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Chinova Bioworks expands manufacturing space in P.E.I.

Chinova Bioworks launches new manufacturing site inside freshly built BMI on PEI.

CHARLOTTETOWN — On Sep. 1, Chinova Bioworks (Chinova), a Canadian-based natural ingredient company, announced that it is expanding its manufacturing space inside the Bioscience Manufacturing Incubator (BMI) on PEI. This expansion was made possible through the company’s partnership with PEI BioAlliance, the operator of the BMI.

Chinova chose to move its manufacturing to the BMI because the building focuses on sustainability and energy efficiency. The new space increases Chinova’s production from pilot scale to 20x their current capacity levels with plans to expand their operational team in PEI. The Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), provided a $250,000 repayable contribution for the purchase of manufacturing equipment to help Chinova meet the new production levels available within the Bioscience Manufacturing Incubator. The additional staff and manufacturing capabilities allow the company to expand its client base to larger businesses that can make a prominent footprint in reducing food waste.

The BMI is a newly built 20,000 sq/ft facility operated by PEI BioAlliance, a private sector-led not-for-profit organization dedicated to growing Prince Edward Island’s bioscience industry. The BMI is designed for start-ups to transition from pilot-scale to full production levels while meeting the strict regulatory standards required for producing natural products.

Co-founders of Chinova Natasha Dhayagude and David Brown met in 2015 at an entrepreneurship accelerator and incubator center in Fredericton, New Brunswick. There they found a common interest in science and the study of mushrooms. Fast forward to 2016, to the founding of Chinova Bioworks, whose core values are to find sustainable sourcing and innovative ways to reduce food waste through food preservation.

“Chinova Bioworks is proud to be a part of Canada’s food and biotech island on PEI. This new state-of-the-art space allows Chinova to expand our workforce and technology within the natural products industry as a sustainable, eco-friendly, and trustworthy preservation ingredient supplier.” said Natasha Dhayagude, CEO and Co-founder, Chinova Bioworks.

“Our new space inside the BMI increases our staffing and gives us 20x more production capacity. This space will boost customer satisfaction and broaden our target market to giant CPG companies requiring large-scale production.” said David Brown, COO and Co-founder, Chinova Bioworks.