Herbanol has graduated from the Manitoba Technology Accelerator (MTA) Incubator, completing the program on July 1, 2023, after 18 months. Based in Winnipeg, the MTA is a non-profit accelerator that provides investment, mentorship, and infrastructure to help technology start-ups get off the ground, stabilize, and grow. For Herbanol, the program was an important step in establishing ourselves as the research and development arm of Binalood Golden Oil Company.
Inside the Program
Over 18 months, we worked through a structured mix of classes, webinars, and one-to-one mentorship led by experienced advisors. The sessions covered the practical side of building a company: defining the market for our natural antioxidants, refining our business model, planning for funding, and setting clear priorities for research and development. For a science-led venture, that combination of commercial and technical guidance helped connect our laboratory work to a realistic path to market.
That bridge is the hard part for a science venture. A promising result in the laboratory is a long way from a product a customer can buy, and the gap is rarely about the science alone; it is about cost, regulation, sourcing, and real demand. Working through those questions alongside people who have taken products to market helped us treat them as part of the research plan rather than problems to solve later. For Herbanol, that meant tying each decision about our natural antioxidants back to how the ingredient would eventually be produced, tested, and sold.
What Graduation Means
Graduating marks the end of our time in the incubator and the start of a more independent stage of work, and we are proud to share our graduation certificate (PDF). We are grateful to the MTA team and to the wider community of mentors and fellow founders who supported us along the way. The discipline and the relationships built during the program continue to shape how we operate day to day.
Looking Ahead
With that foundation in place, we are continuing to develop natural antioxidants for edible oils and cosmetics as we work toward production. These plant-based ingredients are designed to protect oils from going rancid and to serve the cosmetic industry as an alternative to synthetic stabilizers. To learn more about our work, see our products, or get in touch to discuss working together.
