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Conestoga Applied Research
Conestoga Applied Research

Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab

Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab

At the Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab (CFRIL), we collaborate with organizations across the food processing, packaging, and foodservice sectors to deliver practical, scalable solutions. Our state-of-the-art laboratory and pilot plant facilities support every stage of the product development cycle—from concept to commercialization. 

Whether you're a startup or an established enterprise, our team works closely with you to drive innovation, solve challenges, and bring new ideas to market. 

In 2023 CFRIL was awarded the Minister's Award of Excellence and the Excellence in Research and Innovation award from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 

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Facilities and services

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Take a virtual tour of our facility located at our Cambridge - Fountain Street campus.

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CFRIL projects

Chef in kitchen

Extending shelf-life and optimizing packaging for Real Food for Real Kids

Real Food for Real Kids partnered with Conestoga’s Food Research & Innovation Lab to explore packaging solutions that could support the company’s continued growth. The project focused on evaluating approaches to extend the refrigerated shelf-life of select dips and soft-cooked vegetable products, helping the company improve distribution flexibility while maintaining product quality.
A batch of red chilis

Improving packaging reliability for Zing Pantry Shortcuts

Zing Pantry Shortcuts partnered with Conestoga’s Food Research & Innovation Lab to address packaging challenges affecting several of its flagship chili crisp products.
Food production

Supporting in-house sauce production at Feature Foods

Feature Foods partnered with the Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab (CFRIL) to support scale-up and development of mayonnaise and whipped salad dressing formulations for in-house production.

Our team

Cynthia Riddle headshot

Cynthia Riddle

Senior food researcher

Nicole Detlor

Nicole Detlor, M.Sc., P.Eng.

Director, Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab

Sujit Abraham headshot

Sujit Abraham 

Food researcher

Tyler Williams

Tyler Williams

Senior packaging researcher

By the numbers (2025) 

Partners
Active projects
Launches supported

Contact

See how the Conestoga Food Research & Innovation Lab can help you access faculty expertise, student employees, and the college's innovative lab spaces and equipment.

850 Fountain Street South

Cambridge, Ontario N3H 0A8, Canada

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