2022 JUNE 15TH
Universal EventSpace 6250 Highway 7 Vaughan, Ontario
Welcome to UNFI Canada’s 2022 Innovation Conference and Showcase. We are honoured to have you with us as we host the very first in-person natural foods show in Ontario in over two years! UNFI Canada proudly serves a wide variety of customers and represent over 850 vendor brands across Canada. We bring more products to market faster while helping Canadian entrepreneurs and established brands alike to unlock their full potential and transform their businesses for the better. As a leader in innovation, we are delighted to bring our vendors and retailers together for this exclusive Innovation Conference and Showcase! This year’s event will focus on engaging, informative discussions, and most importantly - showcasing your food innovations to the Canadian retail market.
Melinda Zoccoli
At the Innovation Conference and Showcase, you will have direct access to nearly 150+ exhibitors, which includes many of today’s established and rising stars in the organic food space. We will also once again host a live “Pitch Slam” competition – a competition where five new brands have two minutes to pitch to a panel of judges, for a chance to win an amazing prize package valued at $7500! In addition, we are so excited to present this year’s keynote panel discussion featuring some of the industry’s best and brightest women titled “Raising the Bar: Female Founders Fuel the Future”. Our Panelist will share their insight and experience on how they started their companies, grown their businesses, and share their thoughts on the future of food in Canada. The show is also a great opportunity to network, learn, engage, participate, and of course - take advantage of our amazing show deals! Innovation Conference and Showcase gets bigger every year and we’re so grateful for all your continued support! Thank you again for being with us as we continue to bring innovation to Canada! Better Food. Better Future.
Melinda Zoccoli VP, Marketing and Supplier Services
Ali Davies VP, Sales
Ali Davies
Why come to UNFI Canada’s Innovation Show in person? 150+ exhibitors Deep discount show deals, greater discount for in-person attendance a chance to win 2 Air Canada gift cards
Badge pickup opens
8:30AM Pitch Slam
9:15AM Key Note
10:15AM Show Floor opens
11:30AM
SPONSORED BY
My Little Chickpea was born out of endearment for those we love and the joy we get from feeding them. For home cooks, we offer our three home-style first cold press olive oil dressings/marinades to simply add to your own salads, veggies or as a marinade to anything that hits the grill. At My Little Chickpea, we want to help busy people live better lives. We want to make dinner easy! We want to make life a little simpler.
MYLITTLECHICKPEA.COM
A family-owned and operated dairy sheep farm located in Halton Hills just north of Milton. Sheep milk products have long been a staple of the Mediterranean healthy diet, so when our family immigrated to Canada 30 years ago, it came as a surprise to not see sheep milk products offered at grocery stores. Over the years, the sheep flock grew in number and the milk volumes increased so then we thought why not bring these farm fresh products to other peoples’ homes to enjoy. We wanted to share our passion for sheep milk and can now offer this as a healthy and delicious choice to other families.
OVINO.CA
Five new brands have two minutes to pitch to a panel of judges, for a chance to win: - UNFI marketing credit - $5000 value - UNFI show credit - $500 value - GreenFresh Media package - $2500 value
Nanashake is a refreshingly original frozen dessert made exclusively from plantbased ingredients, and it packs a taste that will make you feel young all over again. We are a local, family-run business on a relentless mission to turn ice cream into a healthy, inclusive and nutritious treat that can be enjoyed throughout the year by all members of the community young and old.
NANASHAKE.COM
A family-operated business dedicated to creating nutritious and wholesome products that support our health, our community, and our planet. We continually strive to source the healthiest ingredients to create great-tasting foods that all can enjoy. We are passionate about supporting our local community in Cambridge, Ontario, paying fair wages to our staff and suppliers, and reducing our waste and keeping our environmental footprint at a minimum.
YOSO.CA
We Believe in the Power of Real Food. We are on a mission to change the meat-replacement game by making products with all natural, whole food, real ingredients to make plant-based eating easy, simple and delicious.
YUMASOY.COM
Female Founders Fuel The Future
SPONSORED BY
How Canadian business owners shattered the glass ceiling and continue to build the future of food.
SUZIE YORKE
A mom of 4 kids, eleven-time Ironman competitor and yoga enthusiast, Suzie spent years adhering to a low-fat diet only for her health to hit a wall in her mid-40s. After reading Nina Teicholz’s best seller, Big Fat Surprise, she immediately shifted to a high-fat, low-carb diet, and started to feel better within a few weeks. While she loved the benefits of her new lifestyle, Suzie found it challenging to find convenient, good-fat snacks. Seeing a gap in the marketplace and a huge opportunity to help others through food, Suzie developed Love Good Fats, a company that produces low-sugar foods loaded with good fats.
MODERATOR
Love Good Fats
Starting in 2017, Suzie led the launch and expansion of Love Good Fats to exceed $100million in Gross Revenues in a little over 3 years with sales in the largest Retailers across Canada and the US. Love Good Fats quickly became one of the fastest-growing bar brands in North America. As a 25-year veteran of the CPG industry, Suzie has worked at brand building companies such as Proctor & Gamble, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Weight Watchers; also worked at two other hyper growth brands prior to creating her own rocket ship success story brand, at age 50. She is more so a unique, later blooming entrepreneur, who utilized her accomplished marketing background, personal journey, and deep devotion and passion for health, to drive towards her Mission to spread the word that fat is back, and sugar is out!
lovegoodfats.com
MARGARET COONS
Margaret is the Founder and CEO of Nuts For Cheese — Canada’s category leader in artisan plant-based cheese production. Vegan from an early age, Margaret developed a passion for plant-based cuisine becoming a self-proclaimed foodie and vegan chef. After introducing a popular plant-based cheese board to the menu, Nuts For Cheese was born. Since launching at a farmer’s market in 2015, Nuts For Cheese has enjoyed explosive growth in the Canadian and US markets. With its decadent line of certified organic cashew cheese and butters, Nuts For Cheese is proving plant-based options no longer cater to vegans alone; they cater to everyone!
Nuts For Cheese
nutsforcheese.com
RICHA GUPTA
Richa Gupta founder of Good Food For Good is on a mission to make it easy for people to eat well and do good. Richa created Good Food For Good after experiencing lack of good convenient options that would allow her to make a quick meal free of refined sugar, pesticides and preservatives quickly. Richa was working at General Mills and was a new Mom when she decided to take the entrepreneurial path that not only made a positive difference in lives of her consumers but also in lives of people living with food insecurity. Good Food For good has donated over 1.2Million meals to people in need through local and global food banks.
Good Food For Good
goodfoodforgood.com
BRITTANY CHARLTON
After suffering from a serious peanut and tree nut allergy at the age of 18, Brittany noticed that there was a lack of allergen-free snacks on the market. She saw this as an opportunity and began innovating tasty and safe snacks that she could enjoy alongside her friends and family. In 2018, her mother convinced her to share her recipes with the world, and just like that Ohh! Foods was born. Brittany founded Ohh! Foods driven by a mission to bring awareness to #InclusiveSnacking through the innovation of tasty «freefrom» snacks. Ohh! Foods is more than just a snack company, we are a community doing our part to make this world a little safer and sweeter for everyone.
Ohh! Foods
OhhFoods.com
ZOEY SHAMAI
Zoey Shamai founded Canada’s first Kombucha in 2006 after discovering the incredible digestive benefits of kombucha. Her vision then, and ongoing mission now, is to make her best tasting kombucha available everywhere so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of great digestion.
Tonica
tonicakombucha.com
Discover emerging brands that excite customers! UpNext is a team of experts within UNFI who actively seek out, mentor and educate emerging brands. We deliver on trends, helping to make your store the destination for what’s now and next! UpNext brands can create a new generation store experience that consumers are looking for.
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NEW & EXCITING Bob’s Red Mill Grain Free Baking Mixes are delicious, quick to prepare, easy-to-use mixes that offer the scrumptious flavor and tempting aroma of traditional baked goods, without the grains. It’s that simple.
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From shredded cheeze to pizza, we’ve got plant-based covered. Explore dairy-free, allergen-free foods and ingredients that keep you coming back for more.
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From sandwiches to pizzas, we have a dairy-free cheese for any occasion! Try our cheese on your next dish and find your own little slice of heaven EIS515-EIS516
We have chocolate for every occasion. Bake with America’s #1 allergy friendly chocolate. Our chocolate is always free-from 14 common allergens, which includes being Dairy-free, Nut-free and Soy-free. Go Ahead, Indulge!
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A creamy, delicious non-dairy yogurt alternative rich in probiotic goodness. FRG001-FRG002-FRG003-FRG020-FRG021
Dark Chocolate Superfoods Just 70% dark chocolate and real fruit! The perfect better-for-you indulgent snack!
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We produce, package and sell high quality, nutritious Indian and International food packed with bold flavor and made in Philadelphia. JYT010-JYT011-JYT012-JYT013-JYT014-JYT015
Real food. Energy for life. Tasty snacks packed with real food energy from sweet dried fruit, salty crunchy nuts and rich dark chocolate. No nasty ingredients. Just plant-based, Non-GMO and 70% organic so nothing gets in the way of the taste. LRT050-LRT051-LRT052-LRT100-LRT101-LRT102
Dive into these flavourful cookies with fun sea shapes! Every batch of cookies are baked with healthy, wholesome ingredients. These parent-created cookies are organic with no GMOs. Sea Friends ™ also make the perfect school snack as they are certified peanut-free. The best part - every cookie is packed with nutrients from real vegetables and fruits (so you can sneak some broccoli and spinach into a tasty treat - shh!)
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Our new coconut milk kefir, an ideal substitute for milk, to be enjoyed in cereal, smoothies, or nutritional beverages.
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Sweets from the Earth was founded in 2002 as an all-natural vegan bakery. Our products are handmade in small batches using only the finest 100% plant based ingredients in either our DAIRY, EGG, SESAME, PEANUT & NUT FREE OR DAIRY, EGG, WHEAT & GLUTEN FREE bakeries.
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VENDORS & MAP At Innovation Conference and Showcase, attendees have direct access to a completely sold-out trade show floor of over 150 exhibitors - the perfect opportunity to network, learn, engage, participate, and of course - take advantage of our amazing show deals! Take a look below to find your innovating brands, new or known. Acropolis Organics All Market Inc. Alpha Foods Alternative Kitchen Baby Gourmet Foods Beanitos Beat The Wheat Better Bears Bev Lono Beyond Better Foods Bio-K+ Blk Beverages Boreal Berry Farm Br4 Trade Corporation Canadas Own Canterbury Coffee Carb Smart Express Carbonaut Carrot Bacon Cedar Valley Selections Cha’s Organics Chickapea Chocxo Chosen Foods Cove Kombucha Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company Crofter’s Organic Danone Dream Pops Dutchmans Gold Inc. Earth’s Own
Eat Just, Inc. Elmhurst 1925 Enjoy Life Equilibrium Foods Fatso Fauxmagerie Zengarry Felicetti Pasta Fody Foods Four Fathers Food Co. Future Farm General Assembly Pizza Gnusante Gogo Quinoa Good Food For Good Goodums Food Inc. Greenhouse Guru Gusta Foods Halvana Happy Caps Mushroom Farm Happy Planet Happy Pops Harmless Harvest Health Garden Of Ny Inc Healthy Hippo Naturals Inc Honey Bunny Inc. / Peace River Honey Humble Potato Chips Just About Foods Karma Bites Katz Gluten Free Kefirkult
Kindred Cultures Koops’ Koukla Delights La Preferida Legrand Lemon Aide Little Northern Bakehouse Live Right Lola’s Fine Hot Sauce Loon Kombucha Lulubelle & Co Lumehra Clean, Simple Living Maison Orphee Manitoba Harvest Manitoba Milling Company Mid-Day Squares Molly B’s Gluten-Free Kitchen More Granola Mr. Kipling My Little Chickpea Gourmet Foods Nanashake Naturapack Foods Inc. Nick Rubino Nutiva/Coconut Secret Nutri Group Nuts For Cheese Oat & Mill Oggi Foods Ohh! Foods Om Noms By Yumasoy One Degree
Hover above the map below for a link to an interactive version, where you can find out where our innovating brands will be located during the show.
Outer Aisle Gourmet Ovino Ozery Bakery Ozo Pasta Tavola Pokko Pow! Puffs Prana Prana Purplesful Snacking Queen St Bakery Quesava Rawesome Raw Vegan Inc. Real Treat Rico N Lalo Ripple, Melt Rosso Coffee Roasters Rossonero Savör Siete Family Foods
Silver Hills Bakery Simplyprotein Slice Of Life Snack Conscious Snö Sober Carpenter Non-Alcoholic Craft Beer Source Nutraceutical, Inc. Splendor Garden Stash Tea Steaz Stellar Eats Inc. Sweet & Friendly Taste Of Nature That’s It. The Good Bean The Healthy Nut The Honest Company The Original Taro Chip The Pur Company The Very Good Food Co
Theobroma Three Farmers Foods Tonica Kombucha Toufayan/Giovanni Trace Beverages Tru Roots Two Bears Van Dyk’s Health Juice Products Ltd. VG Gourmet Vegetarian Foods Inc. Vision Food Innovations Inc Vive Organic Walter Craft Caesars Wholly Veggie Wholly Wholesome Wildcreamery By Wildbrine Wise Bites Yoggu! Yogi Tea Yoso Yumi Organics Zoe
SPONSORS
Thank you to our sponsors for participating in this event. Cocktail sponsors
Breakfast sponsors
Lunch sponsors
Swag bag sponsors
Women’s Panel sponsor
Pitch Slam sponsors
www.unfi.ca