Our 4th annual Investor Meeting with Nutrition Capital Network looked a little different than previous editions, but the commitment to showcasing and supporting the best Canadian nutrition companies was just as strong.

The two-day event featured excellent pitches from 15 Canadian natural nutrition companies, including natural and organic food & beverage brands, ingredient technologies, and supplements and medicinal foods. You can see the company snapshots here.

Adding to the great presentations by the companies, we also heard from an alumnus of a 2017 NCN Investor Meeting, Marie Chevrier from Sampler. Sampler provides a digitally-supported solution for product sampling, which has been particularly valuable as COVID has drastically reduced in-store sampling opportunities for new and established brands.

We put Sampler to the test before the event even started. They stepped up to support the meeting by using their excellent service to send samples from the presenting companies to the registered attendees. Another great example of how Sampler’s services can help small companies get their products into the hands of the right people at the right time. Sampler joined Fasken and Natural Sci Reg to specifically support this Canadian investor meeting with Nutrition Capital Network. Thank you!

We were also happy to hear from Canadian nutrition industry veteran and entrepreneur, Christian Gauvin of Zenica Health. He spoke with Colin Garrioch (NPC) about the many Canadian advantages in product innovation and development, including the extensive regulatory controls that ensure quality throughout all stages of the development and manufacturing process.

Natasha Dhayagude (Chinova Bioworks) continued in that theme, describing her experience of building an innovative company in Canada. Chinova has developed a natural preservative that aligns with today’s consumer demand for clean label and better for you food and beverages. Natasha explained how the Canadian ecosystem of strong research, mentorship, government programs, and organizations like NPC have helped pave the way for her success.

It was also great to keep up our tradition of hearing from Nick McCoy of Whipstitch Capital with his deep dive into the consumer and investor activity during COVID. An interesting highlight: Nick showed how purpose-driven companies are especially well positioned for growth now as consumers are seeking out authentic companies with a focus on sustainability, community and social justice issues.

Finally, one of the most important things about our Investor Meeting with Nutrition Capital Network is the engagement and input from investors. They provide the insights, experience, advice and general encouragement that the presenting companies need. And despite the fact these conversations had to happen online, there was still a sense of true comraderie throughout the event. This was primarily due to the excellent input of the Investor Panelists who went above and beyond to draw out the most important aspects of these companies. Our huge thanks to the six exceptional panelists seen below!

We are extremely grateful to our partners at Nutrition Capital Network, and everyone who contributed their time, energy and resources to make this a truly successful event. If you have questions or comments, or want to learn how you can participate in the next one, please contact us.