Plant-based seafood – and it’s delicious  

Alex Bergquist-Terplawy has been a vegan for over 15 years. During many of those early years, it was difficult for her to find great-tasting vegan food that didn’t contain a lot of preservatives or ingredients that were hard to pronounce. Bergquist-Terplawy wanted all of that to change, and the opportunity presented itself during the pandemic. She was finally able to give her idea the time and energy that it needed to look at creating better-tasting vegan foods with healthier ingredients. Along with two business partners who had experience in food services and an interest in ocean preservation, Bergquist-Terplawy set out to create a new plant-based seafood company called Seed to Surf. By working with prestigious chefs and culinary experts and using plants to create their products, the partner’s results were mouth-watering. They had created a product that would satisfy not only vegans and vegetable lovers, but also those who were thinking about becoming vegan and even those who hadn’t thought about it.  

Environmentally friendly – and sustainable 
When you look at Seed to Surf’s ingredient list, you’ll find just five words in two lines. That’s it. What you won’t find is anything that is artificial or processed. Seed to Surf uses only whole vegetables and natural flavours for a clean ingredient deck. Bergquist-Terplawy and her team proudly stand by their use of clean ingredients exclusively. Additionally, their packaging is 100 percent recyclable and plastic-free. Seed to Surf’s products are shelf-stable, with an 18-month to three-year shelf life. This minimizes food waste and the company’s footprint.   

Accelerating Production
The i.d.e.a. Fund^TM capital enabled Seed to Surf to implement its public relations strategy and to create brand and product awareness and further exposure. Furthermore, TechAlliance’s mentorship allowed it to connect to major distributors like Erewhon, a prestigious upscale grocery store with nine locations solely in Los Angeles County. 

Supported by a $10-million Government of Canada investment, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the i.d.e.a. Fund^TM is led by Boundless Accelerator in partnership with five Regional Innovation Centres (RICs): WeTechAlliance, Haltech, Innovate Niagara, Innovation Factory and TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario. The program helps high-potential ventures access the tools they need to succeed by providing financial and business advisory supports to develop or redesign products, services, processes and technologies that reduce impacts on the environment and create made-in-Canada solutions. 

The funding was also key to accelerating Seed to Surf’s production run and covering expenses at its packaging facilities. Also critical to the company’s success was the marketing direction, which resulted in a wholesale function on its website to make it easy for customers to order products. And with minimal competition in tinned fish, it’s the only company with shelf-stable and sustainable products in the category. 

Bergquist-Terplawy and her team couldn’t have done it without TechAlliance, who showed genuine interest in their successes and shared the same level of excitement each time they experienced a win. Through TechAlliance’s mentorship, advice and insight, as well as by utilizing key business connections, Seed to Surf found the support it was looking for and connected with many interested retailers. 

Product Launch 

With the products ready and the retail connections established, Seed to Surf launched at the end of 2022 with two items, Mushroom Snow Crab and Celery Root Smoked Whitefish. The formal launch took place in Q1 2023 in the U.S. because the market was ready for the product to hit store shelves. While the company’s products are gradually becoming available in Canada, at the time of this writing, over 90 percent of its business is with U.S. retailers. Seed to Surf is in 200 stores across North America, including 35 states. Bergquist-Terplawy and her team are growing their imprint in Canada offering products in Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia. 

Bergquist-Terplawy is proud of her company’s accomplishments, especially being able to take something that she and her team created and running with it. And seeing her team’s hard work on store shelves is both overwhelming and rewarding. Their work also resulted in a third-place finish in the startup category for vegan fish products on thedieline.com. 

Dr. Martin Smith, the Venture Growth Advisor for TechAlliance who provided support to Bergquist-Terplawy and her team said: “Seed to Surf’s product has already become a hit across North America, and it will only continue to grow. We’re happy to be a part of their success!” 

To learn more about Seed to Surf visit https://seedtosurf.ca/ 
To learn more about the i.d.e.a Fund^TM go to https://www.techalliance.ca/i-d-e-a-fund/ 
To learn more about FedDev Ontario, go to https://feddev-ontario.canada.ca/en