Savour Success in Toronto’s F&B Boom
Gather to imagine the future of food in a city celebrated for eclectic restaurants, global cuisine and embracing new cultures through what’s on our plate. Centrally located in Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe Region, Toronto is surrounded by a vast agricultural greenbelt and home to one of the largest food production clusters in North America.
Key subsectors include F&B processing, food services and retailing, alternative proteins, cellular agriculture, vertical farming and food waste. Toronto’s proximity to rich agricultural areas and its transportation infrastructure makes for easy access to both domestic and international markets.
The city is home to Canadian Pacific Railway’s largest intermodal terminal, which has a handling capacity of more than 600,000 containers annually.
From the tender fruit and viticulture of Niagara to “Ontario’s salad bowl” of farms in the fertile Holland Marsh, the city and region sustain a thriving food and beverage industry, ripe with innovation.
Meet in Toronto
Find what’s new and draw from a rich ecosystem of thought leaders, both global and local. Connect with CEOs from the world’s largest leading F&B companies, founders of exciting food manufacturing startups and experts in applied research working out of our internationally hailed universities.
Our city cultivates a distinctive mix of culture, education, diversity and talent for F&B companies and conferences to think and thrive—and contributes to a great way of life.
Join major brands who have Toronto headquarters such as Sofina Foods, Dr. Oetker, Coca-Cola Canada, Diageo Canada, Kellogg Canada, Labatt Brewing, Maple Leaf Foods, Nestle Canada, Unilever Canada and more.
Hub for Research and Innovation
In Toronto, you have the opportunity to connect with researchers working out of our internationally hailed universities and colleges, including the Food Innovation and Research Studio at George Brown College, the Culinaria Research Centre at the University of Toronto, the Food Innovation Hub at Toronto Metropolitan University and more.
There are also many independent research centres here, including the Greater Toronto Area Laboratory, which specializes in food analysis to identify bacteria and contaminants that may endanger public health, and the Conestoga Food Research and Innovation Lab, which offers services like formula development, packaging testing, shelf-life studies and more.
Host With the Most
Toronto has hosted various food and beverage conferences such as the International Association of Food Protection Annual Meeting, SIAL Canada, Grocery Innovations Canada and more.
There are also numerous culinary events and festivals enjoyed in the GTA throughout the year.
In Toronto, internationally recognized experts in food and hospitality services, culinary arts and nutritional science can speak on topics like plant-based products, food security, sustainability and more. Event planners can tap into that knowledge capital, conduct technical tours and exchange ideas with some of the brightest minds in the Canadian food and beverage industry.
Tours and Unique Experiences
Offer delegates and attendees a range of industry technical tours and hands-on experiences in the city. Culinary Adventure Co., Chopsticks and Forks and Tasty Tours Toronto will all whet your appetite.
Here, you’ll find Living Earth Farms, Ontario’s first certified organic vertical farm, which combines organic farming with cutting-edge technology.
Unique Venues
Hosting a food and beverage conference or meeting? Impress guests with one of Toronto’s unique off-site venues. Toronto has a wide range of venues that are as cool and cutting-edge as the food and beverage community itself. From Chef’s Hall, a downtown venue with over 14 food vendors on-site, to the Distillery District, a pedestrian-only area of the city that once housed a large whiskey distillery.
Charlene Rooke Drinks Editor, LCBO Food & Drink magazine
“Few global cities have celebrated wine regions within such easy reach. Toronto’s embrace of Ontario wine—and the seasonal, local cuisine that tends to spring up alongside—has conditioned urban palates for the inspired regional and global food, plus craft beer and artisan spirits, being created all over the city.”
Donna Dooher Owner, Mildred’s Temple Kitchen
“My travels take me all over the globe and when I tell folks I'm from Toronto, they sing our culinary praises. The diversity that defines our city immerses us in the food and beverage innovation we sometimes take for granted. I see so much creativity at the intersection of cultural cuisine and local ingredients.”
Get the Toronto Edge
There are enormous benefits to scheduling your meeting or event in the Toronto region. You’ll have:
- Access to talented speakers and renowned industry thought-leaders.
- The opportunity to experience innovation first-hand with enlightening site visits across the city.
- An engaged talent pool to drive attendance and membership.
- A connected local network where you can tap into to local sponsorships, legacy projects and more.
Want to learn more?