Dartmouth-based Outcast Foods, which makes powdered food products from rejected produce, has partnered with British Columbia smoothie producer Happy Planet Foods to combat food waste in a product range that uses upcycled fresh fruit and vegetables.

In a statement, Outcast said it rescues thousands of perfectly fresh surplus fruits and vegetables every year by using its technology to convert fruits and vegetables into nutrient-dense powders.

Happy Planet is relaunching its Extreme & Fruit smoothies incorporating these upcycled powders across national retailers. Sobeys, an existing Outcast partner, is making the line available in Sobeys stores across the country. 

Over half of all food in Canada is wasted, making it one of the leading drivers of climate change contributing eight percent of greenhouse gases globally, Outcast said in the statement.

“Our mission is to rescue 100,000lbs of fresh fruit and veggies this year,” said Natasha Questel, President of Happy Planet Foods.

Outcast recently closed a $10 million funding round, half of which came from District Ventures Capital, the fund led by Arlene Dickinson of Dragons’ Den fame. The venture is using the money to expand its plant in Dartmouth and build a plant in Southern Ontario that will have the capacity to generate up to $30 million in revenue annually, allowing Outcast to pursue more international clients.

The company has announced several partnerships in the past few months. In January, the national sports store chain SportChek became its biggest retail distributor, saying it would sell Outcast products in 150 stores. Outcast in August said it was working with Sobeys to minimize food waste in the national food retailer’s Debert, Nova Scotia distribution center and various Nova Scotia stores.

“When we started, the challenge was to develop a market in an unknown category and here we are now at the head of a new category,” Burke told Entrevestor. “I think now we’re growing the market.”

One interesting facet of this story is how quickly Outcast Foods has reached an eight-figure funding round. The company – then known as Beyond Food – announced its launch in February 2019 with news that it had raised $1 million from angels. Then in January 2020, the company said it had raised $3 million in a round led by the Cosine Group, a private equity firm in Boston and other investors.