SUCCESS STORY:
PIP International Adds Value to Southern Alberta Agriculture
Company: PIP International
Location: Lethbridge, Alberta
Industry: Food Processing / Plant Protein
How locally grown crops can support globally competitive food-processing investment
The Company
PIP International has invested in pea-processing technology in Lethbridge, establishing a fully commercialized processing and testing centre that opened in 2022. The facility represented an estimated $20 million investment.
The company has also proposed a much larger primary production facility in Lethbridge designed to process approximately 126,000 tonnes of yellow peas annually. The proposed facility is expected to create approximately 100 jobs and support more than $75 million in annual pea contracts for local and regional growers. The Government of Alberta currently lists the proposed project at an estimated value of $250 million.
The Opportunity
Southern Alberta produces agricultural commodities at significant scale, creating opportunities to capture more value before those products leave the region.
PIP International demonstrates the investment opportunity created when agricultural production is paired with food-processing technology and manufacturing capacity.
Rather than simply shipping raw agricultural products elsewhere for processing, companies can locate closer to the source and build value-added operations within the same agricultural ecosystem.
Why Southern Alberta?
Growing from Southern Alberta
PIP’s Lethbridge investment illustrates the connection between Southern Alberta agriculture and emerging food technologies.
Its first commercialized processing and testing centre established an operating base in the region. The larger proposed production facility would significantly increase processing capacity while creating a new source of demand for yellow peas produced by Alberta growers.
This creates benefits at multiple points in the value chain: producers gain another potential market, processing occurs closer to agricultural production and higher-value products can move outward to larger markets.
For food processors, Southern Alberta provides a compelling proposition: locate processing capacity where agricultural inputs are already being produced at scale.
That combination can reduce distance between processor and producer while supporting stronger regional supply chains and additional value-added agricultural investment.
Build your next project in Southern Alberta
Let's chat about current opportunities that would fit your business.
