Kelowna business among recipients of $6.6 million grant to boost B.C. food manufacturing

A new wave of support for food and beverage manufacturers across B.C. was announced Tuesday at a Kelowna news conference.

As part of the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BCMJF), the provincial government is investing up to $6.6 million to support the expansion of seven food manufacturing companies, including one in Kelowna.

Farming Karma Fruit Company Ltd., a family-owned business based in Kelowna, will receive up to $2 million to support the purchase of advanced manufacturing equipment.

This investment will allow the company to bring primary processing in-house, increase production, and expand its product lines, which include sparkling fruit beverages made from Okanagan-grown fruit.

The expansion is expected to create 32 jobs.

"Supporting food manufacturing in B.C. strengthens the economy, creates jobs, and builds a resilient food system," said Avi Gill, CEO and co-founder of Farming Karma Fruit Company.

Lana Popham, B.C.'s Minister of Agriculture and Food, said the funding is particularly important given the ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the U.S.

"There is no doubt about it, the tariff war is not beneficial for British Columbia. We have seen an amazing response from consumers, but there is still a lot of worry," she said.

"We do 70 percent of our agricultural trade with the United States... We’ve learned a big lesson over the last couple of months, and that is we need to diversify our trading partners. We also need to find ways to improve and increase the amount of goods we create here in the province," she added.