Business Beyond Borders: Vive Crop’s Strategy for Expanding Into New Markets

The Company

In the Business Beyond Borders series, RBC speaks with businesses across Canada about how they are seizing opportunity in the global landscape, growing their businesses strategically and navigating the realities of expansion.

Vive Crop Protection is an agricultural technology company focused on improving how crop protection products work for farmers.

At the centre of the company’s approach is a formulation platform that enables the use of existing active ingredients in new ways.  Rather than developing entirely new chemistries, Vive Crop’s nanotechnology is designed to improve the performance, handling and economics of established crop protection products.

This approach allows Vive Crop to deliver practical benefits for growers, such as improved consistency, reduced application complexity and better overall performance.  All while avoiding the cost, time and regulatory burden associated with bringing new active ingredients to market.

The nanotechnology itself wasn’t originally developed for agriculture. Early applications focused on delivering advanced materials for electronics and medical devices. But the company soon realized that agriculture offered an opportunity to deploy the technology at scale, allowing Vive Crop to deliver meaningful value for growers while building a commercially viable business around its innovation.

Today, Vive Crop occupies a distinct space in the crop protection industry. Large, multinational manufacturers typically focus on blockbuster products designed to work across many crops and markets, while many biological crop protection startups struggle to scale commercially. Vive Crop aims to bridge that gap.

“Our strategy is to serve the segments that tend to be overlooked. We can create products that address specific needs for growers or crops, rather than applying a single solution across the entire market.”

— Jeff Lacrooy, Senior VP of Finance, Vive Crop Protection

The company is also exploring hybrid crop protection solutions that combine synthetic and biological ingredients—an area many in the industry see as the future of crop protection.

Why Vive Crop Launched in the U.S. Before Canada

Although Vive Crop is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, its commercial journey began south of the border, thanks largely to regulatory timelines.

While the company initially planned to operate in both Canada and the United States, gaining approval for its nanotechnology took longer in Canada. As a result, Vive Crop launched commercially in the U.S. several years earlier.

“We joke internally that Canada is actually our first international market,” says Lacrooy.

Building a commercial presence in the United States first ultimately strengthened the company’s foundation. The team was able to refine its go-to-market strategy, build its commercial organization and expand its product portfolio before returning to its home market.

Now, the company is focused on growing its Canadian footprint. While approximately 95 per cent of revenue currently comes from the U.S., Vive Crop expects Canada to represent 15-20 per cent of revenue within the next four to five years.

Expanding geographically also helps diversify risk. “Different markets face different pressures at different times,” Lacrooy explains. “Exchange rates, trade dynamics, weather cycles and disease patterns can all vary. Expanding into new markets helps balance those factors.”

How Vive Crop Stays Focused While Scaling

For Vive Crop, growth has always been tied to a clear objective: delivering measurable value for growers.

While the company’s strategy has evolved over time, Lacrooy says the leadership team works deliberately to maintain focus.

“Evolution is necessary, but distraction is optional. There are always opportunities that look attractive, but as a leadership team, we’re very intentional about defining our sandbox and determining what’s in and what’s out.”

— Jeff Lacrooy

That discipline helps ensure the company continues investing in the areas that matter most—developing differentiated products and strengthening its commercial capabilities.

Building its own commercial organization has been particularly important.

“There’s a graveyard full of companies who thought their path to market was going to be through the majors,” Lacrooy says. “Building our own commercial engine has allowed us to control our growth and reinvest in our product pipeline.”

Planning Years Ahead in a Long Product Cycle

One of the defining realities of the crop protection industry is timing. Bringing a new product to market can take four years or more, due to regulatory approvals and field trials. That means companies must think several years ahead when planning product development and capital needs.

“If we start working on a product today, it could take four years before it reaches the market,” says Lacrooy. “That means we spend a lot of time thinking about where we want the business to be several years from now.”

Working capital is another key consideration, as agriculture operates on long sales cycles. For its part, Vive Crop builds inventory months before the growing season and doesn’t receive payment until after growers harvest their fields and pay their distributors.

“With such long timelines,” he says, “managing working capital is critical.”

Financial tools such as trade loans, asset-based lending facilities and receivables programs, including solutions provided by RBC, can help bridge the gap between when capital is deployed and when cash is ultimately collected. Having access to that flexibility is critical in a business with long production cycles and delayed payment timelines.

Why Partnerships Matter in Business Expansion

As Lacrooy explained during the conversation, expansion hasn’t been driven by capital alone. In agriculture, timing is everything.

Products must be available when growers begin planning their crop protection programs for the season. Missing that window, even by a matter of weeks, can mean losing an entire sales cycle.

“There is a very real impact if we can’t have a product registered in time,” Lacrooy says. “If we’re even two months late, we can miss an entire season.”

That reality means companies must be able to move quickly when opportunities arise, whether securing working capital, managing trade risk or entering new markets.

Vive Crop has partnered with both RBC and Export Development Canada (EDC) to access programs that support cross-border growth at the speed and scale they require. They also worked closely with its RBCx Market team and Relationship Manager, who helped coordinate trade finance solutions and connect the company with RBC’s broader international trade expertise.

Tools such as accounts receivable insurance can help protect companies when selling to new customers internationally, while letters of credit and guarantee programs can provide reassurance to suppliers and trading partners when working across borders.

For example, letters of credit help ensure sellers receive payment once goods are shipped and contractual conditions are met, reducing risk for both sides of a transaction. Advance Payment Guarantees allow buyers to safely provide upfront payments for goods or services, while protecting those funds if contractual obligations are not fulfilled.

RBCx and RBC Relationship Manager Amy Ng worked with Vive Crop to help position them for this level of growth. Ng says, “RBC supported the company’s global expansion with tailored trade solutions, including Advance Payment Guarantees and Letters of Credit. These structures helped facilitate secure transactions with a U.S. agri-corporation, allowing Vive Crop to access advance payments, improve cash flow and pursue new growth opportunities while minimizing risk.”

“These kinds of tools give you confidence as you’re entering a new market,” Lacrooy says.

The company has also worked with RBC’s Global Trade Specialist team, which provides guidance on issues such as currency exposure and cross-border risk management. Having access to a dedicated team that understands the business can help companies prepare earlier and respond faster.

“It’s helpful to have a team that can engage early and talk through things like currency risk or planning for future markets,” Lacrooy says. “Those proactive conversations make a real difference.”

For Lacrooy, the most valuable partnerships are those built on understanding. “When your partners understand the pace you’re operating at and the challenges you’re dealing with, it helps you meet critical timelines and get products to customers when they need them—not after.”

Lessons for Companies Entering New Markets

As the conversation turned to advice for other businesses, Lacrooy pointed to several lessons companies should keep in mind when expanding internationally.

1. Understand Your Capital Requirements

Growth across borders often requires more working capital than expected. Inventory, receivables, regulatory approvals and market development all create new financial demands.

“Those costs can add up quickly,” Lacrooy says. “Companies need to plan for that earlier than they might expect.”

2. Build Strong Local Partnerships

Entering a new market requires expertise in regulation, distribution and customer relationships.

“It’s difficult to build that knowledge from scratch,” Lacrooy says. “Having strong local partners and trusted advisors makes a big difference.”

3. Use the Ecosystem Available to You

Canada offers a range of tools and programs designed to help companies expand internationally – from Export Development Canada (EDC) trade insurance and guarantee programs to trade financing solutions provided through Canadian financial institutions.

“These tools can reduce risk and give companies more confidence as they grow into new markets,” Lacrooy says.

4. Plan for Operational Complexity

Currency exposure, logistics, tariffs and regulatory requirements can all create friction if they’re not addressed early.

“Understanding those factors upfront allows you to plan around them rather than reacting later,” he says.

“There’s a graveyard full of companies who thought their path to market was going to be through the majors. Building our own commercial engine has allowed us to control our growth and reinvest in our product pipeline.”

— Jeff Lacrooy

Preparing for the Next Phase of Growth

For now, Vive Crop remains focused on strengthening its presence in North America.

The company sees significant opportunity to expand within the U.S. while continuing to build its Canadian footprint. While international expansion beyond North America is possible in the future, Lacrooy says it would likely come through strategic partnerships rather than building entirely new commercial organizations.

In the near term, the priority is establishing a strong foundation in Canada.

“We’re still very early in the Canadian market,” Lacrooy says. “We want to get a solid footing here and continue to grow before we look further abroad.”

That measured approach reflects a broader philosophy that has shaped Vive Crop’s growth from the beginning: balancing long-term ambition with disciplined execution.

How Vive Crop Stays Grounded While Growing

For companies navigating expansion, Lacrooy believes the key is finding the right balance between planning for the future and supporting the business today.

Developing new products, entering new markets and managing capital requirements all take time—often years. That means leaders must constantly weigh return on investment, timing and available resources.

“It all comes down to balancing ROI, payback, timing and capital requirements,” he says. “You want to keep yourself grounded while still growing.”

For Vive Crop, that balance—between ambition and discipline, growth and focus—continues to shape the company’s path forward as it expands across North America.

“When your partners understand the pace you’re operating at and the challenges you’re dealing with, it helps you meet critical timelines and get products to customers when they need them—not after.”

— Jeff Lacrooy