Redstick Ventures: Fueling Canada’s Food Tech Frontier

Written By Cam Crowder

Overview

Redstick Ventures partnered with the Canadian Food Innovation Network (CFIN) to power the Food Tech Frontier — Canada’s first national program recognizing startups transforming how food is produced, distributed, and experienced.

Through this collaboration, Redstick invested $100,000 each into two standout ventures — Cubbi and Dispension Industries — among 35 Food Tech Frontier awardees redefining the country’s food innovation landscape.

Other recognized ventures, such as Appatronics, showcased the diversity and technical depth emerging from Canada’s food tech ecosystem — from precision automation to sustainable food processing solutions.

The awards didn’t just spotlight innovation; they positioned Redstick at the center of Canada’s most promising food tech network, backing founders at the inflection point between prototype and scale.

Challenge

Canada’s food innovation landscape is rich in ideas but starved for early capital. While the country ranks competitively in startup formation, the gap between seed and scale-up funding remains one of its biggest choke points.

As CFIN CEO Dana McCauley highlighted during the awards broadcast:

“Canada holds its own in the startup space, but once companies reach the scaling stage, we fall off. We don’t invest until they’re already international success stories.”

For Redstick, this funding gap isn’t a risk — it’s an opportunity.

Redstick’s Role

As CFIN’s venture capital partner, Redstick Ventures provided not only investment capital but also strategic validation — sending a market signal that Canadian food tech is investable, scalable, and globally relevant.

By backing Cubbi and Dispension Industries, Redstick demonstrated its thesis in action:

  • Backing early-stage food tech companies with massive growth potential

  • Bridging the funding gap between proof-of-concept and commercial traction

  • Partnering with ecosystem builders like CFIN to amplify national visibility

This wasn’t just an awards program — it was a launchpad.

Featured Companies

Cubbi (Calgary, AB)
 A smart food locker platform designed for offices, campuses, and residential buildings. Cubbi enables local restaurants and food providers to reach consumers through temperature-controlled, app-enabled pickup points.

  • Focus: Seamless, last-mile food access

  • Impact: Expands food distribution options while reducing delivery inefficiencies

Dispension Industries (Halifax, NS)
 Develops secure, automated dispensing systems for beverages and controlled products. Their technology improves safety, traceability, and accessibility in food and beverage environments.

  • Focus: Automated dispensing and compliance tech

  • Impact: Streamlines labor, ensures regulatory transparency, and opens new markets

Dispension Industries receives a $100,000 investment from Redstick Ventures as part of the Food Tech Frontier Awards, in partnership with the Canadian Food Innovation Network.

Outcomes

  • Strengthened Redstick’s visibility as a first-mover investor in Canadian food innovation

  • Elevated national awareness of food tech as a high-growth sector

  • $200,000 in direct investment into early-stage innovators (Cubbi and Dispension)

  • 35 food tech startups recognized nationally through the Food Tech Frontier Awards

Impact and Significance

The Food Tech Frontier Awards highlighted the strength and diversity of Canada’s emerging food innovation sector. By partnering with CFIN, Redstick helped catalyze new pathways for early-stage companies to access capital, mentorship, and national recognition.

Initiatives like this bridge the gap between innovation and investment — reinforcing Canada’s leadership in food technology and entrepreneurship.

Cam Crowder