Driving Force Behind WFA’s New Agri-Business Strategy - The Grove – Expanding!
FedDev Ontario announces further investment in The Grove to help build a more resilient regional economy.
The Grove at Western Fair District, a dedicated agri-business hub — with a mandate to support Ontario food entrepreneurs through shared space, connections, and resources is expanding. Western Fair Association a historical, long serving Agricultural Society had the tenacity to take a risk on a new idea and the determination to begin repurposing older buildings and how its site serves its mission. That risk has worked out for the organization and has led to today’s announcement and the support they are receiving to help lead further growth and development of Canadian agri-food business.
WFA made the bold decision to launch The Grove 8 years ago after re-committing to its roots and reimagining its agricultural mission. The strategy is proving to have the right recipe to help launch small agri-food businesses towards success. 18 tenants to date, and 70+ businesses supported through their incubation kitchens who all started with in idea for a food product, are moving closer to their dreams of business success in the region, with several businesses already exporting nationally and ready to serve international markets. “The Grove gave us exactly what we needed — the confidence, network, and resources to think bigger and go bigger,” said Victor Courarie-Delage, co-founder of Peacasa Chips one of the first accelerator businesses to see success on a larger scale.
Today FedDev Ontario announced that they will invest $8 million in the Western Fair Association to expand and modernize its Grove Innovation Hub. This new investment builds directly on FedDev Ontario’s previous investment of $8.2 million, which helped establish and grow The Grove as a cornerstone of the region’s agri-food innovation ecosystem. Building on that foundation, Grove 2.0 will address next level needs of agri-food SMEs for scale ready production, cold storage, strengthening supply chains, and supporting a more resilient regional economy.
The Grove and many of its new business founders would not have been able to succeed without the support of many great partners like the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), the Small Business Centre, RH Accelerator, Fanshawe College, London Food Policy Council, Growing Chefs Ontario, and the significant investment from FedDev Ontario announced today. "All helped jump start the original vision and together we have proven to be good stewards of the investment, a strong support system for Grove tenants and a trusted eco-system dedicated to the Canadian agriculture industry,” said Kris Dinel, VP of Strategy, WFA.
Looking forward, Western Fair Association is excited to develop the next phase of The Grove and see the impact it will have on our economy. WFA is also buoyed by what has been achieved so far, and is hopeful that these early achievements in agri-food will lead to further breakthrough ideas and accomplishments in agri-tech. The organization has already been supporting innovation and education in the areas of AgRobotics, AI and technologies impacting the future of farming in Canada, under the wing of The Grove and WFA’s commitment to agriculture, its roots, and making a difference for generations to come.
