OAFVC Blog

You’re already up to date on the current trends that affect your food production business, so make sure that your packaging is also top of mind going into 2019. Here is what to expect with new trends and how they can appeal to your customers in 2019.

Where 2018 saw some a rise in gut-friendly beverages like kombucha and prettier-than-ever smoothie bowls, 2019 is set to take these food trends to the next level. If you have your own food production business or are considering how to start a food production business, you will want to know the global food trends coming in 2019 and apply them to your own natural food products.

Before you ring in the New Year, here are 10 things a commercial kitchen can do for your business. You may be surprised at what is available for your food production business when you use a commercial kitchen like the Ontario Agri-Food Venture Centre (OAFVC).

Consider the role your food packaging plays beyond the obvious. There’s more to the food packaging and labelling process than all the required basics; you want it to catch the eye of your target audience and move units off the shelf.

Scaling up your business can seem daunting with all the new things you need to learn, especially if you’re thinking of moving from your familiar kitchen to a commercial space. The kitchen appliances in our commercial kitchen can help you produce your product in large volumes. While their names (and what you can do with them) may be unfamiliar to you, these appliances are actually larger, more efficient versions of appliances you can find in smaller kitchens.

If you're looking to start a food production business the most important thing you'll need to know is: what's in season. In Ontario, winter might seem like a daunting time to do business in food since the weather makes it look like nothing can grow. But that can't be further from the truth.

If you're looking to launch and grow your food business it's important to educate yourself on the different stages of food processing and the tools available. A food processing and commercial kitchen facility is one of those tools; here's what food processing means at OAFVC.

With advances to farming technology improving efficiency on farms, coupled with a rising demand for direct farm-to-consumer products, farmers aren’t just growing food anymore. Farmers are able to spend time turning their produce into products. The rise of social media marketing means farmers can market their products directly to their customers with ease.

As a food business owner, you know the importance of charitable giving to support your local community, especially those less fortunate. No matter where you live, homelessness, hunger, or poverty affects someone in your community;

Healthy food isn’t just a trend; for many, it’s a way of life. So, this blog post doesn’t have the latest fad recipes. It’s about maximizing the healthy food lifestyle for your food business.

According to a Forbes, “the unfortunate reality is that the foods we eat are the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S.”

We don’t often think of food packaging as having been around for several millennia, but people have been packaging and transporting food for thousands of years. Learn the truth about these other food packaging myths before you decide what to use.

Mindfulness is a frequently used term that can mean different things to different people. Often associated with Buddhist-inspired meditative practices, it also refers to a way of approaching the world. In this context, mindfulness practices can also be applied to food production and consumption. This Forbes article, for example, encourages readers to take a broad view with regard to the practice of mindfulness. Author Phil Lempert, known as the SupermarketGuru, defines mindfulness as “the quality or state of being conscious or aware.” This makes mindfulness a concept that can be applied to all areas of life, including eating, grocery shopping, and your food business.