Emerging Ag

What Emerging Ag does

Emerging Ag Inc. is a privately held, boutique international consulting firm founded in 2011 and headquartered in Calgary, Canada. The company delivers communications and public affairs services to clients in the Agriculture, Food, and Health sectors, with a particular emphasis on global policy engagement with international organizations including the FAO, UN Committee on World Food Security, UNFCCC, WHO, and the UN General Assembly. Its core offerings include coalition building, government affairs, crisis management, sustainability planning, public relations, and stakeholder engagement strategy, alongside specialized secretariat and campaign-coordination services.

The firm is organized around a multicultural team of 11-50 employees spanning 14 nationalities and providing 24-hour global coverage. Its operating model combines direct consulting engagements (e.g., COP28 support for Nutrien, policy work for OCP Group) with long-tenured secretariat mandates — most notably for the International Agri-Food Network since 2011 and the Global Dairy Platform's World Milk Day since 2017 — and with consumer-facing campaign sub-brands such as Avena Canadiense, Oats Everyday, and Kanadanootsumugi. Emerging also runs programmatic initiatives such as the FAO-IAFN Women SME Accelerator Mentorship Programme and serves as secretariat for the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research. The firm has no proprietary technology platform, no public APIs, and no disclosed AI capabilities; its value is delivered through human expertise, institutional relationships, and convening power.

Emerging monetizes via professional services fees from contracted engagements and retainer-style secretariat agreements with non-profits, trade associations, and enterprise clients across multiple continents. Founder-President Robynne Anderson is the principal public face of the firm, and her personal brand and UN access are central to its positioning. The company does not publish financial information and operates without disclosed outside investors.

Name

Emerging Ag

Legal name

Emerging Ag Inc.

Website

https://emergingag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Emerging Ag is a privately held, Calgary-based boutique consulting firm founded in 2011 that delivers communications and public affairs services, secretariat coordination, and global campaign management to clients in the Agriculture, Food, and Health sectors, with a core focus on UN multilateral policy engagement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Affairs and Communications Consulting

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (541820), Advertising Agencies (541810)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Research, Statistics & Policy Advisory (BPADAMAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Value Chain Development & Supplier Upgrading (BPADAMAI), SME & Entrepreneurship Development (Trade-Linked) (BPADAMAE)

Keywords

• Public affairs consulting
• Communications consulting
• Global policy advocacy
• Coalition building services
• Agri-food public relations

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Emerging Ag provides expert consulting services to clients in the Agriculture, Food and Health sectors, with a strong focus on global policy issues and engagement with international organizations. Services include consensus building, public relations, government affairs, crisis management, social priorities, sustainability plans, goal articulation, and coalition creation.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Emerging Ag is a boutique international consulting firm that provides communications, public affairs, and government affairs services to clients in the Agriculture, Food, and Health sectors, with deep engagement at global policy forums such as the UN Committee on World Food Security, FAO, and WHO. The firm sells discrete consulting engagements (consensus building, crisis management, sustainability planning, coalition creation) as well as ongoing secretariat services for international trade associations and NGOs, and manages multi-country consumer and policy campaigns such as World Milk Day, World Pulses Day, and country-specific oat promotion campaigns.

Product overview

Emerging Ag is a boutique international consulting firm offering communications and public affairs services to clients in the Agriculture, Food, and Health sectors. Rather than a unified software product, the company delivers specialized consulting engagements including strategic communications support for organizations like Target Malaria, secretariat services for the International Agri-Food Network, and consumer campaign management for agricultural products (Avena Canadiense, Oats Everyday, Kanadanootsumugi). Their work spans coalition building, government affairs, crisis management, and sustainability planning with a focus on global policy engagement with international organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Avena Canadiense: Consumer campaign promoting Canadian oats in Mexico, launched April 2014, featuring recipes, diabetes awareness, and trade missions.
• Oats Everyday
• Kanadanootsumugi

Products and services

• Communications and Public Affairs Consulting Services Boutique international consulting services providing expert communications and public affairs support to clients in the Agriculture, Food and Health sectors, with a strong focus on global policy issues and engagement with international organizations. Deliverables span consensus building, public relations, government affairs, crisis management, sustainability plans, goal articulation, and coalition creation.
• International Agri-Food Network (IAFN) Secretariat Services Outsourced secretariat services to IAFN, an informal coalition of international trade associations in the agri-food sector, including coordination of policy work, thematic working groups, and representation of private sector positions at the UN Committee on World Food Security.
• Target Malaria Communications Support Strategic communications and stakeholder engagement support for Target Malaria, an international not-for-profit research consortium working on genetic technologies to modify mosquitoes and reduce malaria transmission, including stakeholder engagement best practice development, e-learning trainings, and visual identity development.
• World Pulses Day Campaign Management Coordination of the World Pulses Day global awareness campaign on behalf of the Global Pulse Confederation, including advocacy for establishment of the UN-observed day and management of Global Pulse Day celebrations reaching 63 countries and 62 million social media impressions in 2017.
• World Milk Day Campaign Coordination Coordination of World Milk Day global celebrations on behalf of the Global Dairy Platform since 2017, delivering multi-country social media campaigns, registered events, and partnership engagement that have generated hundreds of millions to over a billion impressions annually.
• Avena Canadiense (Mexican Oat Consumer Campaign) Mexican-market consumer campaign for Canadian oats on behalf of the Prairie Oat Growers Association, featuring a Spanish-language website, annual recipe contests (since 2011), partnerships with the Mexican Diabetes Federation, and a Facebook page that reached 380,007 followers with daily reach to over 100,000 Mexican consumers.
• Oats Everyday (North American Oat Consumer Campaign) North American consumer campaign for Canadian oats on behalf of the Prairie Oat Growers Association, with over 77,000 followers and reaching over 2.2 million people each month across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube.
• Kanadanootsumugi (Japanese Oat Consumer Campaign) Japanese-focused consumer campaign for Canadian oats on behalf of the Prairie Oat Growers Association, using a Japanese-language website and Facebook page to reach over 1.3 million people within Japan each month.
• FAO-IAFN Women SME Accelerator Mentorship Programme Mentorship programme supporting women entrepreneurs in food and agriculture in Africa, jointly piloted by FAO and IAFN with Emerging Ag arranging mentorship pairings and coordinating workshops on business development, finance, and marketing. The 2022-23 programme resulted in 46 women entrepreneurs advancing their businesses.
• Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research Secretariat Secretariat and coordination services for the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, supporting coordination among members, information sharing, and stakeholder engagement on gene drive research since 2018.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.35 billion impressions for World Milk Day 2023 campaign
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Global Pulse ConfederationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Emerging acted as Secretariat for GPC's International Year of Pulses activities in 2016. Advocated for establishment of World Pulses Day, established February 10 by UNGA in 2018.
• Outreach Network for Gene Drive ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Created and launched the network in 2018 with Emerging as its Secretariat. Network supports coordination among members, information sharing, and engagement with key stakeholders on gene drive research.
• Global Dairy PlatformcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Since 2017, Emerging assists the Global Dairy Platform in coordinating global celebrations for World Milk Day on June 1. The 2023 campaign exceeded 1.35 billion impressions.
• Target MalariacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Emerging works with Target Malaria since 2016 to support communication and engagement strategies. Services include strategy development, training, content creation, and messaging support. Also facilitated Mali team exit process and published peer-reviewed papers.
• International Agri-Food Network (IAFN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Emerging has been contracted to provide secretariat services to IAFN since 2011. The company supported IAFN to grow to 14 permanent members and established the Private Sector Mechanism's financial sustainability with close to 600 members. Emerging coordinates 8 thematic working groups and positions IAFN as a key player in UN negotiations.
• Prairie Oat Growers Association (POGA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmerging works on various outreach campaigns for POGA to increase oat consumption in Mexico, Japan, and North America. Campaigns include recipe contests, diabetes awareness events, and trade missions since 2016.
• Mexican Diabetes FederationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with POGA to run World Diabetes Day events in Mexico, raising awareness on early diagnosis and the role of oats in managing diabetes since 2016.
• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAO and IAFN jointly piloted the Women SME Accelerator Mentorship Programme. Emerging arranges mentorship pairings and coordinates the programme. The 2022-23 programme resulted in 46 women entrepreneurs advancing their businesses. A second cohort was announced in 2023.
• Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted expert workshop on community agreement for gene drive research in Africa with Target Malaria and PAMCA.
• Pan-African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted expert workshop on community agreement for gene drive research in Africa with Target Malaria and KEMRI.
• Stanford Center for Ocean SolutionsminorOthersFeatured as an Emerging Project alongside Target Malaria and Women SME Accelerator Programme.
• FAOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFAO's Strategic Framework 2022-31 created 'Four Betters' agenda. IAFN members convened Partnering 4 Betters event with FAO, attended by Director-General Dr QU Dongyu and FAO leadership.
• International Seed FederationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssisted with social media campaigns for World Seed Congress in Brisbane, Australia with over 1200 attendees.
• Agriculture and Agri-Food CanadamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated in Agricultural Trade Mission to China to promote Canadian oats and resolve phytosanitary trade issues.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Edelman: Largest independent global PR firm with a long-standing food and beverage practice serving multinational CPG and ingredient companies. Directly comparable to Emerging Ag on consumer-facing food and nutrition campaigns, though Edelman serves a much broader client base across industries.
• FleishmanHillard: Global communications network with a dedicated food and agriculture practice offering corporate communications, public affairs and crisis support to multinational agri-food clients. Overlaps with Emerging Ag on international policy communications, but operates across many industries and at much larger scale.
• Weber Shandwick: Global communications network with significant food, beverage and agriculture experience across corporate communications, public affairs and social campaigns. Comparable to Emerging Ag on consumer-facing food campaigns, though serves a much wider set of industries.
• Hill+Knowlton Strategies: Global public relations firm with established food, agriculture and sustainability practices serving multinational clients. Overlaps with Emerging Ag on corporate communications and policy support, but operates at much larger scale and across industries.

Direct peers

• APCO Worldwide: Global advisory and advocacy firm with a strong food, agriculture and sustainability practice and significant UN/multilateral engagement experience. Comparable to Emerging Ag on policy advocacy, coalition building and communications for international organizations and agribusiness clients.
• FLM Harvest: Boutique marketing, communications and PR firm dedicated to agriculture, food and rural industries. Closely comparable to Emerging Ag in size, vertical specialization and association/cooperative client mix, though more North-America focused.
• MorganMyers: Independent communications and marketing agency specializing in agriculture, food and rural lifestyle clients. Directly comparable to Emerging Ag on ag-vertical communications, association and cooperative work, and consumer-facing farmer-funded commodity campaigns.
• Brunswick Group: Global advisory firm specializing in corporate communications, public affairs and policy engagement, with deep experience in food, agribusiness and sustainability issues. Closely comparable to Emerging Ag on integrated communications + policy advisory for international organizations and multinational clients.
• Finsbury Glover Hering: Global strategic communications and public affairs firm advising on policy, reputation and stakeholder engagement across sectors including food, agriculture and health. Comparable to Emerging Ag on integrated communications + public affairs work for regulated and policy-sensitive clients.
• G&S Business Communications: Independent integrated communications agency purpose-built for agriculture, food and lifestyle clients. Closely comparable to Emerging Ag in vertical specialization, B2B and consumer agri-food campaign execution, and similar boutique scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/Robynne_A
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQER5GAcuYNRB5WLg55Fyqw
• Facebookfacebook.com/Avena.Canadiense
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emerging-ag
• Instagraminstagram.com/avena_canadiense

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emerging Ag