The pea protein craze shows no sign of stopping in Canada, with a state-of-the-art pea processing facility due to open. The major investment, the second such facility in Manitoba, reflects continued growth in the sector, with more crop producers looking to give peas a chance.
Canada is one of the biggest producers of peas in the world, as well as the global leader in canola production. With industry innovators such as Beyond Meat using pea protein in their products, coupled with consumer demand for alternative proteins, and the rapid growth of veganism, pea-protein is experiencing something of a craze.
The global plant-based protein producer Burcon NutraScience Corporation is opening the facility as a C$65million investment. Starting production next year, the 20,000 ton processing plant will create 80 – 85 new jobs near Winnipeg.
The plant will switch between pea and canola protein production. “It will be the only commercial canola protein production facility in the world” said CEO Johann Tergesen in a recent interview with Bloomberg news. “We are actually realizing that the plant we’re building is too small,” Tergesen said, referring to the soar in demand. “We’re going to go ahead and build it this size, and we can expand”.
