VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premium better-for-you chocolate brand Chocxo today announced it received top honors at the 17^th annual Rise Awards Night this past week, hosted by BC Food & Beverage. The celebratory event acknowledges creativity, resilience, and community impact within British Columbia’s food and beverage industry.

Chocxo received the following honors:

• Best in Brand - The Best in Brand Award celebrates brands achieving growth through innovative strategies, recognized as leaders in their category, utilizing diverse consumer-facing media, and distinctive packaging design
• Product of the Year (Bronze Award) - In a thrilling Dragon’s Den-style competition, the company’s Lemon Crème Cups placed among the top three of all products considered for the award

With 72% cacao surrounding a creamy lemon-infused white chocolate center to create a symphony of citrusy brightness and decadent dark chocolate in each bite, Dark Chocolate Lemon Crème cups, each with only 4g of sugar, have become a fan-favorite and Chocxo’s fastest-selling product ever, quickly disappearing from shelves at retailers like Sprouts, Erewhon and Costco.  

A decade ago, Chocxo set out to make the most mouth-watering, delicious chocolate – and to make it better for people and the planet. The brand has since become known for truly indulgent chocolates that are naturally lower in sugar with simple, high-quality organic ingredients.

Internationally, Chocxo products are available in Costco Canada club locations and most other retailers across Canada. In the United States, they can be found at Sprouts Farmers Markets, Natural Grocers stores, select Whole Foods Markets, select Costco locations, and various retailers and grocers across the U.S.

Oshawa, Ontario (December 4, 2024) – On Tuesday, December 3, Lactalis Canada Inc. (‘Lactalis Canada’) – the Canadian dairy leader behind iconic brands such as Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, Balderson, Astro and Lactantia and a subsidiary of France-based Lactalis Group – held a special event to celebrate the official opening of the company’s new Oshawa, Ontario distribution centre – now the largest distribution centre, from a capacity standpoint, within Lactalis Group globally.

“Lactalis Canada’s new Oshawa Distribution Centre is yet another part of our growth story in Canada and a testament to our ambitions as a dairy leader in this country,” said Mark Taylor, President & CEO, Lactalis Canada. “This facility ensures we meet the evolving needs of our business and valued customers, while its sustainable design will revolutionize our network's efficiency and ESG agenda.” 

“We look forward to being a key employer in the region and are committed to creating opportunities for employment, skill development, and career growth to contribute to the strong community of Oshawa,” continued Taylor.  

Increasing the capacity and efficiency of Lactalis Canada’s supply chain network, the Oshawa facility will principally support the company’s cheese and tablespreads business. Located at 1600 Thornton Road North in Oshawa, Ontario in the Northwood Business Park, Lactalis Canada’s Oshawa Distribution Centre will employ approximately 80 employees.   

Key Facility Features 

• 379,000 square feet facility with the ability to store up to 60,000 pallets in both cooler and freezer environments. 

• Zero-carbon ready with the potential to be Zero Carbon Building (ZCB) certified. 

• Source of energy fully on the Ontario power grid with no additional reliance on non-renewable energy sources. 

• Use of energy efficient lighting controls, equipment and high insulation values reduce power load imposed on the refrigeration system. 

• Heat generated from the refrigeration system fully reclaimed and used to heat the facility’s offices and the truck apron to melt snow for safety reasons. 

• White roof to reduce heat island effect. 

• Solar panels on the roof in a future phase will provide renewable power to partially or completely offset reliance on the power grid under certain conditions. 

CBRE Limited facilitated the long-term lease agreement, while the distribution centre was developed, built, and leased by Broccolini with the building design supported by GKC Architecture and Design.

Scarborough, Ont., Dec. 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadians not only look for high protein content in the plant-based food products available in grocery stores, but they also seek a wide variety that tastes good, are sustainably produced and meet their nutritional needs. Today, Protein Industries Canada co-invested in a project that is expanding the plant-protein food options by developing new high-protein ingredients using Canadian faba beans.

Griffith Foods, BFY Proteins, Botaniline and Faba Canada are each leveraging their expertise by collaborating to create functional, neutral-flavoured faba protein and processed ingredients for applications in consumer-packaged goods (CPGs). Their closed-loop value chain approach is expected to result in high-protein, reduced salt, and allergen-free products that appeal to the food industry and consumers.

“With support from the Protein Industries Cluster, this project consortium is helping boost Canada’s competitiveness in the global market while supporting new economic opportunities for Canadians in the ingredient manufacturing sector,” said the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry. “This project is another example of how the Global Innovation Clusters are strengthening Canada’s key industries and leveraging innovative technologies to benefit Canadians.”

The partners are working to improve the processing method of faba bean proteins and processed ingredients to be scaled up until the ingredient can be commercialized. Their work is boosting Canada’s competitiveness in the global market, increasing Canada’s productivity, and supporting the country’s $25 billion opportunity in ingredient manufacturing and food processing.

“The investments into this project are benefitting the entire value chain, from farmer to consumer,” Protein Industries Canada Chief Financial Officer Kassandra Quayle said. “This approach supports the desirability of faba beans amongst producers, while the neutral flavour of the ingredients appeals to processors and consumers, all while adding value to Canadian crops and supporting Canada’s leadership in ingredient manufacturing and food processing.”

This $7.7 million project begins with Faba Canada extracting a high protein faba ingredient from Canadian faba beans using a dry processing method, allowing for a higher protein concentration. In the process, they will also work to de-flavour the protein ingredient to reduce the earthy notes.

Griffith Foods will then use the faba ingredient to extrude it into other value-added protein ingredients that can serve various industries, including meat alternatives and breadings.

“This project is a great example of how partnership across the value chain can come together and bring a sustainable and nutritious product to consumers,” Doug Pritchard, Griffith Foods Canada General Manager said. “Sustainability is connected to everything we do as a business, and we are dedicated to significantly improving the future with our business strategy. We are excited by the potential and by working together we can achieve our goals and create a sustainable future.”

“Faba Canada is very excited to be part of this project. We are grateful to Protein Industries Canada for their support and also to our two project partners who are world leaders in their areas of food processing,” Faba Canada President Brad Goudy said. “We are proud of our ability to provide a very high-quality, good-tasting, healthy and environmentally friendly food ingredient at an economical price. We are extremely happy to be playing a key role in establishing an industry for a very important crop for Western Canadian farmers that will help them become more sustainable and profitable in their farm operations.”

At the final link in the value chain, Botaniline and BFY Proteins will test the faba protein ingredients from Faba Canada and the processed protein ingredient from Griffith Foods in new consumer-ready food products. Using the new faba ingredients, the team will work to develop allergen-free and lower-sodium products, such as spreads and meat hybrids.

“The scientific excellence behind Botaniline and BFY Proteins is honoured to be a part of this consortium. Working with extraordinary resources through Faba Canada, Griffith Foods, and other scientific entities such as NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) and the Protein Industries Canada teams puts us on a fast track to demonstrate our ability to feed the world with plant-based food science,” Botaniline and BFY Proteins CEO / Managing Director Mark Celmer said.

Of the $7.7 million invested into this project, Protein Industries Canada committed $2.7 million, and the partners co-invested the remaining.

Protein Industries Canada is one of Canada’s five Global Innovation Clusters. Protein Industries Canada and its members are working to embrace the $25 billion opportunity presented by Canada’s ingredient manufacturing, food processing and bio-product sector. Projects such as these add value to, and create new markets for, Canadian crops, generating local jobs and supporting new economic development in locations across Canada. More information can be found at 

Camarillo, California (December 3, 2024) — Hygiena^®, a global leader in food safety and environmental diagnostics, today announced that is has completed the acquisition of Nexcor Food Safety Technologies, Inc., the creator of KLEANZ and CAMS-PM, two industry-leading software solutions for managing sanitation and equipment maintenance in food and beverage manufacturing facilities. This strategic acquisition underscores Hygiena’s continued commitment to delivering comprehensive, innovative food safety solutions to its worldwide customer base.

“Effective cleaning and monitoring of facilities with food safety diagnostic testing are essential for quality control and risk mitigation across all food processing environments. With our acquisition of Nexcor software solutions, we plan to integrate our SureTrend^® analytics platform with KLEANZ’s sanitation software, delivering powerful tools to drive quality improvement, prevent food safety issues and enhance operational efficiencies,” said Steven Nason, CEO of Hygiena. “Hygiena’s extensive global customer base and commercial channels will introduce KLEANZ and CAMS-PM software solutions, along with our integrated SaaS food safety offerings, to a wider audience. This expanded portfolio provides our customers with a streamlined, prevention-focused approach to sanitation and food safety management. With a centralized platform offering comprehensive, real-time solutions, we are empowering businesses to enhance their food safety programs and operational effectiveness worldwide."

Robert Burgh, President of Nexcor Food Safety Technologies, Inc., commented, “This collaboration with Hygiena allows Nexcor to create greater customer value by streamlining two critical, interconnected functions within food companies worldwide. Together, we accelerate market growth while staying true to our values of innovation, integrity and customer satisfaction. We are excited to merge our expertise, creating enhanced SaaS platforms and comprehensive solutions for sanitation, safety and compliance management. United, we are poised to lead the future of food safety with a shared vision and strong commitment.”

David Grant, General Manager of Software and Instrument Firmware at Hygiena, added, “We are excited to integrate Nexcor’s solutions into our existing suite of software offerings and extend the capabilities of SureTrend. SureTrend currently enables our customers to efficiently plan, schedule, test, capture, store, protect, analyze, audit and report on their critical testing data. Integrating Nexcor’s data will allow us to leverage sophisticated machine learning AI for predictive insights, enhancing risk mitigation and advancing food safety.”

The acquisition exemplifies the shared commitment and aligned values of Hygiena and Nexcor, aiming to enhance the safety and operational efficiency of food and beverage facilities through innovative technologies and comprehensive solutions. Nexcor's dedicated customer base and strong market presence in the food, beverage and packaging sectors will significantly contribute to the partnership’s success, fostering global expansion, enhanced product offerings, operational efficiencies and cross-selling opportunities.