Protein Industries Canada has put an open call out for projects exploring the blending of pulses and cereal crops to create new ingredients and plant-based food products as well as improve existing ones in store shelves.
With the demand for plant-based foods, higher-protein goods, and healthier products continuing to rise, Protein Industries Canada looks to partner and fund new projects exploring the blending of pulses and cereals to accommodate. Lisa Campbell, the senior director of programs with Protein Industries Canada, has seen the growth through previous years and knows the value this can bring to Canadian agriculture.
“Five years of the first framework, we saw some new infrastructure come up and we saw some new products hit the market. So, in this round of funding, we're seeing those same companies taking off and moving forward, but we also are looking a little bit wider here as we look to build towards that $25 billion goal we want to encompass Canada’s entire plant-based value chain and we can’t do that without looking at wheat and barley.”
Protein Industries Canada is a well-established plant-based food manufacturer, investing almost $600 million dollars into 72 projects over the years, but has mainly dealt solely with pulse crops such as peas and faba beans. This call for projects is the first time they’ve looked at expanding using cereal crops. Canada is one of the premier growers of cereal crops in the world, growing nearly 34.3 million tonnes of wheat in 2024, and fifth in the world producers of barley, according to Cereals Canada.
By exploring the ability to blend these cereal crops with pulses to create higher quality plant-based food products, it opens a whole new door for Canadian agriculture to grow and expand within the plant-based foods industry, which is poised to increase to $25 billion dollars by the year 2030. Campbell states the excitement and new opportunity a project of this magnitude can bring to agriculture in Canada.
"It's very exciting. It's more and more high value markets for Canadian crops, great news for Canadian farmers, Canadian producers and for Canadian consumers. Lots of people are choosing plant-based foods for a variety of reasons, everything from dietary preference right over to allergies and intolerances so it’s great to have these very nutritious, well priced products on the market.”
Protein Industries Canada is looking to invest $10 million dollars into these projects; blending Canadian pulse and cereal crops within Canadian manufacturing companies to create healthy, high-quality, protein-rich food products to go on Canadian grocery stores and be enjoyed by Canadian consumers.