Foodpreneur Lab awarded funding to start and scale businesses

TORONTO — Foodpreneur Lab, a Black woman-founded and led Canadian non-profit, was awarded funding to support Black food entrepreneurs start and scale their consumer-packaged goods businesses. Their second cohort is reaching a milestone as they complete their path in the project on January 31.

“Cohort Two Start participants have rounded out business fundamentals with product launch knowledge,” said Janice Bartley, Executive Director. “Scale participants have had the chance to level up and work through challenges in their business from manufacturing to co-packing and distribution.”

Two participants in the current cohort have received recognition, Eight50 Coffee was recognized by the Wall Street Journal, and Caribbean restaurant Baccanalle was featured on The Food Network Canada as one of the Top 10 Black-Owned Canadian Restaurants You Need to Try ASAP.

This project is funded by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. Applications for cohort three are set to open for all Southern Ontario by February 2023.

The project began on November 1, 2021 and will close on December 31, 2024. At the end of the four years, Foodpreneur Lab will have helped 200 Black food entrepreneurs either bring a new product to market or reach the next level of growth for an existing product.