Alberta startup Phytokana Ingredients is partnering with Vancouver's Maia Farms to turn Canadian fava beans into plant-based food ingredients. The $32.5 million project, with funding from industry partners and Protein Industries Canada, aims to strengthen the domestic value chain for fava beans. Phytokana will use a proprietary technology to process fava beans into protein concentrate, starch flour, and fava flour, suitable for use in dairy alternatives and plant-based meats.

The fava ingredients will be supplied to Maia Farms, which will create new mycelium-based ingredients through fermentation. Phytokana is securing funding to build a processing facility in Strathmore, AB, which could produce 30,000 metric tonnes of ingredients per year. This project is part of efforts to increase the value-added production of high-protein crops in Canada, potentially creating new markets, supporting economic development, and providing sustainable and consistent quality food ingredients for global markets.