A Burnaby business has scored $100,000 in a federal competition and moved into the next round for a chance at more.
Burnaby North-Seymour MP Terry Beech announced that TrendiTech Inc. (formerly Trendy Vending Inc.) advanced as one of the 24 semi-finalists for streams A and B of the $20-million Food Waste Reduction Challenge, an initiative under the Food Policy for Canada.
Each semi-finalist receives $100,000 and move on to compete in the market demonstration stage of the challenge.
Trendi is based in Burnaby and their project Biotrim is a mobile processing unit that turns misfit or excess food ingredients into a shelf-stable product.
"Our mission is to rescue and make nutritious foods accessible to all, not just to those that can afford them," said Carissa Campeotto, Trendi co-founder and CMO, who was born and raised in North Burnaby, in a statement.
Launched in November 2020, the challenge was designed to spark new ideas and challenge innovators to deliver “game-changing solutions to the long-standing and complex issue of food waste in Canada,” said a news release. Streams A and B focus on business model solutions that can prevent or divert food waste at any point from farm to plate. This first round of the challenge attracted 343 applications.
“Innovative business solutions that solve complex issues like food waste and help reduce our environmental impact are crucial to a green economy,” said Beech, in the news release. Based in our community, Trendi and their food waste solution Biotrim, represent the dedication and hard work of our community members in finding environmentally friendly economic solutions.”
Over the next eight months, semi-finalists will pilot their solutions in Canada through rigorous testing, evaluation and reporting on their solution’s effectiveness. According to estimates, more than half of Canada’s food supply is wasted annually and nearly $50 billion of that wasted food is avoidable, said the news release.
This year Trendi is partnering with Make Change Studio, an interactive, collaborative and interdisciplinary course centered on entrepreneurship, design, and sustainability at SFU.
"We're on a mission to stop food waste, break the stigma, and create nutrient-dense upcycled products designed to feed humans, animals, and industries,” said Craig McIntosh, Trendi co-founder and CEO, in a statement.
