CFIN FoodTech Next Program

Receive up to $250,000 for Food Tech Demonstration.

The CFIN FoodTech Next Program offers funding for early-stage Canadian technology firms who seek to be part of or sell to the wider food industry but need to demonstrate and pilot their solutions in operational environments to prove their solutions and demonstrate the return on investment for the food sector. This program is currently accepting Expressions of Interest (EOI).

Funding Amount

Eligible applicants can receive up to 50% to a max of $250,000 in grant funding towards their project.

Eligible Applicants

Must be submitted by Canadian incorporated businesses with less than $1M in annual sales in their most recently completed fiscal year.

Eligible Activities

Applicants must propose to demonstrate new industry processes, new product categories, new knowledge, or a new application of science.

Deadline to Apply

Expression of Interest (EOI) Close: September 6, 2023. Application Deadline is November 13, 2023.

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CFIN FoodTech Next Program

Amount of Funding

Successful applicants for this program may be eligible for the following funding allotments:

Non-repayable contribution of 50% of total eligible project costs to a maximum of $250,000
Total eligible project costs must be between $200,000 and $500,000
CFIN will require a non-refundable project management fee of 5% of total project costs eligible for CFIN funding.

Amount of Funding from the Canadian Government

CFIN FoodTech Next Program

Eligible Applicants

Eligible (lead) applicants must:

Be submitted by Canadian incorporated businesses with less than $1M in annual sales in their most recently completed fiscal year
Not have other active CFIN-funded projects (approved projects with a signed Master Project Agreement and who have yet to submit their final report)
have a potential customer, or a good idea of their ideal customer who can validate that the proposed technology solves a market issue, and the project partner must be willing to prove the solution in the market or industry setting.
Be undertaken by a CFIN member. Membership is free and can be applied for through www.cfin-rcia.ca.

Lead Applicants are technology or software developers who, own or will create intellectual property to be demonstrated or piloted through the project.

Project Partners, most likely to be food sector players, are required to ensure pilots and demonstrations take place in operational environments.

Eligible Applicants for Canadian Government Funding

CFIN FoodTech Next Program

Eligible Activities

All projects must have alignment under at least one of the following CFIN’s innovation priority:

Smart Product and Process Development, which includes development and innovation in the areas of:

health, nutrition & wellness benefits;
new robotics applications to increase productivity and food safety
AI, sensors, machine learning, and more

Food Ecosystem Sustainability, which includes development and innovation in the areas of:

food waste reduction;
higher value recovery;
green and smart packaging and more

Agile and Safe Supply Chains, which include development and innovation in the areas of:

Logistics and supply chain;
Consumer and customer analytics;
Food safety and more

Applicants must propose to demonstrate new industry processes, new product categories, new knowledge, or a new application of science. Projects must:

Address an area of the post-farmgate supply chain (cannot focus on agricultural production activities) ;
Identify a specific piloting or demonstration opportunity for a technology or solution that has yet to be commercialized;
Conduct research and development at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 3 to 7

Eligible Costs Categories include: