Fruit Snack Co.www.naturalfruitsnacks.ca

329 Four Mile Creek Road, St. Davids, Ontario, Canada L0S 1P0

Co-Pack & Private Label Program. . . where YOUR BRAND & OUR TASTE come together!

Respond to Consumer Demand for:• Healthy, All Natural snacks made of 100% REAL FRUIT• Simple, clean Ingredient lists, no preservatives, nothing artificial• Snacks free of Wheat & Gluten, Trans Fat & Cholesterol• Competely Nut Free products• Servings of Fruit – 1 serving of fruit in every piece• “Fun” products - twists, ropes, nibs & coextruded shapes• A wide choice of flavours to satisfy many tastes

Wrap YOUR BRAND around Fruit Snacks that are:

• Made with only 100% Real Fruit• Free of preservatives and artificial ingredients• Nut Free• Gluten & Wheat Free• Trans Fat Free & Cholesterol Free• Fun & Tasty

Our Capabilities:

• All Natural ingredients only• Stock or Custom flavours and shapes• Production equipment with unique capabilities, the latest

generation of real fruit snack production techinques

• Packaging in preprinted or clear individual wrap films & pouches• Bulk display boxes for single-serve or retail boxes and bags• Kosher, HACCP, GMP, QA programs• Capacity of 250,000 units per day (18g to 20g units)• Attractive & Convenient location in the Niagara fruit growing region

and next to the US-Canada border

Envrionmental Sustainability:

• We are committed to being an environmentally sustainable &carbon neutral production facility

• The plant and equipment are energy efficient• Drying system waste water is recycled• Carbon offset activites are pursued in the Rift Valley, Kenya, Africa

Interested in discussing a fruit snack program for your brand?CALL us at 905-262-8200 or EMAIL us at info@naturalfruitsnacks.ca

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Fruit Snack Co.www.naturalfruitsnacks.ca

329 Four Mile Creek Road, St. Davids, Ontario, Canada L0S 1P0

Fruit snack firm brings life to old cannery

The former CanGro Foods Inc. plant in St. Davids,Ontario is getting a second chance at becoming a fruit factorymecca.

On Friday morning, dried-fruit snack entrepreneur John Boot announced plans to open a new company calledNiagara Natural Fruit Snacks Inc. in part of the vacant former fruit cannery. The all-natural fruit snack plant willinitially employ nine people and take in fruit from local growers when it opens this April.

The snacks are a healthy option for people and the economy, Boot said at a news conference Friday morning in hisnew 25,000-square-foot warehouse. "It's good for the local fruit-processing industry because you start to use fruitfrom the farm industry, whether that's apples or pears," Boot said. "It brings added value to the farmers and anadditional market for them to expand business."

Boot said he plans to produce about 100,000 snack packets per shift once operations start up and use several types offruits, including peaches and pears. Boot said it's too soon to know how many growers and fruit processors he'll needfor the new company.

But Len Troup, chairman of the Ontario Tender Fruit Producers Marketing Board, said any new avenues throughwhich their produce can be sold is welcome news for Niagara fruit growers. Dozens of peach and pear growers lost ahuge chunk of their market after U. S.-based Sun Capital Partners Inc. closed CanGro last June. Growers who sell tothe fresh market would be able to sell bruised or damaged fruit to the company, that would otherwise go to waste,Troup said. "It means another processing facility coming back instead of another shutting down," Troup said. "This isanother market for our growers."

The project has the support of the province, which gave the start-up company $884,570 for high-tech equipmentthrough its Rural Economic Development Program.

Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor, who fought to save CanGro, said he's thrilled to see a new fruit-processing plant inthe old cannery. Craitor said it was extremely tough on the community and the growers to watch the last remainingfruit cannery east of the Rockies die last year. "I want to say it's exciting," Craitor said. "I'm so proud and pleased."

Boot has the resume to make Niagara Natural Fruit Snacks a success, supporters said Friday. A St. Catharines native,Boot spent more than 20 years in the dried-fruit snack industry in British Columbia. He was the founder and previousowner of Kettle Valley Dried Fruit Company based in Summerland, B. C., which produces natural fruit snacks, fruitleathers and fruit bars. The company operated three factories and had more than 60 employees when Boot sold thebusiness five years ago.

Boot said he hopes to create a similar operation in Niagara. "We'll just go wherever the market lets us go," Boot said.Boot is renting the space from Niagara-on-the-Lake developer Rainer Hummel, who owns the property at 329 FourMile Creek Rd. Hummel said he's targeting food companies to fill the remaining 125,000 square feet of warehousespace.

Copyright © 2009 St. Catharines Standard - April 2009