Bunge acquires minority stake in Canada’s Merit Functional Foods

International agribusiness and food company Bunge has acquired an undisclosed minority stake in Canadian ingredient supplier Merit Functional Foods.

Bunge acquired the stake by making a capital investment of C$30m ($22.9m) in Merit.

Established in 2019, Merit Functional Foods supplies protein ingredients and blends. It will use the proceeds to fast-track the construction and commissioning of its plant-based protein production facility in Manitoba.

The facility will be used for the production of novel pea and canola protein ingredients.

Merit claims that its new facility will be the only facility in the world to produce food-grade canola protein.

The production facility is expected to be fully operational by December.

Merit co-CEO Ryan Bracken said: “We’re excited to have a global partner like Bunge recognise our mission and assist us in accelerating our plans and path to launch.

“Bunge also holds a deep knowledge of international commodity markets which will help reinforce our canola business with customers globally.”

Merit anticipates that its portfolio of pea and canola protein ingredients would cater to the increasing demand for these plant-based products.

Also said to be one of the leading canola processing firms in Canada, Bunge intends to provide all the critical inputs to Merit.

In April, Bunge agreed to divest 35 of its US interior elevators to Zen-Noh Grain. Financial details of the deal were not been revealed by either company.