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InnoFood — Food innovations for a sustainable future - QC - Canada

InnoFood — Food innovations for a sustainable future

Last Update: April 1, 2025
QC, Canada
Supporting sustainable food innovation and ecological resource use

InnoFood — Food innovations for a sustainable future at a glance

Eligible Funding
  • Max. $1,500,000
  • Up to 40% of project cost
Timeline
  • Continuous Intakes
Financing Type
Grant and Funding
Eligible Industries
  • Manufacturing
Grant Providers
  • Consortium de recherche et d'innovations en bioprocédés industriels au Québec (CRIBIQ)
Status
Open

Overview of the InnoFood — Food innovations for a sustainable future program

The InnoFood grant, supported by the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie du Québec, offers up to $500,000 per year to foster food innovations for a sustainable future. It targets projects focused on plant-based foods, alternative proteins, and innovative technologies within Quebec's food industry.

Financing terms and conditions

  • Industrial contributions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are a minimum of 20% in cash, with CRIBIQ and other public contributors providing up to 40% each.
  • For large enterprises, a minimum of 40% contribution is required, of which 50% can be in-kind, with CRIBIQ covering up to 20% and other public bodies up to 40%.
  • Projects that demonstrate high commercialization potential and are more than 75% complete are eligible for an additional $20,000 from CRIBIQ for a technical-economic or feasibility study.
  • The maximum grant amount is $500,000 per year, not exceeding $1,500,000 over three years, subject to the budget allocated by the Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie du Québec (MEIE).
  • Funding is contingent on MEIE’s allocated budget and there are no guarantees of grant acquisition.
  • Industrial contributions must not originate from governmental aid.
  • Indirect research expenses for universities, covered by MEIE, are 27% of CRIBIQ's contributions to eligible expenses.
  • A 5% project management fee, plus taxes, will be deducted from the CRIBIQ contribution.

Eligible projects & activities

  • Development of plant-based foods.
  • Creation of alternatives to animal-based products.
  • Research on alternative proteins.
  • Advancement in personalized nutrition.
  • Innovations in precision fermentation.
  • Applications of precision agriculture.
  • Design of future food packaging.
  • Development of functional ingredients.
  • Integration of innovative technologies such as 3D food printing.
Examples of admissible projects:

$ 50,000

Implement solar panels for community hall energy efficiency

Eligibility criteria of the InnoFood — Food innovations for a sustainable future program

  • The applicant must be a Quebec public research institute (IRPQ) or an innovative company located in Quebec.
  • Projects must include a minimum of one company or industrial association.
  • A large company can participate in a project led by a small or medium enterprise (SME) only if it results in significant economic benefits for the SME.
  • The industrial contribution must not come from government aid.
  • Companies with 25 or more employees must provide a copy of the francization certificate or related attestation documents.
  • Companies operating in Quebec must have a French website; this requirement does not apply to international partners.
  • Applicants must be members in good standing of the CRIBIQ consortium at the time of detailed application submission.

Who is eligible?

  • Quebec public research institutes (IRPQ)
  • Innovative companies operating in the Quebec food industry

Eligible expenses

  • Salaries and benefits for staff involved in the project, excluding university professors and college teachers already funded by their institution or a governmental agency.
  • Scholarships for students or postdoctoral fellows (minimum 20% of the budget).
  • Materials including laboratory equipment, consumables, and supplies (equipment expenses are not eligible).
  • Purchase or rental of equipment, with costs representing a maximum of 25% of total eligible expenses and not exceeding $25,000 per item before tax.
  • Animal facility and platform fees.
  • Travel and accommodation expenses in accordance with the Quebec Treasury Board standards.
  • Management and exploitation costs for intellectual property.
  • Professional fees for contracts and subcontracting incurred by a Quebec public research institute (IRPQ), subject to a maximum of 10% of the total budget, not exceeding $25,000.
  • CRIBIQ management fees (5% of the total project cost, excluding taxes).

Eligible geographic areas

  • Quebec, Canada

Eligibility criteria of the InnoFood — Food innovations for a sustainable future program

  • Innovative nature or innovation potential compared to the state of the art (eliminatory criterion).
  • Quality of the management team, including alignment between scientific expertise and the needs of the involved companies.
  • Potential benefits for each industrial partner involved.
  • Collaboration and active role of the industrial partners.
  • Scientific quality of the project.
  • Level of excellence or expertise of the academic teams involved in line with the project's execution.
  • Scientific or technical feasibility of the project.
  • Organisation of the project, including definition of stages, deliverables, and milestone identification.
  • Potential use or integration of project results by the industrial partners (eliminatory criterion).
  • Economic and commercial application potential or competitive advantages.
  • Realism of the timeline.
  • Justification of the financial planning in line with the expenses.
  • Training of qualified personnel, such as graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, technicians, interns, etc., and involvement of personnel in technology transfer.

How to apply to the InnoFood — Food innovations for a sustainable future program

1
Verification of eligibility
  • Consult the applicant guide to understand the criteria and check if your project is eligible.
  • Contact Ms. Laila Ben Said, Director of Innovation - Biofood, to validate the project's eligibility.
2
Submission of the Letter of Intent and Preliminary Budget
  • Prepare and finalize the Letter of Intent and the Preliminary Budget.
  • Submit these documents via the prescribed means before the deadline of May 21, 2025.
3
Preparation of the detailed request
  • Develop the detailed request including all required elements such as methodology, deliverables, etc.
  • Gather the necessary documents to support the detailed request.
4
Submission of the detailed request
  • Transmit the detailed request and all supporting documents to the organization before July 10, 2025.
  • Use the submission channel specified by the funding organization.

Additional information

  • The maximum grant funding is $500,000 per year, with a total maximum of $1,500,000 over three years, including funds from the MEIE.
  • If a project is more than 75% complete and shows strong commercialization potential, additional funding of $20,000 may be granted by CRIBIQ for a technical-economic or feasibility study.
  • A minimum of 20% of the budget must be allocated to the training of students or postdoctoral researchers.
  • Projects led by SMEs require an industrial contribution of at least 20%, while large enterprises must contribute at least 40%, with up to half being in-kind contributions.
  • CRIBIQ members need to have settled their membership fees before submitting the Detailed Application.
  • Industrial partners from outside Quebec can participate as a second enterprise in the project.
  • The financial contribution of industrial partners to CRIBIQ management costs is considered non-eligible by certain complementary funding organizations, such as CRSNG.
  • Large enterprises can be part of an SME project only if the economic benefits are significant for the SME.
  • A website in French is required for companies operating in Quebec, except for international partners.

Contact Consortium de recherche et d'innovations en bioprocédés industriels au Québec (CRIBIQ)

laila.bensaid@cribiq.qc.ca
418 914-1608

Apply to this program

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