Product development services
By partnering with the Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab you have access to our culinary and food science experts as well as physical, chemical and microbiological testing services to assist in developing your product.
Examples of how we’ve helped our industry partners:
- Formula development
- Scale-up from bench top testing to pilot scale
- Technical support of restaurant meal kit development for retail market
- Shelf-life extension (formula and process modification)
- Packaging testing, validation and recommendations
- Package prototyping available for corrugate
Process development services
Whether you are moving from producing in your kitchen to a co-packer, or looking to automate to a high-speed line, by engaging with our team of multi-disciplinary faculty and researchers we can support your next step of growth.
- Recommend automation for current manual processes while keeping food safety and product quality top of mind (in partnership with the SMART Centre)
- Process analysis, sustainability, data analytics and visualization
- Troubleshoot production challenges at your facility with our industry-experienced staff
Pilot plant services
Our 8,000 sq. ft. pilot plant provides industry partners with access to equipment to test at a mid-range scale. For small businesses, we can assist with scaling up your current production batch size. For larger businesses, our pilot equipment provides an opportunity to test at a meaningful scale without disrupting production or using new equipment. The data collected from these trials provides critical decision-making information.
Our facility is equipped with:
- Beverage line: end-to-end processing from blending to packaging (60 bottles/min)
- Retort: Steriflow retort (both rotary and agitated action accommodates cans, jars, pouches and trays)
- Fruit and vegetable processing: peel, slice/dice, rinse and pack (capacity approximately 400 kg/hr)
- Bakery: mixing, automated bun line, portioning, proofing, full-size rack ovens
- Accurate automated portioning of small materials
- Packaging: vertical flow wrap (MAP), multivac tray line (MAP), shrink wrap
(MAP = modified atmosphere packaging)
The pilot plant is used for test purposes only; its lines are not used to process goods for retail sale.
Virtual tour
Take a virtual tour of our facility located at our Cambridge – Fountain Street campus.