Executive Summary

• Freshprep saw opportunities beyond BC to grow their business
• Being mid-pandemic, prices were rising and expansion seemed far-fetched
• Granted was able to secure 
• $45,000 in MDP funding to help them grow into new provinces

Fresh Prep

Freshprep was founded by three friends in Vancouver in 2014, and has since grown into a multi-million dollar company with over 300 employees and clients across Western Canada. They aim to solve the never-ending question of “what’s for dinner?”, and they do so with locally sourced, healthy meal prep kits. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fresprep has seen increased demand for at-home meal kits. They wanted to expand and break out of British Columbia; all they needed was grant funding to get them there. 

About the BC Agrifood & Seafood Market Development Program (MDP)

British Colombia has established support systems for businesses in the food and beverage space. The Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAFBC) runs multiple grant programs to help food and beverage companies expand their presence domestically and internationally. Among these is the BC Agrifood & Seafood Market Development Program (BC MDP). 

The BC MDP program provides up to $50,000 per year to agri-food and seafood businesses in BC for market development activities outside of the province. There are a variety of activities that businesses can get funding for including travel, attending trade shows, advertising, market research, training, creating marketing materials, translation, running demos, and more. 

Granted’s BC MDP Services

Over the past 10 years, Granted has built a network of contacts in the Food & Beverage space. This gives us insights into upcoming program launches and changes so our clients can get the inside scoop and get their projects approved. 

Granted has Grant Strategy Consultants that specialize in grant-specific industries. We have a dedicated Food & Beverage specialist who is always on the lookout for program openings and new launches. If you’re a food and beverage business owner in Canada and you’d like to get help from our Grant Angels, head over to our Grant Calculator to get connected with us. 

Fresh Prep’s Project

To break out of the BC market and into Alberta, Freshprep ran an expansion project that targeted Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer in the first half of 2022. They did this through various marketing and market research initiatives to spread the word and increase their brand awareness. 

The pandemic hit the agrifood sector hard. Material and food costs skyrocketed, making it hard for small businesses to stay afloat. With a dynamic team and an emphasis on digital marketing, Freshprep was able to grow their business post-pandemic with the support of BC MDP. 

Results

Over the past year, Freshprep secured $45,000 in funding from the BC MDP program. With this, they were able to bring their healthy, lever-evolving meal kits to new cities in Alberta. 

With their MDP project as their foundation, Freshprep is ready to continue to push to new areas in Alberta. Their goal is to expand into Eastern Canada and tackle large markets in Ontario. Luckily, with Granted, they’ll have grant funding to support them along the way.