Protenergy Natural Foods
Corp.
This Ontario carton packager is cornering export markets with its advanced product offerings.
Protenergy Natural Foods Corporation, a large North American food manufacturer, is dedicated to private brand and national brand contract manufacturing within the soup category. Protenergy was created in 2004 to meet North American retailers' demand for food products which are cost efficient, healthy, and environmentally friendly. The company sells soups, broths, sauces, and gravies packaged in cartons to both national brand owners and retailer brand owners.
With extensive certifications, including HACCP, SQF (GFSI), C-TPAT and CFIA Federal Meat Certification, Protenergy has a significant competitive advantage. "We are well positioned to leverage the dominant trends within the food industry, such as the expansion of food and beverages in cartons and the growth of private brands," says Brent Lunn, Vice President, Business Development, Protenergy. The company's state-of-the-art customized production equipment and management systems make Protenergy a leader in its industry. "Our plant and office facilities are among the most modern and sophisticated in North America. And our continuous manufacturing process delivers product directly from blending through sterilization stations and then to our packaging equipment. Protenergy offers a unique combination of process capabilities that afford our clients the benefit of having the entire production process fully integrated in one facility," says Lunn. As a result, Protenergy is now positioned as the world's only "total solution" for the private brand soup category as foods continue to transition from cans to cartons.
Protenergy currently employs more than 70 people-a number that's expected to double in the next 18 to 24 months-at its plant and office facilities. Recently, Protenergy installed Canada's first and only Tetra Recart packaging line, allowing the company to extend carton technology to "anything that has historically been in a can". Protenergy, and many of the company's customers, believe that this packaging option is the future. "We are generating significant research and development activities within our company that we believe will benefit the industry" says Lunn.
Today, Protenergy supplies its products to the majority of the
top 30 US retailers and expects its business to double in the next
two years. The company continues to participate in OFEX events including
trade missions such as Street Smart. "It helped introduce us
to our first major US private brand customer," says Lunn. "Since
then our sales to that customer have increased from $1.5 million
to almost $10 million."