There's a growing interest globally in Canada's plant-based food sector

This week delegates from around the world took part in the first Plant Forward conference in Toronto.

The event was organized by Protein Industries Canada, Pulse Canada and Plant-Based Foods of Canada.

Bill Gruel, CEO of Protein Industries Canada says they welcomed 250 delegates, with 11 countries with participants involved in ingredient manufacturing and the creation of plant based foods.

"We had over 50 delegates from other countries. The largest was a delegation from the Netherlands. Interesting because the Netherlands is a very small country, it's about the size of Banff National Park, but they're the second largest food economy in the world. So they're really looking at Canada as a strategic partner in terms of ingredient supply and innovation."

International visitors included a large contingent of companies, finance and capital community from the United States, a large delegation from India, as well as a number of other countries.

Gruel says many of the international guests were interested in collaborating with Canadian ingredient manufacturers.