York University program helps local businesses scale up into mass retail chains

York University’s food accelerator program is the first of its kind in Ontario to help Canadian business owners with products in the market scale up rapidly, giving them a much-needed jumpstart in a food industry challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Isabelle Lam and Jamie Lee are co-founders of Remix, one of eight companies in York University's food accelerator program.
The York Region Food and Beverage Accelerator Program kicks off this month with eight companies – six of them led by women. Participation in the program is also diverse, with six of the companies led by visible minorities.

The program is led by York’s YSpace, a Markham-based community innovation hub designed to bring together entrepreneurs and community builders, and is a partnership with The Regional Municipality of York and the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.