Canadian Food Business Issue 3 - 2020

» The science of food and beverage ISSUE 3 • 2020

Food Insecurity

How an organic beef jerky company thrived in difficult times

SCOUT CANNERY ELEVATES CANNED SEAFOOD TO A GOURMET EXPERIENCE

Editor’s Note I’ll never forget an after-work event, when a casual conversation somehow landed on the welfare system in Canada, to which one woman proclaimed: “With Canada’s social supports, nobody in this country has an excuse to be hungry – they have plenty of help!” I didn’t share the story of a pregnant woman who visited a Manitoba social assistance office for milk vouchers, only to be turned away with nothing. That was me, more than 15 years (a lifetime) ago.

Popi Bowman This year, many of those who were already experiencing food insecurity were plunged into more MANAGING EDITOR treacherous conditions. We can’t underestimate the importance of efforts such as food banks and food industry donations that have worked to feed those in need. In this issue, we’ve featured some of the organizations that are answering the call to help hungry Canadians. We’re also celebrating some Canadian businesses that are growing despite times of economic contraction. As we (gladly) say goodbye to 2020, Canadian Food Business will continue putting our country’s success stories – and struggles – in the spotlight. We hope you’ll join us in 2021!

Canadian group recognized for taking action on food security

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This year’s recipients of the 2020 Innovation Awards presented by Guelph University’s Arrell Food Institute were selected for their work in building community capacity through food, each walking away with $100,000. The three winning groups included Community Food Centres Canada and U.S.-based Appetite for Change, winners of the community engagement category, with Ohio University’s Dr. Rattan Lal receiving the research category.

“In a disruptive year, community organizations and innovative researchers have become more vital than ever in not just answering people’s immediate food needs, but using their insights to advocate for a system that will better serve everyone,” says Evan Fraser, director of the Arrell Food Institute.

Community Food Centres Canada uses meals as a catalyst for greater change in the food system. Through 13 centres across Canada, they provide access to healthy meals, but the spaces are also used to teach food skills as well as provide culturally appropriate and safe respite for community members. Their affordable produce markets help more people access nutritious food. The organization uses its platform to generate awareness and encourage action around food security, through events like the Big Social taking place online this year.

“Eight years ago, we began developing Community Food Centres that use food as a tool to build health and belonging

in low-income communities,” explains CEO Nick Saul. “We now work with hundreds of partners across the country to advocate for the right to food and progressive public policy, so that everyone has a dignified seat at the table. With this award, we’ll support BIPOC-led partner organizations to offer empowering programs that bring people together around food.”

He adds, “We are honoured to be recognized by the Arrell Food Institute alongside inspiring leaders such as Appetite for Change and Dr. Rattan Lal.” Appetite for Change makes a difference in North Minneapolis, using food as a vehicle for building health and social justice in the community. The organization operates urban farm plots, workshops developing food skills, youth training and facilitates networking for activists. Appetite for Change uniquely focuses on helping community members generate wealth, and one of the ways they do this is by providing certified kitchen space for local food entrepreneurs to develop products.

Dr. Rattan Lal is a world-leading soil scientist whose body of published work, generated over a 50-year career, is used by students around the world.

Dr. Rattan is currently a Distinguished University Professor at Ohio State University. His awardwinning research focused on a soil-centric approach to agriculture sustainability and prosperity in the context of climate change mitigation and adaptation.

NEWS BITES

Global telecommunications giant Telus has set its sights on connecting the world’s food chain. The company recently launched a new business unit, Telus Agriculture, to digitize the entire food value chain, linking technologies together for the first time and using advanced data systems and artificial intelligence to streamline operations and improve traceability.

Darren Entwistle, president and CEO of Telus, says, “By means of our technology innovation, we will help farmers and ranchers produce food for the world’s ever-expanding population more efficiently, safely and in a more environmentally friendly manner.”

The company’s efforts will focus on a secure exchange of information that allows farmers and ranchers, agri-business organizations, the agri-food industry, food retailers and consumers to make smarter decisions. A team of international experts has been assembled by the company to connect and build relationships with participants in the agriculture value chain, from seed manufacturers and farmers through to grocery stores and restaurants.

To build scale and bench strength, Telus Agriculture has acquired several companies in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., including: B.C.’s Farm At Hand, a farm management software; Decisive Farming, a precision agronomy and farm management tech company based in Alberta; and, Alberta-based Feedlot Health Management Solutions. As part of Telus Agriculture, Farm At Hand’s simple approach to accessing key information will expand to include integrations with other leading-edge software and IoT devices, keeping track of everything in one central platform. With the customer support and solutions from Decisive Farming, farmers are empowered with accessible, safe and secure connectivity, data management and farm analytics. Feedlot Health Management Solutions is North America’s leading feedlot consulting service, working with feedlots and calf grower operations to optimize production efficiency and overall animal health.

They join U.S.-based AFS Technologies, Agrian, AgIntegrated and TKXS, as well as Muddy Boots out of the U.K., along with the company’s partner, Hummingbird. With these acquisitions and partnerships, Telus Agriculture has amassed a billion acres of historical acre data and 170 million acres of real-time data across the most diverse crop markets in the world that can be leveraged to build industry-leading AI and machine learning-based insights.

Telus Agriculture currently supports more than 100 million acres of agricultural land, backed by a team of more than 1,200 experts across Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., Slovakia, Armenia, Germany, China and Australia.

“We are striving to provide innovative solutions to advance the agriculture sector on a worldwide basis, while positioning Canada as a preferred global supplier of safe, sustainable food,” concludes Entwistle.

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Three projects will boost finance and insurance products for Canadian growers

Three new projects aiming to improve financial tools and insurance products for growers have received federal funding. The government’s AgriRisk Initiatives program has tagged $123,269 for the Canadian Horticultural Council for a risk assessment of Ontario’s horticulture sector in the development of a new insurance product. Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers received $225,000 to develop a risk management financial product for disease and insect infestations for greenhouses, and the Association des producteurs maraichers du Québec received $38,660 for a tool for growers to assess their vulnerability and increase their resilience to climate change.

Honey sold in Canada tested by food agency for fraud

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) published its honey authenticity surveillance results which tested domestic and imported honey sold in Canada between April 2019 and March 2020. Under Canadian law, honey cannot contain added sugars if sold as authentic honey. Testing found 87 percent of the targeted honey samples were authentic, compared to 78 percent the previous fiscal year. In addition to the targeted sampling by the CFIA, samples also were collected by an independent third party as part of the agency’s marketplace monitoring activity, and CFIA testing showed 98 percent of those to be authentic.

87%

of the targeted honey samples tested by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency were authentic.

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Communication company aims to digitally transform the global food system

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NEWS BITES

New high-protein milk brand debuts Fairlife, a Chicago-based dairy beverage company owned by Coca Cola, recently introduced its premium, ultrafiltered milk to the Canadian market. Made by a local team in Peterborough, Ontario, the milk is fully supplied by Canadian dairy farmers. A patented cold-filtration process concentrates nutrients like protein, to about 50 percent more than other brands, while filtering out much of the natural sugars. The brand’s journey to become 100 percent Canadian began in 2018 with an $85 million investment for a new, state-of-art dairy facility in Peterborough, that’s fully operational and has created over 30 local jobs.

Trend report points to dramatic changes to food industry landscape

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The global COVID-19 pandemic caused 10 years of change in 10 months, according to the authors of a newly released study, the 2021 Nourish Network Annual Trend Report for Food, Beverage, and Agriculture, which cites data from CCFI, Neilsen, Acosta, Ipsos, McKinsey Canada and a number of other resources.

“Our fifth annual report dives into a dozen key trends that will shape the food industry landscape in 2021 and beyond,” says Jo-Ann McArthur, president of Nourish Food Marketing.

According to the report, slightly more than half (51 percent) of Canadians, primarily in the hospitality, retail and construction industries – which saw heavy job losses – say they have less money to spend on food than they did before COVID-19.

Family mealtime also has made a comeback, with more people cooking at home during the pandemic. Cooking fatigue is emerging, however, as is the craving for new experiences.

This has fuelled greater interest in meal kits and restaurantbranded products, as a convenient way to get the restaurant experience at home.

Awareness of social justice in Canada’s food supply – like wages, workers’ rights and living conditions for migrant workers – have taken centre stage in the media, helping drive consumer behaviour toward values-based eating.

Related to food social justice, consumers want to know how their groceries were produced, such as the treatment of farm workers, and if animal and environmental welfare were considered.

Interest in food with a reduced environmental impact has led companies to take a serious look at “regenerative agriculture,” which embraces soil health, above-ground diversity and economic resilience for farmers.

There’s a rise in food nationalism, with a recent study showing that four in five Canadians are willing to pay extra for locally grown produce, and six in 10 Canadians say they trust

food produced here more than from elsewhere. The report also suggests that a growing number of consumers want food and beverages that support physical, mental and emotional health.

The COVID-19 lockdown kicked off an unplanned and unprecedented trial for online grocery; half of all Canadian households with internet access used it during the first six months of the pandemic. While online grocery purchases remain high, they are growing less frequent.

According to the report, the agricultural industry has become more receptive to government, especially in support of employment opportunities and in response to global challenges like the pandemic and trade wars with China and the U.S. Other trends suggest greater investment in soil health and accelerated integration of digital technology.

Family mealtime also has made a comeback, with more people cooking at home during the pandemic. Cooking fatigue is emerging, however, as is the craving for new experiences.

NEWS BITES

COVID-19 has presented significant challenges to communities across Canada, and particularly for Canadians facing food insecurity. Study after study reveals that food banks are being hit hard with a surge in demand among food banks that were already stretched to capacity with 1.1 million visits per month across Canada before the pandemic.

A recent study by Food Banks Canada shows that larger urban areas were more likely to see increased demand due to COVID-19 related job losses. The report, Food Banks and COVID-19 – A National Snapshot, surveyed nearly 1,000 food banks across Canada and found that government supports such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and increases to the Canada Child Benefit helped manage demand but as the pandemic lingered, that changed.

“Despite new social policy initiatives, many food banks were left struggling with increased client need, especially in larger urban centres, at the same time as having to adapt operations to comply with fast-changing regulations,” explained Kirstin Beardsley, chief network services officer at Food Banks Canada. “Our biggest concern now is what will happen as we see more job losses in at-risk industries. These cities could be facing a ticking time bomb.”

Prior to the pandemic, food banks already reported the high cost of housing as one of the main reasons why people needed assistance. In 2019, 70 percent of all food bank clients lived in rental housing with fewer household assets to help buffer against sudden economic shocks, like job loss.

In each province before the pandemic, the lowest income group was paying well over 50 percent of their income for the cost of rent and utilities, leaving little for other basic needs such as food. A study by Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto found that the percentage of food bank clients facing deep housing unaffordability rose from 67 percent to 81 percent during the pandemic.

Additionally, a recent report released by Feed Ontario found that one in two food bank clients are worried about facing eviction or defaulting on their mortgage in the next two to six months.

“Food banks are still grappling with the aftermath of the 2008–09 recession.

Now, with the massive increase in food bank use during COVID-19, we are deeply concerned that we will be facing another decade of heightened food insecurity,” says Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank. “The trends we were seeing before the pandemic – the high cost of housing, precarious employment and insufficient income supports – are what have made our communities most vulnerable to the impacts of this virus.”

Craft beer awards go global The 2021 Craft Beer Marketing Awards have gone global this year, becoming the first international awards program to focus on retail beer marketing. Canada has over 1,025 craft breweries offering 8,517 beers, many made with homegrown ingredients; for comparison, the U.S. has over 7,450 craft breweries nationwide.

Two special categories reflecting recent events have been added to the awards this year: “Pandemic marketing” and “human rights” have been added to the list of over 30 categories to honour the industry’s best brands. Entries close January 29; information can be found at craftbeermarketingawards.com.

Plant-based chicken earns top spot

Sol Cuisine, a Canadian manufacturer of plant-based food products, earned the top spot for its plant-based Crispy Chik’n Bites in a recently published report by industry experts listing the “100 Best Vegan Products of All Time.” The chickenstyle bites also ranked top 10 in the entire meatless category and top 30 in the whole plant-based category including all foods, beverages and other alternatives. CEO John Flanagan remarked, “It’s hard to believe it’s not chicken! On top of the incredible taste, this product is also Kosher, non-GMO certified and comes with a deliciously paired BBQ sauce pack in every bag.”

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Food banks sound alarm as demand surges during pandemic

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Creating a sustainable food future.

Introducing TELUS Agriculture.

The UN estimates that farmers will have to produce 70% more food by 2050¹ to meet the needs of the world’s expected 10-billion population.

To do this sustainably, we’re launching TELUS Agriculture—the next step in our commitment to using technology for good that will produce food more safely and efficiently, while lowering emissions.

Learn how we’re creating better food outcomes at telus.com/agriculture ¹ United Nations – December 2, 2013 - World must sustainably produce 70 per cent more food by mid-century, https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/12/456912

FEATURE

Facing the Facts:

Food Insecurity in the Spotlight

FOOD

insecurity has long been a significant problem in Canada, with research showing that a growing number of Canadians were struggling to afford nutritious food even before the pandemic left millions without reliable sources of income. “We knew before the pandemic that we had a large problem, and that problem had been festering,” says Valerie Tarasuk, a professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto and the principal investigator of the PROOF food insecurity research program.

Research by PROOF indicates that one in eight Canadians reported experiencing food security prior to the pandemic. “What’s happened since the pandemic for some people is that their economic circumstances have gotten a whole lot worse,” says Tarasuk. “I think COVID has put a gun to our head to say we’ve got to get this figured out.”

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By Jessica Huras

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FEATURE

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Daily Bread Food Bank has seen a 200 percent increase in new clients since March, according to CEO Neil Hetherington.

In April 2020, the Government of Canada announced an investment of $100 million to help food banks meet this surge in demand and support Canadians facing financial uncertainty amid the pandemic.

Food banks have grappled with feeding a growing number of Canadians, while simultaneously adapting to the new health and safety challenges of operating amid the pandemic.

Hetherington says that 30 percent of Daily Bread’s food bank locations were forced to close down. “Our distribution points were cut off,” he explains. “It’s not like a supermarket where the employees arrive for work every day. You’re talking about a food distribution network that exists in community centres, which closed down or were run by volunteers who themselves were in a vulnerable group and couldn’t continue.”

According to Hetherington, racialized and low-income Canadians are statistically more likely to access food banks and are also in a higher risk group for contracting COVID-19.

This means populations that were most vulnerable to start with have been most significantly impacted by health risks and food insecurity amid the pandemic.

In Manitoba, a curbside meal pick-up program has offered one possible solution for helping those in need access healthy food, while also protecting their safety by complying with physical distancing recommendations. Everyone Eats, a partnership between Brandon University Food Services, the Brandon Food Council, the John Howard Society and Assiniboine Community College, allows clients to place meal orders online based on a pay-what-you-can donation model.

“It’s a different way of getting food to people that’s safe and respects physical distancing, but also gives people choice and agency in the type of foods that they can eat,” says Rob Moquin, executive director of Food Matters Manitoba.

The initiative also helps to reduce some of the social stigma associated with food charity, with clients making a confidential donation that can range from $0 to $100 for their meal. “If somebody is not paying anything for that food, nobody else ever knows,” says Moquin.

In Toronto, Feed It Forward’s grocery store also operates based on a pay-what-you-can model. The store is stocked with everything from fresh produce to pantry staples like flour and pet food, most of which is rescued from traditional grocery

stores, restaurants and food terminals. Feed It Forward runs a number of other initiatives, including a mobile food truck and food hamper program, focused on saving unsold food and redistributing it to those in need.

The government is also funding this model of cycling usable food that might have otherwise been wasted back to vulnerable Canadians. Building upon April’s $100 million pledge, in June a federal investment of $50 million to support a surplus food rescue program was announced. Second Harvest, Food Banks Canada and more than 100 food businesses and non-profit organizations have partnered with the initiative to reallocate excess eggs, potatoes, meat and other goods to Canadians facing food insecurity. In October, another $100 million was added to the Emergency Food Security Fund; the first portion of the funding provided approximately six million meals to those in need.

The program allows producers who have food surpluses related to the shutdown of the restaurant and hospitality industries to minimize their losses while also supporting food banks in need of supplies. About 10 percent of goods are directed specifically to vulnerable communities in northern Canada.

Some Canadian cities have funnelled resources into community gardens in an effort to offer residents better access to nutritious food. In Victoria, B.C., for example, the Get Growing Victoria initiative has seen over 50,000 free vegetable seedlings distributed through local community and non-profit organizations.

Hetherington says that community gardens can have positive social benefits, but he doesn’t see them as having a measurable impact on Canada’s growing food insecurity problem. “They can help with social isolation, and community gardening can be done at a distance, which is great, but in terms of a solution to food insecurity, I don't see any data that would support that,” he says.

Hetherington also points out that having free time to grow your own food is a luxury that vulnerable populations often

Some Canadian cities have funnelled resources into community gardens in an effort to offer residents better access to nutritious food. In Victoria, B.C., for example, the Get Growing Victoria initiative has seen over 50,000 free vegetable seedlings distributed through local community and non-profit organizations.

FEATURE

report, for example, which shows that CERB left many at-risk populations without the financial support they needed.

“There were people who couldn’t get CERB either because they hadn’t worked enough, they couldn’t manage the application process, or they were working under the table,” says Tarasuk. “Whatever the issues were, they were in need of income and they didn’t have any, and that’s what the report is telling us. We’ve got a bunch of people who, for whatever reason, that system wasn’t good enough for.”

Tarasuk adds that the widespread misbelief that food banks can solve food insecurity can undermine efforts to address the income issues that are the heart of the problem. “Nothing will compare to the difference we would make if we just simply gave those parents more money so that they could go to the store and buy food,” she says.

FACTS & STATS 14.6 percent of Canadians live in a

household where food insecurity has been a problem in the past 30 days, an increase from 10.5 percent two years ago.

Daily Bread food banks are serving close to

20,000 individuals each week in the Toronto area, compared to approximately

15,000 in 2019, an increase of close to 25%.

32 percent of food bank clients surveyed

by Daily Bread had at least one member of their household working before COVID-19 and

76 percent of these households reported job loss. 28 percent of respondents received CERB, but they were still unable to afford their basic needs.

1.2 MILLION

children under 18 in Canada live in families struggling to afford food.

Black households are

3.56 times more likely

to be food insecure than white households.

Sources: Statistics Canada, Daily Bread Food Bank, University of Toronto, Foodshare.net

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don’t have. “If you think about a single parent, they barely have enough time to parent and work their job, so do they really have the time and resources to be able to participate in a community garden?”

In spite of the hope offered by these government funding boosts and community initiatives, PROOF’s Tarasuk says that impactful improvements in food security can only happen when we start addressing the reasons why so many Canadians can’t afford food in the first place.

“One thing that we have been documenting for years is the huge disconnect between food charity and food insecurity,” says Tarasuk. “By our best estimate, fewer than one in four food insecure households ever make their way into a food bank or a charitable food distribution organization. And we have absolutely no evidence that the receipt of food through those venues is sufficient to shift somebody into a food secure situation.”

As both Tarasuk and Hetherington point out, food insecurity isn’t caused by a lack of access to healthy food; it’s caused by not having enough money to buy food. “The new clients that are arriving to us, 80 percent of them it’s because of job loss,” says Hetherington.

Tarasuk says that although the new government funding directed to food banks is better than nothing, benefit programs like CERB and the Canada Child Benefit can have a more meaningful impact on long-term food security.

“We did a study in the winter before COVID looking at the effects of the Canada Child Benefit, which was introduced in 2016, on food insecurity in Canada,” says Tarasuk. “We had the opportunity to look at the before and after of the Canada Child Benefit, and we could see that it was doing good – that it was mitigating severe food insecurity.”

Ensuring all Canadians have the income needed to consistently buy healthy food for themselves means putting the needs of vulnerable communities at the forefront when developing government policy, says Tarasuk. She says that the rise in food insecurity outlined by the recent Statistics Canada

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TASTE OF...

GROWTH IN TIMES OF

CONTRACTION

How Canadian jerky company Dick Duff’s made huge strides during COVID-19

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THE

pandemic has left many companies scrambling to find innovative ways to keep their businesses afloat, and the food industry is no exception. New ventures face an even greater challenge: establishing a customer base and increasing sales when the world is changing rapidly around them.

The founders of Dick Duff’s Organic Jerky adapted their business amidst the pandemic to turn their focus online, and the results were impressive.

The business was started in Parry Sound, Ont., by a local legend named Dick Duff who sold beef jerky within his community.

After 25 years, Duff partnered with two brothers looking for a new business opportunity: Jonathan and Jeremy Anderson, who are Parry Sound locals and fans of Dick’s homemade jerky.

After many innovations, the jerky was taken to the next level as a consumer product: Dick Duff’s Organic Jerky.

Being an e-commerce company wasn’t a priority in Dick Duff’s original sales plan, which primarily focused on in-store demonstrations, trade shows and retail, all options unavailable in the midst of a pandemic. Reaching new customers would be a challenge during the pandemic.

“Sampling allows you to connect with consumers – have them try your product so there’s no risk of them purchasing the product and not liking it,” says Jeremy Anderson, co-founder and president.

There are other options for getting samples to consumers, but they come with challenges. Sampling by mail is a contactless method for distributing free samples, but Dick Duff’s noted that it’s an expensive process that adds an extra step to the time between consumer trial and purchase.

Trade shows were another part of Dick Duff’s business

TASTE OF...

development that wasn’t possible due to COVID-19. Since they could no longer be on the road, they went online.

“We had a number of trade shows lined up, and you’re reaching tens of thousands of people in one weekend,” Jeremy explains. “Where else are you going to be able to reach that many people in a single weekend?”

As challenges arose, they had to find a new way to reach consumers. The Andersons had a reputation to uphold and pushed through the pandemic to further Duff’s legacy, who is now 60 years of age.

“We had to figure out how we were going to reach new consumers. Online was the obvious answer,” Jeremy continues.

Online sales turned out to be a positive experience for Dick Duff’s, with the company selling 15 times more jerky virtually compared to the month before the pandemic restrictions started.

with microbrewery delivery service Brewer Eats. For most consumers, food is essential with any beer delivery. As it turns out, craft beer drinkers find organic jerky the perfect pairing.

Setting up as an online retailer wasn’t easy at first, however, challenging the Andersons to learn the online and e-commerce space quickly. They faced a learning curve when it came to understanding what works and what doesn’t, especially when it came to navigating social media for the business. With concentrated efforts to build a following, their online presence grew substantially on major social networks.

The hard work is paying off. Dick Duff’s Organic Jerky is now available online through a variety of retailers and in more than 250 brick-and-mortar stores. Each authentic and finely crafted flavour is inspired by the way Duff cooks in his kitchen.

“Red Wine & Rosemary” is one of Duff’s delectable combos for his roast beef marinades, “Sweet Chipotle” comes from Duff’s spicy BBQ flavouring, and “Dijon Mustard” has always been Duff’s favourite topping on his roast beef sandwich. Unique in its lower sugar content and higher quality ingredients, the jerky will be available with additional flavour options to continue distinguishing itself from competitors.

In keeping with Duff’s original methods from 1989, the product continues to be clean, sustainable and ethically sourced, using organic beef. The product also boasts no GMOs, pesticides, added hormones, antibiotics or preservatives; priced at less than $10 per bag.

Transitioning to online sales has offered the Andersons the opportunity to discover more about who their consumers are and where they live. Through e-commerce, they can sell coastto-coast and build a national presence. As the only certified organic jerky in all of Canada, developing a strong national presence was essential.

The Andersons started with Amazon and immediately had tremendous success with the online retailer. Dick Duff’s is now one of the bestselling products in the jerky and dried meats category on Amazon.ca.

They also saw gains by partnering with food delivery services and online grocers like Fresh City Farms and Well. ca, which grew in popularity due to the pandemic, and working with subscription box companies like Carnivore Club and The Balanced Snack Box, along with sampling companies like Sampler. Getting creative, the brothers also partnered

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Through e-commerce, they can sell coastto-coast and build a national presence.

As the only certified organic jerky in all of Canada, developing a strong national presence was essential.

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Q&A WITH SCOUT CANNERY

CANADA’S NEWEST CANNED SEAFOOD BRAND STANDS FOR PEOPLE AND THE PLANET

By Jana Manolakos

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the choice between fresh or canned foods, most consumers shy away from tinned options. It’s behaviour that’s being challenged by Scout, a new Canadian seafood brand, launched this September.

Scout is on a mission to earn the trust of consumers with its line of ethically sourced tinned seafoods, featuring Atlantic Canadian lobster, P.E.I. mussels, Ontario trout and albacore tuna – and it’s doing so with heart. The new craft seafood cannery is the first to source all of its species in Canadian and U.S. waters, supports Indigenous communities and even takes a stand against human trafficking in the fishing industry.

The timing couldn’t be better for launching Scout. A recent survey for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) says there is increasing demand for sustainably sourced seafood. Experts suggest that canned seafood is increasingly popular because it’s easy to prepare, ready to eat, has a long shelf life and offers health benefits.

Scout is committed to protecting ocean health through its network of small-scale and sustainable North American fisheries and two canneries. The company employs a full crew of seven across Canada and the U.S., along with a team of parttime contractors. The rapidly growing venture is projecting $4 million in sales by the end of 2021.

Canadian Food Business interviewed company CEO and cofounder Adam Bent. He’s an advocate for sustainable seafood practices and a founding member of Seafood Collab, an industry group of emerging brands committed to sustainable seafood.

What distinguishes Scout from other fish canneries?

Scout is the first to have a multi-species canned seafood brand all sourced from Canadian and U.S. waters. We are focused on biodiversity with our products, bringing under-loved species to consumers and breaking away from only offering the standard tuna and salmon in a can. Most products you find in store today are imported from overseas. We source directly from the fishery, and our products are hand cut and hand packed in Canada.

How do you ensure responsible fishing?

Scout sources both wild and farmed species. We are aligned with the MSC and only source species from MSC-certified fisheries in the U.S. and Canada. Our lobster product is from the lobster fishery in P.E.I. and our tuna is from a B.C. albacore fishery. We work directly with the fisherman, ensuring fair wages. As we grow, we will continue to source directly from the fishery; however, we make some purchasing decisions with responsible industry partners, like Organic Ocean, based in Vancouver, who worked with us to navigate our first large tuna purchase.

With so much emphasis on fresh foods, how are you rebuilding consumer trust in canned goods?

Scout’s mission is simple: We want to become the most trusted seafood brand in North America. Our products are both

and wanted to challenge the status quo and simply do things better. We’ve brought products to market that resonate with consumers and offer them the product values that were not being provided by commodity brands – values like trust and transparency, culinary enjoyment and our impact program.

Where do the recipes come from?

Sustainability doesn’t come second to taste; each recipe from our craft lineup has been developed by our co-founder and acclaimed chef, Charlotte Langley. From watching fishmongers unpack their daily catches in P.E.I. to perfecting her clam chowder, seafood has long been a part of Chef Charlotte Langley’s life. After working in Canada’s most creative seafood kitchens, she began to wonder how the home chef could enjoy more of it locally.

Why do you support Indigenous communities and Not For Sale?

How do your products reduce food waste?

There is a tremendous amount of food waste in fresh and frozen seafood, not to mention the energy requirement of cold chain from boat to shelf. In addition to our broader impact program, shifting consumer demand from fresh and frozen to incorporating preserved seafood helps reduce food waste.

What inspired you to pursue canning?

Looking at the current landscape of seafood consumer packaged goods and canning in general, the category is made up of antiquated brands who are disconnected from consumer values and ocean health. We saw a whitespace in the category

What sets you apart from bigger brands?

We combine the seafood industry’s heritage with Chef Charlotte’s own unique take to create a product straight from the heart. By using ethical products from those same fishing communities, we want to help restore the tradition of preserved seafood for North America. Our products are hand cut and hand packed, and our impact program is also a major differentiator.

Commodity brands in the old retail world have started to borrow from the playbooks of emerging brands who are delivering on what engaged consumers want in their products; however, it’s not necessarily coming from an authentic place but more as a function of marketing. In the end, if we can inspire bigger brands to do better, then we are helping improve the industry as a whole.

C A N A D I A N F O O D B U S I N E S S.C O M

responsibly and regionally sourced and culinary forward. Scout is a Certified B-Corp Pending – we are committed to meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. We are also a One Percent for the Planet member, meaning every sale re-invests into climate action projects. As an impact brand that connects what we do to climate action and culinary enjoyment, we are changing consumers’ relationship with preserved seafood. Preserving seafood offers a long shelf life and is equally delicious and nutritious as fresh and frozen seafood. To change the perspective of canned seafood as a lower quality commodity product, we are encouraging consumers to incorporate more preserved seafood as an ingredient – challenging the notion that fresh or frozen seafood is superior.

Our impact program is focused on intersectional environmentalism, meaning we are looking at opportunities that benefit both people and planet.

Our program is evolving to support First Nations lead environmental projects in the regions we source from, which we hope will evolve to include partnership opportunities on the business side as a form of economic collaboration and reconciliation. We are currently building that program that will launch next year. We have an established partner with Not For Sale, a human rights and environmental organization with the mandate to eradicate human trafficking and modern slavery, two issues that are rampant in the global seafood industry. We are supporting Not For Sale as an international component to our impact program and will broaden our program to include our regional focus and our collaboration with First Nations communities.

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FOOD WARE

NEW ECO-FRIENDLY PALLET STRETCH WRAP A preference for eco-friendly, bioplastic materials among food producers and supply chain providers has inspired Good Natured Products to introduce a pallet stretch wrap made from 51 percent plantbased flexible film. The products are derived from sugarcane and are chemically equivalent to conventional #4 LDPE to make the transition for businesses as seamless as possible. The company’s plant-based machine and hand pallet stretch wrap comes in a range of the most popular gauges for the North American market. goodnaturedproducts.ca

CANADIAN FOOD BUSINESS VO L U M E 3 5, I S S U E 3 • 2 0 2 0

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NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART APPLE AND PEAR PROCESSING Niagara Falls–based Key Technology has introduced its newest sorting system for fresh-cut apple and pear products that also handles various shapes and sizes with minimal changeover.

This versatile solution integrates Key’s Iso-Flo shakers, rotary sizing and grading systems, belt conveyors and a VERYX digital sorter. Removing pieces of stem, seeds, calyx/flower and core, as well as foreign material and product defects like dark and light stains, rot and skin, this sorting line automates inspection to significantly improve overall product quality and increase yield, while reducing labour. key.net

DIRECT STEAM-INJECTION FOOD PROCESSING SYSTEM Gold Peg’s RotaTherm is a unique single-stage continuous cooking system that can be used for the optimal cooking and processing of a wide variety of pumpable products, including processed cheese, sauces, purees, baby food, dips, pie fillers, taco meat, desserts, chicken stock, defatting, rendering and pet food. Able to operate continuously for up to 156 hours, the RotaTherm enables a precise level of control for a range of heating and processing settings such as cooking temperature, direct steam injection heating profile, shear, pressure, mixing and more. goldpeg.com

RADAR SENSOR FOR CONTINUOUS LEVEL MEASUREMENT OF BULK SOLIDS With its high frequency of 80 GHz, the radar sensor VEGAPULS 69 can measure practically any kind of bulk solid material: Fine powders, ash, dried sewage sludge, cullet, granulates and coarse bulk solids – even in a dusty atmosphere. The radar sensor scores big with its wide measuring range and accuracy in large or small applications: in bunkers, containers, silos. Even internal installations have no effect on the measuring result. The non-contact radar sensor is ideal for use in diverse sectors, such as building materials, rocks, aggregates and cement, as well as for use in the chemical industry, in wastewater management and in recycling. vega.com