Protein Industries Canada Optimistic about Canada’s Future in Plant-Protein Sector

The plant-protein market is growing. A recent study by JP Morgan estimated that the market will be worth $100 billion by 2030. Although this represents a seemingly small portion of the entire global protein market, it presents an opportunity for growth in the plant-protein sector. What this invariably means is more people are moving to plant-based diets and looking for plant-based sources of proteins. As a result, stakeholders in the food supply chain such as processors, retailers, and restaurants are also finding innovative ways to introduce and incorporate these options so as to meet changing consumer demands.

Protein Industries Canada (PIC) is an industry-led, not-for-profit organization created to position the country as a global source of high-quality plant protein and plant-based co-products. PIC is one of Canada’s five Innovation Superclusters that were launched by the Canadian government in 2018 to support business-led innovation superclusters with the greatest potential to energize the economy and become engines of growth. The Innovation Superclusters Initiative is investing up to $950 million in a small number of high-value, strategic investments to strengthen Canada’s most promising clusters and build superclusters at a scale that has the potential to transform the domestic food processing sector, create jobs and stimulate local economies.

Two years in, the activities and investments of Protein Industries Canada are already beginning to make an impact. They can boast of: 

• Over 700 jobs created, 

• Development of nearly 100 new products and services with more than 30 pieces of intellectual property, 

• High use of environmentally sustainable production and processing practices. 

The economic prospects are promising. Research has shown that Canada can attain an additional $6 Billion of annual incremental value with just a ten percent increase in value-added processing of Western Canadian crops. 

As a former member of the board for Protein Industries Canada, I am excited about these developments and I believe these targets can be achieved when we come together to forge vibrant professional relationships, as well as employ technology that is useful to the sector. Perhaps then, in the near future, Canada would become a global leader in plant-based ingredients.