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Food upcycling in Canada has reached a pivotal moment. Innovation is accelerating across individual companies, but unlocking the sector’s full potential requires something more: coordinated leadership and stronger connections to scale food upcycling nationally.
That need for coordinated leadership advanced in June 2025, when Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (Vineland) hosted the Upcycled Food Networking Meeting. This event convened food upcycling companies and ecosystem partners. The event also served as a forum for setting in motion the creation of a Canadian hub of the Upcycled Food Association (UFA), the global membership-based trade association accelerating upcycling.
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“Our research made it clear that food upcycling in Canada is not limited by innovation, but by fragmentation,”
said Dr. Alexandra Grygorczyk, Research Scientist at Vineland.
“The forum was designed to bring together the people, perspectives and expertise needed to move beyond individual successes and start building a more connected, national approach to food upcycling.”
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The June 2025 Forum: A Catalyst for Collaboration
To respond to these needs, Vineland hosted a national food upcycling forum in June 2025, bringing together companies, innovators and stakeholders from across the country. The event provided a dedicated space for open discussion on shared barriers, emerging opportunities and what would be required to build a cohesive food upcycling ecosystem in Canada.
The forum did more than enable dialogue — it translated insight into momentum. Participants forged new connections across disciplines, aligned around common challenges, and began to envision how Canada could advance food upcycling through coordinated, national action rather than isolated efforts.
Establishing National Leadership for Food Upcycling
Inspired by the research insights and sector engagement generated through Vineland’s work, discussions quickly turned toward the need for long-term leadership and coordination. As a result, Vineland is now working with UFA to support the establishment of a Canadian hub.
Under this new model, UFA will assume formal leadership of a Canadian food upcycling network, providing:
- A recognized national and international platform
- Alignment with global definitions and standards for upcycled food
- Support for industry credibility, market access and education
- A central hub for collaboration across the food value chain.
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“The momentum we’re seeing in Canada reflects a food system that is ready to scale upcycling,”
said Amanda Oenbring, CEO of the Upcycled Food Association.
“By establishing a Canadian-led hub, we can support industry alignment, global standards, and collaboration — helping Canadian companies grow while contributing to a more circular food system.”
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This transition ensures that the momentum generated by the June 2025 forum is supported by a durable, national structure — one positioned to advance the continued growth of food upcycling in Canada. As part of the transition toward a nationally coordinated food upcycling network, Dr. Alexandra Grygorczyk, Research Scientist at Vineland, has joined the UFA Board of Directors to provide a formal Canadian perspective and help guide the establishment of the Canadian network within UFA.
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Looking Ahead
The establishment of a Canadian hub of the Upcycled Food Association represents a significant step forward for Canada’s food system. It builds on Vineland’s foundational research and convening role while positioning the food upcycling sector for broader industry adoption, policy engagement and increased consumer awareness.
As farmers, processors, ingredient companies and innovators continue to unlock the value of food surplus and byproducts, this coordinated national network will be essential. With Vineland’s catalytic leadership and UFA’s global expertise, Canada’s food upcycling sector is well positioned to transition from an emerging space to an established and scalable industry.
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This research is funded by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, a collaboration between the Government of Ontario and the University of Guelph. Dr. Grygorczyk is an adjunct professor in the Food Science Department at the University of Guelph and Research Scientist at Vineland Research and Innovation Centre.