Canadian startup developing new fava-based ingredients

By Alice McFarlane

A new, Canadian-led innovation is strengthening local food manufacturing.

The project brings together Canadian farmers, processors and food tech innovators to strengthen the domestic value chain for fava beans, while bringing products to global consumers.

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Alberta start-up Phytokana Ingredients Inc., in partnership with Vancouver-based Maia Farms, will turn Canadian-grown fava beans into nutritious and sustainable ingredients for the next generation of plant-based foods. Of the $32.5 million being invested, $25.9 million will come from the industry partners, and $6.6 million will come from Protein Industries Canada.

Using its proprietary technology, which avoids heat and chemicals, Phytokana will process novel fava varieties into protein concentrate, starch flour and fava flour with improved taste, texture and nutrition. The material makes them ideal for use in dairy alternatives, plant-based meats and other food products.

Lisa Campbell, senior director of programs for Protein Industries Canada, said the project will help capture the economic value of creating the ingredients domestically and will also help position Canada as a preferred trading partner.

“As countries around the world look to secure their own food supply chains and diversify protein sources, plant-based ingredients such as those that are being developed by Phytokana and Maia Farms are becoming increasingly in demand by our trading partners,” Campbell said.

In addition to commercializing their proprietary technology, Phytokana is also in the process of securing funding to construct and commission a fully automated 30,000 metric tonne a year dry fractionation processing facility, which will be built near Strathmore, Alta.

Chris Theal, Phytokana’s president and CEO, said the superior sensory fava ingredients are the culmination of research and innovation in collaboration with some of the world’s leading food and beverage companies.

“This contribution from Protein Industries Canada primarily supports the direct investment into our custom-designed process flow, overlain with automation and advanced predictive process controls that serve to deliver value-added, sustainable and consistent quality food ingredients to global markets,” Theal said.

The project also includes a partnership with Vancouver’s Maia Farms, a food tech company that uses fermentation to upcycle flours into high-value fermented mushroom proteins with enhanced digestibility and functional properties.

Phytokana will supply Maia Farms with their fava ingredients, which Maia Farms will use to create new mycelium-based ingredients.