Last fall, an ambitious survey covering 10 countries found that 84% of young people aged 16 to 25 are at least “moderately worried” about climate change – and 59% are extremely worried. They don’t see the “adults” – in business or government – making any of the hard decisions required to avoid the climate crisis. Instead, they see our net-zero targets slipping away and they feel betrayed.
But daunting challenges bring out the best in people. And that’s what Corporate Knights found when we went looking for the Future 50 – Canada’s fastest-growing sustainable companies.
Our objective was to identify outstanding Canadian entrepreneurs and companies that are gaining significant traction in the fight against carbon – with exciting new solutions that most of the world hasn’t discovered yet. The result: a power-packed list of companies whose products and services bring bold new ideas to the sustainability front – and raise hopes that we can win the climate war.
These game-changing innovators include Calgary-based Eavor Technologies, which has a system to produce geothermal energy almost anywhere in the world, using looped water streams that tap the heat deep underground to augment solar- and wind-powered electrical grids.
Toronto-based Hydrostor has another plan for augmenting wind and solar grids, to free utilities from fossil-based backups such as natural gas and nuclear. Hydrostor uses off-peak energy to heat utility-scale quantities of compressed air, which is stored in underground chambers until peak energy demand requires the air to drive a turbine again.
In Squamish, B.C., Carbon Engineering – founded by a Harvard professor – has created technologies to suck carbon dioxide right out of the atmosphere, for underground storage or processing into synthetic fuels. Bill Gates is an investor.
Oneka Technologies, founded by entrepreneur Dragan Tutic in Sherbrooke, Quebec, at age 23, brings affordable drinking water to coastal communities with scalable desalination systems, sustainably powered by ocean waves.
And one of the women leading the cleantech charge in Canada is electrical engineer Miriam Tuerk. Her company Clear Blue Technologies is bringing light and wireless service to remote regions through “smart” off-grid wind and solar systems.
What’s most remarkable about the Future 50 is the many different business niches they represent: from green economy basics such as renewable energy, biofuels and batteries to sustainable products ranging from vegan butchers to low-carbon cement, as well as innovative services ranging from climate-monitoring satellites to a green taxi company.
The Future 50 should reassure those who worry the green energy transition will drag us back to a pre-industrial stone age. The list’s sheer variety confirms climate experts’ contention that net-zero will create infinite opportunities for entrepreneurs and inventors with vision, grit and persistence.
Pioneering has always been long, hard work. Dig into almost any firm on this list and you’ll find scrappy entrepreneurs who have laboured for years in the shadows, slowly developing their theories and prototypes, waiting impatiently for investors and customers to embrace change.
“We’re now at an inflection point,” says one Future 50 CEO, James Larsen of e-Zinc, a Toronto company whose zinc-based technology creates utility-scale batteries with storage power measured in days rather than hours.
The Future 50, like other green leaders around the world, are being powered by a confluence of events. First, new technologies (such as AI, nanotech, cloud computing and advanced materials) are coming together in innovative combinations to generate solutions that weren’t possible even a decade ago.
Next, the leading Future 50 entrepreneurs report there’s no shortage of capital for promising environmental solutions. At e-Zinc, for instance, which just raised US$25 million, Larsen is confident he can raise another $100 million or more – and still be able to choose investors who will add technology expertise and customer connections, not just cash. Because the secret sauce propelling many of these upstart innovators is the growing willingness of big companies to partner with them to co-create ground-breaking climate solutions.
Still, most of these companies are works in progress, their ultimate fates unpredictable. In publishing this list, Corporate Knights makes no promises about their prospects, or their suitability for investment. Innovation doesn’t work that way. But the future depends on their success.
How did we find the Future 50?
Corporate Knights used two different but complementary criteria to determine which companies made the Future 50. We drew from 1,100 publicly listed and 4,015 privately owned companies headquartered in Canada and determined the ones that earn the majority of their revenues from clean energy themes (including energy efficiency), according to the Corporate Knights Clean Taxonomy. The public companies were then ranked according to their one-year revenue growth rates (generally, 2021 sales over 2020 sales). For privately held companies, Corporate Knights tapped the S&P Capital IQ database, with data on recent fundraising rounds, and sorted them based on percentage growth of capital raised from the two most recent years of fundraising rounds. This enabled us to identify qualifying companies that are still “pre-revenue” – giving us early access to new ventures. From this, we pulled out the top 25 private and 25 public companies that earn the majority of their revenue from clean energy themes to form our Future 50
Alberta Innovates is the launch partner for the Future 50.
Top 25 fastest-growing publicly traded companies
1. Next Hydrogen
Growth rate*: 8,800%
At the COP26 climate conference in November, the United Nations identified hydrogen as the “backbone” of our clean energy future. But separating hydrogen from water, through a process called electrolysis, takes substantial energy. During the transition, “grey” hydrogen produced with natural gas may be acceptable, but net-zero will require “green” hydrogen produced with emission-free renewable energy. Yet most electrolysis systems today work only with the steady electricity provided by major power grids.
Enter Next Hydrogen, of Mississauga, Ontario, a maker of electrolyzers specially designed to produce large quantities of hydrogen using intermittent renewable electricity sources, such as wind and solar.
Founded in 2008 by veterans of Stuart Energy, a Toronto-based pioneer of hydrogen power, Next Hydrogen is now scaling up to deliver commercial solutions to the transportation and industrial sectors. The company is partnering with industry leaders such as Hyundai, Kia and global engineering firm Black & Veatch.
*Revenue growth
2. Modern Plant-Based Foods
Growth rate*: 2,660%
Founded by accountant Tara Haddad, Vancouver-based Modern Plant-Based Foods aims to benefit “people, animals and the environment” by popularizing healthier, more natural plant ingredients. Its offerings range from plant-based, no-additive burgers, meatballs, roasts and sausages to a line of vegan potato crisps.
“We wanted ingredients people can understand,” Haddad says.
The company has had its challenges – just last year it changed its name from Modern Meat. Two years ago, the company had just signed lucrative food-service contracts when COVID shut down the restaurants it had targeted. It struggled for months to navigate complex packaging rules to pivot to retail sales. Fortunately, the company’s two Vancouver retail stores, called Modern Wellness Bar, sell vitamins, supplements and healthy foods that give the company a heads-up on changing consumer tastes.
On December 31, food-industry veteran (and third-generation farmer) Avtar Dhaliwal took over as CEO, promising “a heavy focus on cutting-edge products, marketing techniques, and acquisitions.”
3. Li-Cycle
Growth rate: 831%
With lithium, the active component of EV rechargeable batteries, quadrupling in price over the past year, it’s a great time to own this mineral. And the good times extend to Mississauga, Ontario–based Li-Cycle, which recycles metals from electronic waste – including nickel, copper and cobalt, but especially the lithium ion in consumer and EV batteries.
Founded in 2016 by mining consultants Tim Johnston and Ajay Kochhar, Li-Cycle has raised more than US$700 million to perfect its technology and build a hub-and-spoke network of recycling centres in Canada, the United States and Europe. (A deal announced in early May with mining giant Glencoe could up that total another $200 million.)
Based on existing supply deals with industrial clients such as GM and LG, Li-Cycle estimates it could supply 15% of North America’s battery manufacturing capacity by 2025. Better still, the company says its services will reduce the need for new mines, lower the burden on landfills and shrink battery costs.
4. Burcon NutraScience
Growth rate: 735%
“Plant-based protein bars: so soft you’ll say, ‘No whey.’”
How do you sell new, healthier, more sustainable foods to a skeptical public? Winnipeg-based Burcon NutraScience is redefining dinner with creativity, rigorous agricultural science, nearly 600 patents issued and pending, and a soupon of sass.
It all starts with protein: Burcon has figured out how to make smoother, tastier and more blendable pea proteins, called Peazazz – suitable for use as meat and dairy alternatives, ready-to-drink beverages or baked goods – and the first purified, human-grade canola proteins (marketed as Supertein®, Puratein® and Nutratein®). Producing these delicacies and marketing them to food companies around the world is the task of Merit Functional Foods, a partnership between Burcon and three food-industry veterans that just opened a $130-million production facility in Winnipeg.
Burcon recently told investors that consumer products using Merit’s protein ingredients are now available on retail shelves in the United States and Europe.
5. META Materials
Growth rate: 264%
Halifax-based META Materials was founded to solve an unusual problem: protecting pilots from blinding laser light. With help from Europe’s Airbus, META developed a windscreen film that reflects hazardous beams. Today META is a global leader in “smart,” functional surface films derived through nanotechnology. One of its films – an invisible metal mesh that adheres to walls and windows – enhances the reach of 5G radio signals, saving businesses from spending millions on signal boosters.
CEO George Palikaras says META’s surface films replace outmoded industrial processes that require six times as much energy. Its “metamaterials” also reduce the need for rare-earth minerals that are hard to find and dirty to mine. With 150 employees, the company focuses on five key markets: medical, automotive, aerospace, energy and consumer electronics. Coming soon, a new generation of 3D glasses for the metaverse – which could spark a collaboration with another firm called Meta – the former Facebook.
6. Organto
Growth rate: 208%
Sales of organic foods in the United States grew 12.8% in 2020. But in the European Union, they grew 15%, their fastest jump in a decade. Seeing this trend coming was Vancouver-based Organto Foods, which focuses on supplying sustainable, traceable and organic fruits, vegetables and herbs to key European markets.
In recent years the company has evolved from an owner of agricultural and packaging operations in Guatemala into an “asset-light” importer that builds relationships with high-quality producers throughout Europe, the Americas and Africa. With these trusted partners, the company boldly offers consumers QR codes that trace the origins of every product.
Organto is also building its own brands: “I AM Organic” and “Fresh Organic Choice,” for its wide range of products, including fresh avocados, spices, packaged mushrooms and fruit-salads-in-a-cup. To keep things global, Organto has two co-CEOs: one in Vancouver and one in the Netherlands.
7. The Very Good Food Company
Growth rate: 164%
Founded in 2016 by two brash B.C. foodies, The Very Good Food Company has a mission to produce tasty, nutritious plant-based meat and cheese alternatives that “put the fun back in functional.” (Brand names include Smokin’ Burger, Stuffed Beast, Ribz and The Very British Banger.) A $600,000 crowdfunding campaign and then a $4-million IPO in 2020 gave the company the capital and confidence to expand its retail presence, boost production and distribution, and open a plant in California.
But growth costs. In 2021, sales nearly tripled, to $12.3 million, but Very posted a $55-million loss. Soon after releasing those results, the company announced cost cuts, fired CEO Mitchell Scott, and accepted the resignation of co-founder James Davison, chief R&D officer. Former Nestl executive Matthew Hall took over in May as interim CEO, reassuring investors that “With its excellent products and brand, Very is poised to be a leader in the growing plant-based market.”
8. Loop Energy
Growth rate: 161%
Thanks to the pioneering work of innovators like Ballard Power, Vancouver is fast becoming a world capital of fuel cell design. Fuel cells mix hydrogen and oxygen to create electricity, but the transportation and industry sectors are demanding more powerful cells before they welcome clean, renewable hydrogen power.
Vancouver’s Loop Power is trying to cross that chasm with its patented eFlow fuel cell, which produces 16% higher fuel efficiency than competing designs, the company says, and generates nearly twice the power. Loop claims its technology can reduce hydrogen costs by $23,000 a bus every year.
The company targets myriad markets, from transit, heavy trucking and urban delivery to the construction, mining and marine sectors. In April, Loop announced that Hylife Innovations, a Dutch developer of sustainable power solutions, will integrate Loop’s hardware into its “InnovaHub,” which uses hydrogen to power residential buildings.
9. Lion Electric
Growth rate: 146%
Marc Bdard was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers when he joined the board of Quebec school-bus maker Entreprises Michel Corbeil – and fell in love with that business. After that firm went bankrupt, Bdard teamed with a former Corbeil executive to bring yellow-bus manufacturing back to Quebec – with a green tinge. Their start-up, Lion Electric, would produce low-emission vehicles at first, and eventually electric ones.
By 2016, the company was producing all-electric school buses, followed two years later by electric trucks. In May, Lion celebrated a milestone: its 600 electric buses and trucks have clocked a total of 10 million miles. With the International Energy Agency insisting that electric vehicles need to represent 79% of global bus fleets and 59% of heavy truck fleets by 2050, Bdard says, “The need to take immediate action to decarbonize transportation is clear.”
Just to make sure, Lion is now building a $185-million battery factory.
10. Greenlane Renewables
Growth rate: 146%
It’s been said that Vancouver-based Greenlane Renewables has the wind at its back. Commentators weren’t mixing metaphors. They were referring to the shift toward renewable natural gas (RNG) as more gas utilities and waste producers begin to transform decomposing organics into a natural gas replacement – and as governments legislate tighter renewable quotas for utilities’ natural gas supplies.
Greenlane’s biogas-upgrading systems produce low-carbon RNG, which can be inserted directly into the natural gas grid, with waste from landfills, dairy farms and water-treatment plants. Over 30 years, it has sold 135 systems, including the first of their kind in a dozen countries. Greenlane says its systems have collectively removed more than six million tonnes of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere – equivalent to removing 1.3 million cars from roads every year.
But that’s history. Over the next 28 years, Greenlane expects that demand for biogas upgrading equipment will total $90 billion.
11. Xebec Adsorption
Growth rate: 118%
This Blainville, Quebec, firm helps global companies in energy, mobility and industrial markets generate and capture renewable biogas from waste. Founded in 1967 as an industrial gas-drying firm, today’s Xebec is a “quilt of acquisitions,” says CEO Jim Vounassis, united by a clear strategy based on accelerating the world’s charge to net-zero.
With revenues exceeding $100 million for the first time last year, Xebec recently unveiled a new strategic plan intended to triple sales by 2024. Two key pillars: developing decentralized “hydrogen production hubs” and serving the growing shift to carbon capture and sequestration. But the end goal, says the company, is hydrogen: “Xebec is technologically positioned to be a global leader and participate in the end game of every hydrogen supply scenario.”
12. Vicinity Motor
Growth rate: 113%
Vicinity Motor was formed in 2008 to meet B.C. Transit’s need for more compact community-sized buses. William Trainer, a longtime heavy-equipment dealer with manufacturing experience, formed a team that met the specs, and today Aldergrove, B.C.–based VMC has more than 700 buses on the road.
But today the company faces even more demanding specs. VMC specializes in green vehicles, with trucks and buses powered by electricity and compressed natural gas now accounting for 71% of its vehicle sales, a figure expected to rise next year to 88%.
To tap the booming U.S. market, VMC has just built a plant across the border in Ferndale, Washington, capable of building 1,000 units a year. VMC is counting on projections that the number of electric buses in North America will rise from 2,000 currently to 30,000 in 2030, and 88,000 in 2040.
13. Clear Blue Technologies
Growth rate: 103%
You can’t connect every corner of the world to centralized power grids. Enter Clear Blue Technologies, which develops “smart” off-grid power systems, marrying solar- and wind-powered equipment with the software to remotely monitor and control it. Clear Blue’s energy-as-a-service model, mainly for lighting and telecommunications, provides sustainable, affordable power in remote areas and developing countries where grid-based connectivity is problematic or cost-prohibitive. The Toronto-based firm manages thousands of systems in 37 countries, from “smart” pathway lights in Ontario’s Niagara Escarpment region to supermarket parking-lot lighting in the United States and telecom services in sub-Saharan Africa.
As telcos face growing pressure to provide universal connectivity, Clear Blue ensures consistent service and maximum uptime by giving customers a full slate of remote management controls, says CEO Miriam Tuerk. “You’d never buy or build a telecom network without those management tools, and you need to do the same thing for power.”
14. PyroGenesis Canada
Growth rate: 75%
PyroGenesis Canada’s edge is white-hot innovation. Its plasma-based technologies, developed over 30 years, use temperatures as high as 5,500°C – as hot as the surface of the sun – to improve on four traditional industrial processes: atomizing metal powders; producing iron ore pellets; maximizing recovery of aluminum, copper and zinc from waste metals; and improving on conventional incineration techniques to reduce hazardous and medical waste to inert, harmless residue. PyroGenesis’s solutions cut the costs of each process and slash their carbon footprints – a double whammy the firm labels “Transformlutionary.”
For years, plasma was a process looking for an application. Now, in a recent report the company claims that “PyroGenesis has harnessed the many advantages of plasma and developed economic processes which are challenging the status quo.” At its Montreal headquarters and manufacturing facility, PyroGenesis is also exploring new applications for its technology, such as transforming quartz into high-purity silicon metal and converting hazardous residues from aluminum production into a low-carbon fuel and safe, recyclable components.
15. Good Natured Products
Growth rate: 65%
As consumers and regulators seek alternatives to plastic packaging, Vancouver-based Good Natured Products offers a solution: products made from plant-based materials that are renewable, recyclable and certified compostable. It designs and produces bioplastics for more than 400 products, from food packaging and takeout containers to pallet stretch-wraps – all free from toxins such as BPA and phthalates. Good Natured also offers custom thermo-formed packaging (think plant-based clamshell containers for cupcakes) and recently filed a patent application for its tamper-evident containers, to secure the safety of ready-to-eat meals.
In the past 18 months, Good Natured has also acquired two manufacturers of plastic packaging. “By developing a wide assortment of high-frequency products and packaging, we’re able to drive out the adoption of renewable, plant-based materials more quickly than if we focused on a single niche,” says CEO Paul Antoniadis. “Ultimately, it’s less risky for our business model and more beneficial for the environment.”
16. Solar Alliance
Growth rate: 59%
If you’ve ever wanted to beam into the future with Captain Kirk, here’s your chance. Toronto-based Solar Alliance Energy is a “solar architect” that develops solar-power systems in the southeastern United States. In fact, Kirk’s alter ego, William Shatner, boasts a custom 6.3-kilowatt system at his home in Los Angeles.
Since 2003, Solar Alliance has developed $1 billion worth of renewable energy projects, generating enough energy to power 150,000 homes. In 2020, Shatner partnered with Solar Alliance to promote the benefits of solar: cost savings, energy independence and building a sustainable future. Shatner’s mantra: “Save money, save the world.”
Solar Alliance’s strategy is to focus on the high-margin sectors of the solar industry, especially commercial buildings, utilities and data centres. It’s also working on a “Live long and prosper” strategy, by owning its own solar projects that will provide recurring revenues for 30 years. Next item on the duty roster: expanding into Canada.
17. Village Farms
Growth rate: 58%
Village Farms International has learned a lot in 30 years of growing tomatoes, peppers and lettuces year-round in B.C. greenhouses, using recirculating water, organic pesticides and clean energy. Now it’s leveraging that experience to bring sustainability to the cannabis market.
Since the Delta, B.C., firm moved into cannabis products in 2017, annual revenues have nearly doubled. Its Pure Sunfarms brand produces “B.C. bud” in numerous forms, including CBD oils, vapes, pre-rolled cigarettes and dried flowers with splashy names like Jet Fuel Gelato and Black Cherry Punch.
Estimates say the global cannabis market will reach US$90 billion by 2026, up from US$20 billion in 2020. To grow beyond Canada, Village Farms has “surgically” selected markets with mature client bases and regulatory regimes, such as Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. VF is betting that its ability to combine sustainable farming with legacy practices for growing cannabis will give consumers a distinct choice.
18. Guru Organic Energy
Growth rate: 37%
Founded in 1999 by college friends mixing “smart” drinks in Montreal nightclubs, Guru Organic Energy now aims to conquer the US$15-billion energy drink market with its line of organic vegan energy drinks.
But to take market share from Red Bull and Monster, which own 75% of the category, great products aren’t enough, says Guru CEO Carl Goyette: “You have to have a great brand.” So Guru eschews the industry’s traditional dirt-bike/sex-sells ethos, targeting progressive millennials interested in getting their energy from natural, functional foods.
Clout also helps. In 2021, Guru landed an exclusive distribution deal with PepsiCo Canada, augmenting Guru’s 40-person sales force with more than 400 PepsiCo reps. The partnership fuelled a 39% rise in sales last year, solidifying Guru’s first-mover advantage. Now it’s planning more growth, especially in the United States, powered by cash reserves of $67 million. Says Goyette, “You have to be ready to play the long game.”
19. BQE Water
Growth rate: 36%
Vancouver-based BQE Water uses advanced technology and an innovative business model to help the global mining industry go beyond the goal of “doing no harm” to doing actual good for the environment and local communities. Its consulting and operations expertise helps mining and metallurgical companies such as Centerra, Glencore and Kinross Gold manage toxic wastewater to meet or exceed ever-tightening government regulations. Specializing in four major contaminants (metals, sulphate, cyanide and selenium), the company earns recurring revenue from the clean water its systems produce – while its clients offset the costs of mitigation by reselling the recovered metals.
BQE approaches water treatment as part of a larger environmental and social strategy. In April, it entered into a joint venture to provide mine-water services in eastern Nunavut – giving Indigenous communities more say in protecting their environments while demonstrating that success can be measured by more than market share.
20. Dundee Sustainable Technologies
Growth rate: 35%
Longtime business watchers know Dundee Corp. as the centre of a mining empire founded by legendary financier Ned Goodman. Less well known is its foray into technology through its 86% ownership of Dundee Sustainable Technologies, a public company that helps global mining firms extract metals from mineralized concentrates and tailings that can’t be processed conventionally because of metallurgical or environmental issues.
DST has invested $45 million to develop its technologies. Its CLEVR process helps mines extract gold without cyanide and is faster and more efficient than conventional methods. Its GlassLock process removes arsenic linked to metal mining and smelting, stabilizing it in a non-hazardous glass waste product.
Speaking to a mining publication, president and CEO David Lemieux said DST’s technology offers new life for mines that can’t otherwise meet their countries’ strict environmental regulations. “[It] has proven to be an environmental asset for mining companies.”
21. Legend Power Systems
Growth rate: 34%
Underperforming electrical systems afflict 80% of commercial buildings, costing owners US$100 billion a year, according to Vancouver-based Legend Power Systems. The company was founded in 2001 to better match buildings’ electricity needs with the varying voltages coming from the power company. Along the way, LPS discovered that managing the electrical supply not only cuts a building’s energy bill, but optimizes the performance of the equipment inside – reducing maintenance and replacement costs. Today Legend’s SmartGATE platform provides active power management (APM) for landlords, schools, governments and other building owners, optimizing building systems while reducing their carbon footprint.
As conscientious property owners explore new decarbonization initiatives – and as unstable energy sources such as wind and solar supply more power grids – LPS expects accelerating growth. A third-party study by Emergent Urban Concepts and Integral Energysays active power management is “the keystone of large building electrification. Expect APM devices to become as commonplace in large buildings as utility power meters.”
22. EcoSynthetix
Growth rate: 33%
Founded in 1996 by university friends Steven Bloembergen and John van Leeuwen who working in “green chemistry,” EcoSynthetix was created to prove that natural products can work just as well as petroleum-based chemicals, and needn’t cost more. The Burlington, Ontario, company produces industrial adhesives and binding agents using renewable biomaterials, such as corn starch, rather than fossil-based ingredients and toxic compounds like formaldehyde.
Focusing on three key markets, EcoSynthetix’s products fuse the wood fibre in particleboard, adhere colour graphics to paper, and create better-holding hairspray. Expanding into too many sectors is a temptation for many green companies, says CEO Jeff MacDonald. “We were definitely in that camp, trying to do everything. We were burning through cash, so we decided to focus on a few things that matter.” For five years, EcoSynthetix invested 75% of its efforts in the wood-fibre market. The payoff: it landed a new client named Ikea.
23. Vitreous Glass
Growth rate: 29%
Vitreous Glass makes crushing glass sexy. At its waste-glass processing plant in Airdrie, Alberta, the company collects post-consumer beverage containers from commercial and industrial sources in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. After cleaning and crushing, Vitreous sells its “GlasSand” product as a raw material to manufacturers of fibreglass building insulation. GlasSand requires less energy to reheat compared to coarser conventional “cullet,” reducing costs and carbon output for customers such as Johns Manville Canada and Owens-Corning Canada.
Founded in 1995 by president and CEO Pat Cashion, Vitreous was the first company in Western Canada to recycle large quantities of waste glass (about 90,000 tonnes a year), which until then went to landfills. It also regularly rewards investors with special cash dividends. As one investor newsletter noted, “It is a very simple, very well-run business that has found a great niche. Who knew crushed glass would be so sexy?”
24. Earth Alive Clean Technologies
Growth rate: 28%
Building on scientific research that began in 2005, Earth Alive Clean Technologies has developed a platform called “Soil First”: a portfolio of innovative biological and microbial technologies that reverse today’s global trends toward soil degradation. Its eco-friendly Soil Activator biofertilizer uses a blend of soil microorganisms that remediates degraded soils, while Mineralized Seaweed builds plant health and tolerance.
Other products include a hemp biofertilizer and the world’s first organic/biodegradable dust-control solution for reducing water use at open-pit mines.
Gearing up for a wave of growth, the Lasalle, Quebec, firm appointed a new CEO in October. Nikolaos Sofronis, an Earth Alive director and private banker, has more than 20 years of finance and mining experience. In April, Earth Alive closed a $6.1-million private placement that will help the firm grow its sales and technical teams and access new markets through acquisitions and joint ventures.
25. Organic Garage
Growth rate: 25%
Toronto health-food retailer Organic Garage has what it calls a “Dump It” list of undesirable ingredients it asks grocery vendors to review before they pitch their products. Artificial colours? Out. Benzoates in food? Bad. Bleached flour? Nu-uh. And in case vendors have any questions, the company adds, “WE DON’T COMPROMISE!”
Founded in 2006 by Matt Lurie, a fourth-generation grocer, Organic Garage strives to bring organic food to the masses – using funky, mid-sized stores of 10,000 to 12,000 square feet with minimal frills (no in-store butchers or chefs) to beat the prices of competing health-food stores, Whole Foods and even general supermarkets by at least 10%. As more consumers are exposed to organic alternatives, Lurie says, their biggest concern shifts from “What’s quinoa?” to “How much?”
With five stores in the Toronto region, Lurie is eyeing further expansion. His current vision: two dozen stores across Ontario and 10 in B.C.
