New partnership will put more nutritional food options in freezers across Canada

Convenience and nutrition have often been considered a balancing act, but that doesn’t have to be the case. In a new project, which includes support from Protein Industries Canada, new partners Evive Inc. and Original Foods Ltd. are coming together to develop products that are focused on offering families everything they’re looking for in a quick, nutritionally complete meal: Clean-label, whole-food-based functional meal solutions that support consumer health.

“Projects like this are a great example of Canada’s Make It Here opportunity,” Protein Industries Canada CEO Tyler Groeneveld said. “By taking Canadian crops and ingredients and doing more with them here, we can capture more value for Canadians: that means more nutritious food options for consumers, more economic opportunity for the country, and more growth opportunity for companies.”

With a focus on avoiding allergens while delivering high levels of protein, the companies are using Canadian-grown peas, oat and hemp to develop a range of foods that will make their way to grocery store shelves and freezers across the country, including plant-protein powders, frozen pops and bites, and Canada’s first plant-based meal frozen smoothies.

The products’ development supports Canada’s opportunity to expand its domestic processing capacity. By adding value to Canadian high-value, high-protein crops, Evive and Original Foods will prove Canada can make more food at home, enhancing food security while strengthening the country’s economy.

"What consumers are looking for has changed very rapidly over the past two to three years. The focus on protein is immense, and very few options in the freezer space provide healthy food that tastes amazing and delivers 20-plus grams of protein,” Evive Co-Founder and CEO Dominic Dubé said. “We've embarked on this mission with the help of Protein Industries Canada, and will be able to include Canadian-sourced protein, which is something we're very excited to bring to market starting in 2027, in 2,000 grocery stores across the country."

Evive will lead the development of the new products, commercializing six new or enhanced product lines across Canada. Their work will be supported by Original Foods, who will provide specialized equipment, as well as research and co-manufacturing expertise.

"This partnership reflects Original Foods' commitment to investing in Canadian food manufacturing and supporting innovative brands that are shaping the future of nutrition. Working alongside Evive allows us to leverage our manufacturing expertise to bring new products to market while creating greater value from Canadian-grown ingredients. We are proud to contribute to a project that supports both consumer health and the growth of Canada's food processing sector,” Original Foods Controller/CFO Gloria Zhang said.

A total of $9.6 million was committed to the project, with Protein Industries Canada investing $2.2 million and the companies together investing the remainder.