Julia Kirouac, CNP

There are too few investors and not enough capital allocated to the Agrifood space in Canada and anyone in the sector knows it. As a VC focused on earlier stage food and beverage, health and wellness companies, we see the growth capital gap every day. If you’re asking yourself why supporting agrifood matters heres a couple things to ponder. First, food security isn’t a talking point. It’s the basis of sovereignty. Our ability to feed ourselves is the first line of defence for any country that wants real independence. We all need to eat every day. Second, this is our largest manufacturing sector. Jobs, livelihoods and innovation in good food happen here. Our food quality is some of the best in the world. When we eat healthier food we are a healthier, stronger nation. I also want to recognize the critical role FCC / FAC play in supporting and investing in Canadian agriculture and Agrifood. Justine Hendricks and her team have been tireless advocates for the sector and for the entrepreneurs trying to build within it. Anyone who has worked in Agrifood knows how complex it is. Success depends on farmers, ingredient suppliers, processors, brokers, distributors, regulators, retailers and consumer acceptance all working together. It’s not simple and it’s not for the faint of heart. At District Ventures Capital we see these interdependencies up close. We see the grit and the risk these entrepreneurs take. We value the support that comes from every crown corporation helping these entrepreneurs grow. The sector needs significantly more investment and more champions. That’s just a fact. So please keep buying Canadian food. Invest in Canadian agrifood entrepreneurs if you can. Recognize the people and institutions that are helping build these businesses. We are so quick to complain in this country and not quick enough to acknowledge when real progress is being made. ❤️🇨🇦

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The inaugural Foodtech Frontier awards recognized Canadian companies like Cronometer, Opalia, Maia Farms, and Renaissance BioScience Corp., collectively generating $440 million in sales, investing $35 million in R&D, and creating 1,763 jobs. #foodtech #altprotein #foodsecurity https://lnkd.in/g9wZmNyf

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If you’ve ever shipped liquid beverages across state or provincial lines… you already know. Consumers think shipping should be free. Reality? It might be $40 or $50. The disconnect between what shipping actually costs and what customers think it costs has never been greater. What customers see: A box A label A truck “Free shipping” as the default expectation What producers see: Heavy packages (liquid = weight) Protective inserts Temperature control (think goldilocks) Adult signature requirements (on alc) Carrier surcharges Insurance Breakage risk Returns Volatile and rising fuel and labor costs And in many cases, brands are subsidizing a meaningful portion of the true cost just to keep the customer experience competitive. This isn’t just a beverage issue. It’s a CPG issue. It’s a margin issue. It’s a transparency issue. When I was personally delivering early cases of Partake out of my Toyota Matrix in Toronto, shipping was sweat equity. Today, with containers moving daily across North America, logistics is one of the most strategic (and volatile) lines on the P&L. Here’s the leadership takeaway: If your category involves heavy, fragile, regulated, or temperature-sensitive products, shipping is not a line item. It’s a strategy. You have three choices as I see it: Hide it and compress margin Overcharge and create friction Educate your customer and build trust Because “free shipping” isn’t free. It’s paid for somewhere. Founders/operators how are you handling it right now? Baking it into price? Higher AOV thresholds? Membership or subscription models? Radical transparency? Let’s compare notes. #cpg #founder #operations #ecommerce

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OPEN UP THE DOORS to more Canadian-made brands🇨🇦🚪 As we prepare to show up, walk and meat up at CHFA Canadian Health Food Association we’re reflecting on what it truly takes for an emerging food brand to earn its place on the shelf. At The Meat Bar, we have been pounding the pavement for just 18 months now! We don’t simply deliver our products and walk away. We actively support our retail partners through: 🥩 In-store demos and sampling 🥩 Bold, high-impact merchandising 🥩 Store visits and shelf check-ins 🥩 Community partnerships and sponsorships 🥩 Trade shows, festivals, markets and live activations 🥩 Consistent storytelling that builds brand recognition and consumer demand We bring the product, the energy, the origin story and the people behind the brand. We show up because being listed is only the beginning—our goal is to help move product off the shelf and into customers’ hands. But there is also a bigger industry conversation we need to keep having. If Canadian retailers and distributors want to champion local innovation, we need partnerships that allow emerging brands to grow sustainably. Listing fees, lengthy payment terms, production fees, high distributor margins and ongoing deductions can leave small and medium-sized makers with very little room to reinvest, innovate or scale. There has to be a better way to work together. This isn’t about asking for a handout. It’s about recognizing the value Canadian founders bring and building partnerships that are sustainable for everyone—from suppliers and makers to distributors and retailers. Consumers are asking for Canadian-made products. They connect with the founders, follow the brand journey and become loyal because of the story—but ultimately, the product in their hands is the real proof. If it delivers, they come back. The Meat Bar is ready to grow. We’re ready to expand across Canada, support our retail partners and keep building momentum with supercharged, meat-based protein bars made with real ingredients and functional benefits, the only meat protein bar out there with supercharged extra beneficial supplements!! To the grocery buyers, brokers and distributors attending CHFA: let’s MEAT, collaborate and find a way to open more doors for Canadian innovation. From our cart to your stores. From your shelves to consumers’ hands. Let’s raise the bar together 💪🇨🇦🥩 #CHFA #CanadianMade #FoodInnovation #RetailBuyers #GroceryIndustry #EmergingBrands #CPG #SupportCanadianBusiness #TheMeatBar #RaiseTheBar #BarWithBenefits

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A food compliance company reached out to us about a year ago through a LinkedIn DM. They wanted to simplify ingredient tracking for one of their clients. We turned an internal operations request into an external marketing opportunity, and earned two, hearty “wow”-statements in quick succession. The initial conversations moved slowly as we worked through their specific needs and how our platform could fit into their compliance workflow. They needed a way to track raw materials across different systems, and we earned our first “wow” after solving that cleanly for them. The second "wow" came when they realized that the same traceability data could be surfaced to their end customers. They could tell their audience about ingredient purity and supply chain transparency, turning what was purely an operational tool into a brand story in just one click. Not a lot changed on our end, but we were able to deliver two outcomes with one system because the foundation was built right. The unexpected upside came from solving one problem well enough that it revealed an entirely different opportunity they didn't know about. The distance between internal operations and external marketing is shorter than most companies realize. When traceability is clean enough for compliance, it's usually clean enough to become a customer promise. You can surface a lot of what you're already doing internally and turn it into a feature customers care about.

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