AGRI-FOOD INCUBATOR EXPANDS
BY ADELINE PANAMAROFF • PHOTO COURTESY OF BRADLEY GOWAN
Crop exports are a huge source of revenue for Alberta’s ag industry as is evidenced by its $16.2 billion economic contribution. However, the province’s domestic food manufacturing sales sector was worth a whopping $22.7 billion that same year.
To help food manufacturers grow and leverage this vibrant market, the Alberta government operates the Agrivalue Processing Business Incubator (APBI). Located in Leduc, it offers food processing space for up to three years to small- and medium-sized startups and existing businesses that lack the capital to build their own infrastructure. Though tenant companies supply their own manufacturing equipment when they lease a processing suite, they receive office services, storage space, access to shared staff amenities and shipping and receiving areas. They are also provided the services of business and marketing consultants. Once it has received the necessary food safety certification and is established in its space, a business’s operation is inspected daily by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The APBI also helps food manufacturers locate farmers who can provide raw ingredients. The facility can further assist with brand development, product testing, market development and acquisition of the capital a business needs to secure a permanent facility.
In December 2023, the government of Alberta received $21 million from the federal government for projects in the agriculture sector. Of that, the Alberta Bio Processing Innovation Centre and the APBI received a combined $1.1 million. The latter added 2,300 square metres of business suite space to its previous 13,000 square metres. Previously able to accommodate seven businesses, the APBI now has room for up to nine.
This facility expansion will allow more value-added businesses to use Alberta agricultural products. Current tenants include Bae Food Group, which uses Alberta meats to make ready-to-eat meat snacks and meal kits. Fellow tenant Siwin Foods produces products such as plant- and animal-based dumplings, sausages and meal kits. The company uses as many local ingredients as possible, including Alberta grown chicken, flour, pork and vegetables.
“The agri-food processors that move into this facility are locating themselves here in Alberta because of the high value, high quality products our farmers and ranchers produce,” said RJ Sigurdson, minister of Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. Agrivalue businesses attribute their success to Alberta farmers, he added, while these processors offer value-added revenue streams in return. They also represent a promising area of growth for the Alberta economy.
Sigurdson said he can’t think of a major Alberta agricultural commodity that has not been used by the facility’s tenants to produce food products. These include barley, beef, canola, chicken, oats, potatoes and wheat. “Through the facility, those product services and technicians we have available to these new businesses help them directly connect with producers in the province to get them that high quality, high value product they need to help their business grow,” said Sigurdson.
Groundswell Food Group produces meat snacks such as jerky, peppered meat sticks and pemmican. While at the facility, the business has been able to scale up production and market its products to major Canadian grocery chains. “It’s been a phenomenal place to work and to get our feet underneath us as we develop the business,” said Brandon Markiw, founder and CEO. Access to business experts helped Groundswell to navigate certification processes and product distribution channels such as natural and conventional grocers and the foodservice and hospitality industry, he added.
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