Alberta Food Processors Association (AFPA)

AFPA was proud to be in attendance at the 35th annual Tri-National Agricultural Accord in Calgary! It was a great opportunity to connect with agricultural leaders and partners from across Canada, the United States and Mexico, and to celebrate the strength of Alberta’s food and beverage industry. We were especially proud to showcase Made in Alberta with a table featuring samples from Made in Alberta companies. A great way to give attendees a taste of the incredible products being made right here in our province. Thank you to everyone who stopped by to discover and support Alberta-made! #MadeInAlberta #AlbertaFood #AlbertaAgriculture #TriNationalAccord #AFPA #AlbertaMade

❗START TIME HAS BEEN MOVED TO 12:00pm MT❗ LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER! Join us live in Calgary this Thursday for our first in-person session, Ready For Growth? Navigating Your Capital Options. Growing your food or beverage business often means big decisions about equipment, automation, working capital, expansion and new markets. But who should you talk to about financing, and when? Hear directly from representatives on our expert panel TUSHAR ARIFIN, BDC, Senior Account Manager Richard Barus, EDC, Senior Relationship Manager Anthony Bellot, ATB, Director, Agribusiness & Agri-Food Sector Ryan Sawka, FCC, Senior Relationship Manager – Corporate & Commercial Finance   You’ll learn: 🔵 Who to call at different stages of growth 🔵 What financing partners look for 🔵 How to prepare before asking for financing 🔵 Options for equipment, automation, working capital and expansion 🔵 What to do if financing isn’t approved the first time Plus, bring your questions and take home a practical Capital Readiness Checklist. This Thursday, October 1 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM (Registratoin @ 11:30am) True Wild Distilling, 3115 11 St SE, Calgary Space is limited. Don’t miss your chance to be in the room. Register now: https://lnkd.in/eHWY97DZ #AFPA #AlbertaFood #FoodProcessing #BusinessGrowth #Calgary

Spots are filling fast for our first in-person session of the AFPA Education Series. Ready for Growth: Navigating Your Capital Options. Whether you're in Edmonton or Calgary, this in-person session is designed to help food and beverage processors prepare for growth, scale strategically, and connect with industry experts. ✅ Calgary is almost 60% full ✅ Edmonton is already 65% full Don't wait until the last minute. Secure your spot before these events sell out! 📍Register for Calgary - Oct 1: https://bit.ly/3T0LkW7 📍Register for Edmonton - Oct 8: https://bit.ly/4xMa4j9 #ReadyForGrowth #FoodAndBeverage #MadeInAlberta #BusinessGrowth #AFPA

Thank you to NAIT Applied Research for sharing Bill's story. Great job Bill McGregor!

This is an important week for Alberta’s food and beverage processors. New Canadian counter-tariffs take effect September 8 and may increase costs for ingredients, packaging, equipment and automation. At the same time, the federal government is expanding tariff-response funding, liquidity assistance and workforce-retention supports to help businesses manage these pressures, protect jobs and diversify markets. AFPA is reviewing these developments closely, including new PrairiesCan funding of up to $3 million for eligible tariff-affected SMEs and the proposed Workforce Retention and Retraining Program. With the federal Agriculture Minister also visiting southern Alberta this week, we will continue advocating for practical investments that strengthen domestic production, processing capacity, workforce development and long-term industry competitiveness. Alberta processors affected by tariffs or supply-chain disruptions are encouraged to connect with AFPA so we can properly capture the industry impact and help identify available support. HOW YOU CAN HELP Help AFPA understand the challenges your business is facing in order to better support you and serve our industry: https://hubs.li/Q04wTLsZ0 #FoodAndBeverage #AlbertaFood #FoodProcessing #Manufacturing #Trade #WorkforceDevelopment #MarketDiversification

AFPA has been invited by NAIT’s Bachelor of Business Administration program to connect members with a unique learning opportunity. We are also inviting non-members that subscribe to Made in Alberta Showcase to apply. As part of their Promotional Campaign Planning (MARK3377) course, student teams will act as an advertising agency—planning, preparing, and presenting a comprehensive promotional plan with strategic and creative solutions for a real business. NAIT is seeking a handful of local small businesses to partner with MARK3377 students this Fall semester.  Each student team will select a company from submitted proposals and, if chosen, will work with you to develop and present a promotional plan at the end of the term.  Implementation of the plan is entirely up to each company. Students do not implement any marketing. Instead, they provide you with a campaign plan and creative ideas. It is up to you if you want to implement their ideas.   What’s Involved: - 3–5 meetings (virtual or in-person) with your student team. The first meeting is a discovery/needs assessment, which is the longest meeting of the semester for the client. - Understanding that this is a student project—results are not guaranteed.  - Providing a “working budget” number students can plan against (based on what you’d realistically invest toward marketing) Interested? Please send the following to meghan@afpa.com by end of day Friday, September 4th (apologies for the short notice): - Company Name - Brief Company Description More information on Made in Alberta Showcase: https://hubs.li/Q04wrg4y0

SPACE IS LIMITED. REGISTER EARLY TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT. Learn the Rules of the Funding Game: Who Gets Funded, Who Doesn't, and Why Securing funding isn't just about completing an application. Successful businesses understand how to build a funding strategy, identify the right opportunities, and prepare their business before they apply. Join Marc Wandler, AFPA SCALE Industry Navigator, and funding strategist Denise Baril, Founder of The Grant Sherpa, along with representatives from National Research Council (NRC)-IRAP, Alberta Innovates, and Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (SCAP), for a practical discussion on what funders are really looking for and why some businesses consistently secure funding while others struggle. Whether you're exploring grants for innovation, commercialization, productivity improvements, expansion, or scaling your operations, this session will help you better understand the funding landscape, assess your funding readiness, and build a roadmap to support your growth goals. Learn directly from funding experts about common mistakes applicants make, what successful applications have in common, and how to improve your chances of securing funding for future projects. For more details and to register: https://bit.ly/4zH3rAC For more information about SCALE: https://afpa.com/scale

Join us TODAY at 12:00pm MT for Career Insights, a CareersNOW! livestream to discover what a career in Alberta’s food & beverage industry actually looks like. We are featuring industry professionals who will share their experiences, career pathways, in-demand skills and the opportunities available across Alberta’s food and beverage processing sector. Whether you're a student, job seeker, newcomer, career changer or employee looking to grow, this is an opportunity to learn directly from people working in the industry. Featuring: • Bianca Jade Parsons - AFPA • Matthew Labine - NAIT Applied Research • Brian Espiritu, MBA - Foothills Creamery 12:00–1:00 PM MT Free livestream You still register or watch on our social platforms: https://lnkd.in/eyXDUcyX Help us show Alberta the people, careers and opportunities behind the food and beverages we produce. #CareersNOW #AlbertaFood #FoodProcessing #FoodAndBeverage #AlbertaJobs #CareerDevelopment #WorkforceDevelopment

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What does a career in Alberta’s food & beverage industry actually look like? Find out during Career Insights, a CareersNOW! livestream featuring industry professionals who will share their experiences, career pathways, in-demand skills and the opportunities available across Alberta’s food and beverage processing sector. Whether you're a student, job seeker, newcomer, career changer or employee looking to grow, this is an opportunity to learn directly from people working in the industry. And if you're an Alberta food processor, employer, educator or workforce organization, help us spread the word! Share this livestream with your employees, students, networks and anyone who may be interested in building a career in our industry. Featuring: • Bianca Jade Parsons - AFPA • Matthew Labine - NAIT Applied Research • Brian Espiritu, MBA - Foothills Creamery • Paige Rey - Wolfe Honey 📅 August 26th, 2026 12:00–1:00 PM MT Free livestream Register and learn more: https://lnkd.in/eyXDUcyX Help us show Alberta the people, careers and opportunities behind the food and beverages we produce. #CareersNOW #AlbertaFood #FoodProcessing #FoodAndBeverage #AlbertaJobs #CareerDevelopment #WorkforceDevelopment