Media Advisory

BRANCHFOOD ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF CANADA IN BOSTON Driving food innovation by helping Canadian entrepreneurs expand to the USA

Boston, MA – August 10, 2019 – ​Branchfood​ today announced its partnership engagement with ​The Consulate of Canada​ in a joint effort to advance food entrepreneurship and strengthen the food community in Boston and beyond. This partnership provides an opportunity for Canadian entrepreneurs growing food and food-related businesse​s to develop relationships and partnerships to expand their activities to the US retail market and further contribute to the future of food. The Consulate of Canada will initially select up to 10 leading, inno​vative food startups to participate in this collaboration. In addition to hosting these startups in its workspace, Branchfood will provide them with business development support, education, programming, and networking. It will also facilitate industry connections and help founders expand their reach through its food and food-tech industry-specific events and media campaigns.

Th​e Consulate of Canada in Boston has been successfully bringing Canadian innovation to Boston, through a number of initiatives, and in particular th​rough its ​Canadian Technology Accelerator (CTA@Boston) program. Since its establishment in 2013, CTA@Boston has assisted o​ver 100 ​Canadian startups in various industries including emerging food technologies. Its unique business acceleration services have helped entrepreneurs scale their business in the US market. CTA@Boston was awarded 2016 Accelerator Program of the Year by the International Business Innovation Association.

Branchfood has been collaborating with the Consulate General of Cana​da in Boston since the Consulate became a founding sponsor of FoodEdge, a leading event highlighting the future of food which was held on May 1-2. Colette Lekbourg, Business Development Officer for Canadian food and beverage remarked, “Our goal is to create connections for Canadian Food Innovators and enable collaborative success so the industry as a whole can grow together.” Branchfood’s coworking space in downtown Boston is a renowned hub for food entrepreneurs and startup teams to work and c​ollaborate. “We look forward to welcoming Canadian entrepreneurs to the United State​s​ and to the Branchfood community. We are confident that this collaboration will foster the development of high-growth food businesses and create promising investment opportunities in food.” said Lauren Abda, Founder, Branchfood. “Diversity is a key driver of innovation, especially if we hope to transform the food industry to a healthier and more sustainable place, and we’re thrilled to support the expansion of innovative endeavors to the USA”.

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About Branchfood

Branchfood seeks to promote food entrepreneurship and support a community of founders launching and scaling transformative businesses. The organization strives to cultivate community, inspire innovation, and elevate New England as a leading food hub. Branchfood is the largest community of food innovators in New England and provides resources including co-working space, events, workshops, mentorship and investment. Learn more at ​branchfood.com​ and ​branchventuregroup.com