Phytokana shifting focus prior to Strathmore facility construction 

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Phytokana Ingredients, the company previously known as Phyto Organix, has been shifting their focus from processing of pea protein to faba beans, ahead of the construction of their facility in Strathmore. 

“2023 was a pretty tumultuous year. You had anti-dumping petitions filed against China by the US and it really created what I will call a paralysis in commercial trade. For us being at the next derivative of that being, evaluating new product to bring to the market, it was a very tough environment to do that,” said Chris Theal, president and CEO of Phytokana Ingredients. “We just sort of, head-down and focused on what we could control, and that was really the engineering and design of the plant that we are going to build in Strathmore.”

Theal explained during the time period and process between the US and China, Phytokana has shifted from their original focus of yellow pea protein to other pulses such as faba bean. 

Phytokana originally announced their plans to construct a facility in Strathmore in May 2022. At the time, the anticipated budget for the facility was $225 million. 

During a press conference held May 24, 2022, it was also announced the company would be executing a letter of intent to purchase 15 acres of land from the Western Irrigation District to serve as the location for the facility.

“Where we are going with the Strathmore plant now is to build a processing facility that will process faba bean, and we just get a superior functionality and that really speaks to how it works in different food formulations,” said Theal. “The sensory aspects of it, the taste, the colour, the texture, the smell, it is superior to anything that we have evaluated in yellow pea or what we see on the market. We have had a lot of success with customers and we are in that place now where we are out finalizing sales agreements and by extension, raising our last round of equity to go ahead and build this thing.”

Theal added the final investment decisions will be taken to the company’s board of directors in the fall, and the hope is to shortly thereafter be shovel ready to begin construction of the facility. 

“It is important for us to re-engage with the community, and we will have a tent at the outdoor trade show this year, and really we will be there with three messages – one is who we are and this is what we are doing; two is this is what we are going to build in Strathmore; and (three) is how many people we are going to employ.”

Theal said it will also be critical for Phytokana to engage with local farmers and encourage faba bean cultivation for the 2025 crop year, and that they will be actively contracting the crop. 

Construction of the facility, once initiated, is anticipated to take 13 months before it is completed and operational.