The plant-based industry is laying down roots
From fast-food to fine dining establishments, plant-based protein is becoming an increasingly popular menu item. So, when one producer brought their operation to Canada, they needed a partner to help accommodate their expanding operation.
The Canadian facility accommodated both the production and packaging processes but did not have the freezer space or the general storage area needed to store ingredients, packaging materials—or the finished product. “It was very time-sensitive because the facility that does the manufacturing had barely any freezer space,” explains Max Perreault, Sales Director for Eastern Canada at VersaCold. With a rapidly expanding market adding to existing storage concerns, finding a partner with the ability to scale on-demand was a primary concern.
VersaCold helps cultivate success
With the space, technology and expertise to efficiently provide warehousing for food products across Canada, VersaCold fulfilled this producer’s requirements with room to spare. Max Perreault, works with clients to ensure their needs continue to be met and new challenges are solved along the way.
VersaCold offers the three different storage temperatures necessary for the safe storage of plant-based products from the start of production to finish. “We offer a cooler temperature at -4°C, “dry” at above 4°C (for things like packaging materials) and of course a frozen temperature for ingredients and finished products,” says Max. Providing all three types of storage, allows VersaCold to fulfill all warehouse needs for plant-based protein producers on a day-to-day basis, with the option to expand as necessary. VersaCold also has the blast freezing capabilities necessary to help ensure the integrity of plant-based protein products.
Branching out into new markets
Before the pandemic, the market for plant-based protein products was largely concentrated within the food services industry, where restaurants were seeing a growth in demand. But as the pandemic drastically slowed restaurant sales, the market shifted and demand among grocery retailers for plant-based protein products increased dramatically. “We ended up having much more outbound than we expected,” Perreault says. VersaCold has been able to accommodate this pivot with their broad distribution capabilities that can move product across North America and great familiarity with the process.
As plant-based protein producers continue to develop and define their market, VersaCold has the capacity, space and expertise required to scale with our customers as well as an established network across the country, and the flexibility to solve new challenges along the way.
