Quinta Quinoa among local companies bringing big ideas to global summit in Germany

Guelph and Wellington County want to become Canada's first circular food economy.

It's part of the municipalities' Smart Cities competition pitch, but the idea is receiving attention from around the world.

This week, three local companies will be attending the Global Food Summit in Germany to show off what they've been working on, and learning from others.

"Circular economies in general are an area of particular interest," Anne Toner Fung, executive director of Innovation Guelph, said in an interview prior to leaving for Munich.

"We were very excited about the idea. We had no idea that the world was also going to be excited about the idea."

Germany in particular has been zeroing in on food and sustainability of food production, she said, and the organizers of the summit learned more about what is being done in Guelph and Wellington County. They reached out to the city to see who from the area could attend the summit to share what they've learned.

Innovation Guelph made a number of suggestions and ultimately, three local companies were chosen to attend. They are:

• Quinta Quinoa, a Ontario-developed quinoa that's high in fibre and other nutrients. This company is one of six in the world to take part in a special start-up pitch competition at the summit.
• Tru-ID, a certification program that uses DNA to check the authenticity of ingredients, such as to make sure fish is labelled correctly at the store or in restaurants.
• Be Seen Be Safe, a software that is a virtual and automatic visitor book that helps prevent the spread of disease between farms.

Toner Fung says attending the conference could mean big things for the work being done here.

"It's a great opportunity for us to take some of those businesses that are doing really cool things and share that on a global stage. That opportunity doesn't come around that often," she said.

Summit will help 'open doors'

Jamie Draves founded Quinta Quinoa after he had a health crisis in 2007. He was diagnosed with idiopathic pancreatitis, had multiple surgeries and lost part of his pancrease. He had to eat a limited diet and quinoa was a staple ingredient.

That's where his passion to develop a more protein- and nutrient-rich, locally grown quinoa began.

Draves said having the chance to be at the summit and make the pitch will open doors for his small company, which he wants to see expand over the next year.

"We're at the point right now where we are strategically looking to expand and export our quinoa in the coming year, so it's a great opportunity to get that type of exposure," he said.

"One of our values in the company is to be able to share what we believe is a phenomenal product … Our ability to gain future customers, future contacts, potentially investor discussions and that awareness will only help us to expand and share this fabulous product globally."

Update: Quinta Quinoa

9 years ago

Duration 2:56

In season 9, Jamie Draves scored a Dragon investment in his quinoa business. See what's happened since stepping out of the Den!

Hear interviews with Jamie Draves and Anne Toner Fung on The Morning Edition: