Developing new line of plant-based seafood alternatives
Make
Consortia Contribution
$9,810,525
Cluster Contribution
$5,524,856.84
Konscious Foods
Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds
Merit Functional Foods
Goal
Develop 20+ nutritious and appealing clean-label plant-based seafood products that will outperform existing plant-based seafood product options.
Project Summary
The Konscious Foods-led consortium will develop 20+ nutritious and appealing clean-label plant-based seafood products that will outperform existing plant-based seafood product options, and be priced competitively against existing options while offering significant advantages in terms of nutrition, flavour, texture, and environmental sustainability.
The quality of the products will transform the value chain starting in North American markets with a three-part focus on mass retail, direct-to-consumer, and foodservice channels. These products will be differentiated and will leverage the sustainable development of the products, strong lifestyle brand recognition across multiple product platforms, collaborative relationships, and years of collective experience in the plant-based food sector domestically and globally.
Results and Impact
- The partners successfully developed and commercialized a line of 26 plant-based seafood products that outperform its peers in taste, texture, nutrition and clean label.
- Konscious partnered with various educational institutions to provide internship opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in the food manufacturing industry. Of the eight Masters students who completed their practicum with Konsicous, one student was hired full time.
- This project supported job growth in certain Indigenous communities, primarily Coastal First Nations, with the opportunity to indirectly work with these communities through collaboration with Canadian Pacifico Seaweeds.
- Konscious Foods increased access to talent and supported the growth of the plant protein ecosystem by hiring 30+ employees to support the commercialization of innovative plant-based products, and expects continued employee growth over the next five years.
