See event listings and more articles in this edition of Agri-News: March 3, 2025 issue
“During its 40-year history, the Alberta Food Centre (AFC) has helped start-ups to well-known food companies bring ideas to market,” says Ken Gossen, executive director of the AFC.
One of these companies is the Sunterra Group. This relationship began more than 20 years ago when President Ray Price toured the AFC and saw a fantastic opportunity for Sunterra Meats and Sunterra Farms to get assistance trialing new products and expanding operations.
“One of the first projects was figuring out how to vacuum-pack bison steaks with food scientist Arie Vandermeer,” says Price. “From the beginning, we forged a strong relationship with the AFC that has led to more projects almost every year. Their experts have consulted with us on everything from industry regulations to product formulations and to new processes and equipment.”
When Sunterra began working with the AFC, it was already an established food business, establishing Sunterra Farms in 1970 and Sunterra Markets in 1990. Since collaborating with the AFC, Sunterra has grown to include Soleterra d’Italia in 2016 and Sunterra Greenhouse in 2020.
When Soleterra d’Italia began, it offered 8 cured meat products. With access to processing equipment and expert advice from food scientists and technicians at the AFC, Soleterra went from producing just one batch of cured meat products per week to multiple batches every day. More products were added with expert guidance from the AFC’s food scientists, who designed formulations to prevent spoilage and make sure every item maintained consistent quality. Now Soleterra produces over one hundred products.
Sunterra credits the AFC for enabling the company to add product lines and scale up production. “The AFC helped us keep up with the demand for existing products while developing new items,” says Price. “We learned how our products function, the best ways to process them and how to increase efficiencies.”
In addition to developing new products, the AFC has assisted Sunterra Group in business planning, testing new production techniques and using equipment at the Leduc facility. “The AFC is a fantastic place to get business support and help innovating new products and processes to expand into new markets,” says Price. “Before we invest in our own equipment to produce new products, we try out new production techniques and use equipment at the AFC.”
Most recently, Sunterra Greenhouse collaborated with AFC on a new way to process and market their greenhouse grown, Alberta-based Dutchess strawberries. The solution: freeze-dried, vacuum sealed berries for sale in domestic and international markets. Alberta consumers can find the new product at Sunterra Market stores and the company has sent samples to Japan for testing. The AFC was proud to collaborate on this innovative and tasty treat!
Sunterra’s President Ray Price has recommended the AFC to other food processing companies saying, “It’s a hidden gem. I encourage others in the food processing industry to find out how the AFC can help build their business and product offerings to meet changing consumer demands.”
Learn about the Alberta Food Centre and take virtual tours.
Contact
Connect with the Alberta Food Centre:
Phone: 780-986-4793
Email: [email protected]
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