Participated · Seed · May 2024

Maia Farms is a Vancouver-based food-tech company that engineers mushroom and mycelium ingredients through liquid-state fermentation, extrusion processing, and a proprietary "fungal intelligence" platform. Its products target food manufacturers that want sustainable, nutrient-dense alternatives to conventional animal or plant proteins. The startup already collaborates with more than 70 global service companies and maintains an impact partnership with The Greater Vancouver Food Bank. With a focus on scaling, Maia plans to accelerate commercial production, broaden its ingredient portfolio, and deepen partnerships across the food industry. The firm will also expand its fermentation and extrusion capacity to meet anticipated demand. Including non-dilutive capital, the company has secured more than $6.5 million in funding to date, underscoring strong early investor and grant support for its technology and mission.

Led · Equity · Feb 2024

Renaissance BioScience develops non-GMO yeast technology that uses fermentation to neutralize off-aromas and undesirable flavors in plant-based flours and proteins. The company is working with food industry partners to develop and commercialize a clean-label yeast solution that would appear simply as “yeast” on ingredient lists, reducing the need for flavor-masking additives. Renaissance has applied its yeast bioengineering expertise previously to reduce hydrogen sulfide off-aromas in wine and beer, and a range of out-licensed strains are sold worldwide. The firm was awarded CAD $232,000 in funding from the Canadian Food Innovation Network to advance the plant-protein project. It has been accepted into the Government of Canada’s 2024 Food Technologies Canadian Technology Accelerator program to support commercialization. The team emphasizes a non-GMO, clean-label approach aimed at improving consumer acceptance of plant-based products.

Led · Equity · Jan 2024

Gastronomous Technologies Inc., based in Oakville, Ontario, is developing smart, connected kitchen equipment that automates repetitive food-preparation tasks through autonomous appliances. Its Smart Kitchens project focuses on equipment ranging from ingredient preparation to accurate, automated portioning and dispensing. The company received funding through CFIN’s Food Innovation Challenge to advance these products and facilitate integration into existing restaurant kitchens. Gastronomous emphasizes solutions that improve product consistency, enhance food safety, and reduce food waste while addressing labour shortages in the foodservice industry. The company is partnering with Recipe Unlimited and Sodexo Canada Limited to ensure its solutions are customer-oriented and effective for industry needs. Since the beginning of 2023, Gastronomous has added three software engineering roles, three field technician roles, and one business development position to support growing demand.

Led · Equity · Apr 2023

Food Cycle Science designs and sells the FoodCycler®, an award-winning electric food waste recycler for households, businesses, and municipalities. The device is energy-efficient, eliminates odours, reduces waste volume by up to 90%, and can decrease food-waste emissions by more than 75%. To date, FCS has delivered over 250,000 units that are in use in more than 20 countries and launched its first North American household unit in 2017. The company works with global distributors, U.S. waste haulers, food service operators, and municipalities and has won multiple awards and high consumer ratings. FCS says it aims to eliminate the world’s food waste and continues to develop patented technology and new products. The company highlights plans to expand market presence, enter new channels and geographies, and scale growth with institutional partners. Food Cycle Science designs, sells, and distributes FoodCycler on-site food-waste management systems intended to convert food scraps into nutrient-rich, garden-ready fertilizers. The company is developing enzyme applications for its FoodCycler system to rapidly degrade bioplastics and co-process them with food waste into a beneficial soil amendment. FCS says this approach can reduce reliance on artificial fertilizers, lower landfill greenhouse gas emissions, and help prevent contamination of municipal waste streams. The company demonstrated a prototype commercial "one-bin" system and presented leading-edge enzyme degradation research at its Ottawa headquarters. FCS is accelerating and scaling its FoodCycler On-Site Waste Diversion Project and is progressing through the third stage of Impact Canada's Food Waste Reduction Challenge. The company received recent funding to support its R&D and commercialization efforts.

Led · Equity · Aug 2022

Henry's Tempeh produces organic tempeh using organic Canadian soybeans and minimal processing. The company sources beans from growers near its Kitchener, Ontario production facility and emphasizes ethical sourcing and nutrient-dense products. Its mission is to produce accessible fermented plant-based foods using ethically sourced ingredients. Henry's is developing a new fermentation system intended to reduce waste and improve product quality, and plans to launch a new non-soy product line. The company is pursuing expansion of its product line and production facility and aims to develop world-class fermentation technology to strengthen its position in the Canadian fermented foods sector. President Jason Jurchuk said public funding has been important to accelerate innovation and the company is receiving CFIN support to advance its technology.