A Gatineau tofu company has its plant running at full speed trying to keep with a surge in demand for its products.

Soyarie makes the soybean product at its plant near Lac Leamy, but even running 24 hours a day, six days per week, it's struggling to keep up with orders.

Frederick Noël, Soyarie's director of production, said demand has been steadily increasing, but is now so great the company is being forced to turn away new customers.

Noël said many people looking to get protein from non-meat sources are turning to tofu, noting Canada's new food guide encourages people to get their protein from alternative sources.

The company also sells to stores in Montreal and Toronto.

Expansion plans

Soyarie is spending $2.5 to $3 million to renovate the former Aliments Martel facility near the Gatineau airport.

When that move is complete, as soon as December, the company said it will be able to double its production in the short term, and eventually triple it.

Workers at Soyaire's facility are working 24 hours per day, but still can't keep up with the demand for the company's tofu. (Radio-Canada / Hugo Bélanger)

"We're trying to move as quickly as possible to be able to keep pace with the market, which seems to grow more and more every year," Noël said in a French interview.

The company was launched by Koichi Watanabe in 1982, who started making tofu in his garage in Hull.