A centre of excellence is opening in Calgary to showcase Canadian beef.
The federal government has announced that more than $3.8 million from the Western Economic Diversification fund will assist the Canadian Beef Centre of Excellence.
Located at the Canada Beef Inc. office in northeast Calgary, the 2,200-square-foot facility should be operating in January or February.
Canada Beef Inc. is contributing close to $1 million to build the facility that includes a full commercial kitchen, coolers, a retail style meat case, classroom, dining facilities and broadcast capabilities. The centre can be used to test and develop new products, teach chefs and show international customers what Canada has to offer.
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The concept is the brain child of Canada Beef manager Rob Meijer, who believes the centre is needed to build brand loyalty at home and overseas.
“This is a global centre and it is not focused on any one sector or individual. It is about bringing our brand to life,” he said after the announcement on Tuesday.
“Without driving a brand strategy, it is very difficult to market and promote anything as we don’t have brand identification,” he said.
