Igniting Innovation
How unique partnerships are leading to full value-chain benefits
Every company has its area of expertise, but that also means every company has an area in which it can improve. Canada’s plant-based food and ingredients sector is being built on the belief that by working together, companies can balance out those areas of improvement, helping each other to grow and create benefits for everyone along the value chain—from producer through to consumer.
Often, these benefits come about thanks to the innovative ways in which the partners are utilizing Canada’s diverse product offerings—such as the new canola protein developed by Merit Functional Foods.
“In our case, because of the unique characteristics of our proteins, our proteins are higher purity than other plant proteins in the market,” Merit Functional Foods Co-CEO Ryan Bracken said. “When blending canola protein with other plant proteins, you can achieve enhanced nutrition and functionality. With that said, we highly recommend they be used in a certain manner. So all of those things together lend itself to the need to collaborate, the need to have dialogue.”
Bracken added that an open dialogue between Merit and its partners is an important element to ensuring these new ingredients and formulations are successful. Without this open dialogue, he explained, it would be difficult to ensure the ingredients are performing in the way they’re expected to, providing Merit’s partners with a product that meets their needs.
“We believe that we can take what we learn together working on the project and apply it in many, many other circumstances. We're adding to the knowledge base of the food industry generally and the plant-based food industry a bit more specifically.”
The team at Crush Dynamics Inc. (formerly Winecrush Technology Inc.) has a similar view of their role in a plant-based foods partnership. Working with the co-products from wine creation, Crush Dynamics develops ingredients that improve the taste, texture and overall functionality of plant-based foods and beverages. It’s a sustainable approach to ingredient development that Kirk Moir, CEO of Crush Dynamics, is proud to provide.
“We're in the business of transforming agricultural side-streams into high-performance food,” Moir said. “We're just scratching the surface of what polyphenols can do in food formulation. It's a surprisingly understudied area, so there is a significant need for more food science R&D in this area. We believe bio transformed polyphenols create significant opportunities in next generation food.”
Both Merit and Crush Dynamics are involved in multiple projects under the Protein Industries Canada umbrella, and both have seen significant value in taking part. Bracken explained that such collaboration has allowed Merit to more easily solve any challenges they may encounter in their ingredient development, leading to quicker and more substantial success. Moir has seen similar benefits at Winecrush, including new knowledge that can be utilized by others in the sector.
“I'm a fan of the expression, ‘One plus one equals eleven,’ ” Moir said. “We believe that we can take what we learn together working on the project and apply it in many, many other circumstances. We're adding to the knowledge base of the food industry generally and the plant-based food industry a bit more specifically.”
Mutual trust among all partners has been key to seeing these benefits come to fruition. Moir explained that this high level of trust helps lead to each partner understanding where they fit into a project, and how they can help each partner succeed.
Bracken agreed, stressing that it’s the most important element to a successful partnership.
“It's the willingness to have dialogue, to be transparent and open about their struggles and challenges,” he said. “At Merit, we are proud to be an ingredient solutions provider. We are committed to working with brands to solve functional challenges and assisting in their achievements and goals. It comes down to having strong partnerships and collaborating to develop better plant-based products.”
By building on this trust and open dialogue, companies across the value chain can work together to bring their innovative ideas to the market, creating new ingredients, foods and beverages that will line grocery store shelves across Canada and around the world.
