Phytokana boosts fava bean protein concentration for mainstream foods

Phytokana Ingredients Inc. launched F70 LVC Faba Protein Concentrate on June 12, 2024, positioning the ingredient as a high-purity 70% protein fava bean concentrate for mainstream food formulas. That level matters because it gives manufacturers more protein density to work with, while making it easier to build plant-based products that taste cleaner, behave better in processing and rely less on dairy proteins.

The Calgary, Alberta company said it developed the ingredient through crop science, automation and technology innovation to deliver “superior sensory and high functionality.” In practical terms, that is the commercial gap the plant protein sector keeps trying to close: ingredients that do more than check a sustainability box and actually hold up in bars, bakery products, meat alternatives, dairy alternatives and powdered nutrition.

Phytokana is building a dry fractionation facility in Strathmore, Alberta, to support that push. The company says the site will process more than 30,000 tonnes a year into food-grade ingredients, including high-purity faba protein concentrate, starch-rich flour and faba flour. It also says the plant will source novel faba bean varieties from local farmers, which ties the ingredient strategy directly to crop selection and supply control.

The sourcing map is specific. Phytokana says its faba bean regions include Alberta’s brown, dark brown and black chernozemic soils, areas it describes as well suited to irrigated and dry-land pulse production. The company also says it is working with Canadian universities on pulse-variety analysis and new processing methods, a sign that the ingredient launch sits inside a wider breeding and formulation program rather than a one-off product reveal.

The financing behind the plan is just as telling. In June 2024, Phytokana said it had engaged Roth Capital Partners and Northland Securities to raise about C$38 million in Series C financing. The company also said it had secured about C$450 million in offtake agreements to support its fava bean protein plant. That mix of crop science, processing capacity and contracted demand is what turns a 70% concentrate from a technical milestone into a commercial one.