening our domestic food supply chain, helping to reduce GHG emissions, creating jobs and supporting a strong and more prosperous economy.”
Related:
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Protein Industries Canada and partners launch sector roadmap
