INDUSTRY NEWS: Manitoba Harvest Earns Two Prestigious Awards

Manitoba Harvest has announced that the Company has earned the 2010 Best New Product Award and the 2010 Company of the Year Award from the Manitoba Food Processors Association (MFPA). Manitoba Harvest will be exhibiting at Expo West this weekend.

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Manitoba Harvest Earns Two Prestigious Awards

Manitoba Food Processors Association Bestows 2010 Best New Product and 2010 Company of the Year

Winnipeg, Manitoba (May 14, 2010) – Manitoba Harvest™ Hemp Foods & Oils is pleased to announce that it has earned the 2010 Best New Product Award and the 2010 Company of the Year Award from the Manitoba Food Processors Association (MFPA). The awards were announced on May 12 at the 2010 MFPA Industry Excellence Awards dinner in Winnipeg, which is a key part of the organization’s Annual Conference.

Manitoba Harvest (www.manitobaharvest.com ) earned the MFPA 2010 Best New Product Award for their new Hemp PRO-70 protein powder. This innovative product is the world’s first water-soluble hemp protein concentrate. Hemp PRO 70 provides a boost of powerful protein and other key nutrients, and because it is water soluble and has a non gritty mouthfeel and virtually no flavor, it blends easily into beverages and liquid-based foods and recipes. In addition to the 16-ounce branded containers of Hemp PRO-70 that they sell in stores throughout North America, Manitoba Harvest also sells Hemp PRO-70 as an ingredient to other food processors.

“We’re thrilled to be recognized by MFPA for Hemp PRO-70 because it took our team many years of hard work and product development to get it to market,” says Mike Fata, CEO and Co-Founder of Manitoba Harvest. Hemp PRO 70 is easy for the body to digest and assimilate because it doesn’t contain gluten or added sugars, and it’s free of the enzyme inhibitor found in soy and other legumes and grains that can prevent protein absorption and cause digestive challenges. Unlike many protein powders on the market, hemp is not known to be an allergen for people with food sensitivities.

“We have overcome many challenges since our founding in 1998, so being named by MFPA as the Company of the Year is inspiring and will motivate our team toward further success,” add Fata. Consumer demand for hemp foods was virtually nonexistent in 1998 when 22 year-old Mike Fata began pressing oil from nutritious hemp seeds and selling it to local health food stores in Winnipeg. Now, Manitoba Harvest, which he started with friends Martin Moravcik and Alex Chwaiewsky, has emerged as one of the fastest growing companies in Canada.

In addition to Hemp PRO-70 and the rest of their line of nutritious hemp foods, the Canadian ‘hemp-reneurs’ will unveil new Hemp Bliss organic hempmilk at the Canadian Health Food Association Expo West in Vancouver on May 15 & 16. Hemp Bliss™ is the only organic hempmilk on the market.

SOURCE: Manitoba Harvest Press Release