Food Development Centre

Bringing a new food or beverage product to market often requires more than a good recipe—it takes technical validation, regulatory insight, and the ability to test and scale before committing to full production. For Manitoba-based food and beverage businesses, the Food Development Centre offers hands-on support to move ideas from concept to commercialization, especially for companies working with plant or animal protein products.

Delivered by Manitoba Agriculture, the Food Development Centre operates as a specialized research and development facility that combines lab access with expert consulting. Businesses can tap into pilot-scale equipment, product testing, formulation support, packaging and labelling guidance, and help navigating Canadian and U.S. regulatory requirements. The Centre is particularly well known for its work in protein innovation, supporting everything from pulse- and oilseed-based ingredients to meat, dairy, and egg products. Whether a company is refining a prototype, improving shelf life, validating nutrition claims, or exploring new uses for co-products, the Centre provides practical, applied support tailored to real-world manufacturing and market needs.

Rather than offering direct cash funding, the Food Development Centre provides non-repayable, fee-based access to facilities and expertise that would be costly for most businesses to develop on their own. Small and medium-sized companies, as well as larger enterprises in Manitoba’s agri-food sector, can benefit from this single-window approach to product development and commercialization. For businesses considering innovation or scale-up, learning more about how this program works can help determine if it’s the right fit for your next stage of growth.