ON: Odd Burger Secures Land For 50,000 Sq. Ft. Food Manufacturing Facility, Will Create At Least 50 Jobs

Odd Burger Corporation, one of the world's first vegan fast-food chains and the first to go public, announced it has secured land in London, Ontario, for the development of a new 50,000 sq. ft. food manufacturing facility.

The 5.5 acre parcel of land was purchased from the City of London and approved by City Council on July 5, 2022. The site is located on Innovation Drive, an Industrial Park created by the City of London in order to attract innovative and sustainable manufacturing businesses to the region. The site is fully serviced by municipal services including water, sewage, storm drainage and has access to sufficient electricity and natural gas utilities. The land will initially house a 50,000 sq. ft. new building, and can be expanded to nearly 150,000 sq. ft. of building space as the need arises to increase manufacturing capacity in the future.

The new facility, when completed, is expected to be operated by Odd Burger's food technology and manufacturing subsidiary, Preposterous Foods Inc., and is anticipated to produce the Company's line of innovative plant-based proteins and dairy-free sauces. The increased capacity, when completed, at the new facility will allow Preposterous Foods to support hundreds of Odd Burger franchised restaurant locations across North America, as well as supply select products to external food service customers. With the new expansion, Preposterous Foods also plans to launch a retail product line, which will be targeted for sale in grocery stores and direct-to-consumer sales channels.

Odd Burger worked closely with the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) to secure the Land Purchase Agreement from the City of London and will continue this partnership throughout the construction process as well as into the operational phase of the facility.

'We are thrilled to commence this next chapter of growth for our company and we believe that London is the best place in the world to execute our vision for a more sustainable future,' said James McInnes, Co-Founder and CEO of Odd Burger. 'We will be creating one of Canada's most advanced plant-based food manufacturing facilities and we believe that through this investment we will be able to make a tremendous change in the industry by creating more affordable, healthy and sustainable food.'

'Odd Burger is an innovative addition to our thriving proteins cluster in London,' said Kapil Lakhotia, President & CEO of LEDC. 'Our industrial lands, infrastructure, talent and supply chains continue to put London on the radar for sustainable food production and plant-based proteins development.'

Preposterous Foods has engaged Mallot Creek Group Inc. to assist the company with plant design and equipment specifications, as well as process engineering. Mallot Creek is one of Canada's premier food and beverage manufacturing experts and has been involved in some of Canada's largest industrial food projects. Once the design phase is complete with Mallot Creek, Preposterous Foods will submit permits to the City of London and begin the construction process. The facility should take between one to two years to build once permits are approved and is expected to create between 50-100 jobs in London, ON once fully operational.

'This investment by Odd Burger is just the latest in a long list of recent examples demonstrating why London's economy continues to be among the best in all of Canada,' said Josh Morgan, Acting Mayor of London, ON. 'As a Council, and with strong support from LEDC, we have worked exceptionally hard to ensure businesses and industries choose London when it comes time to launch or expand their operations. On behalf of Council, I wish Odd Burger nothing but success in the years to come.'

In March, 2022 Odd Burger signed an Area Representative Agreement with Sai-Ganesh Enterprises to bring 36 additional locations to Alberta and British Columbia over the next 7 years. In June, 2022 Odd Burger signed a second Area Representative Agreement for Ontario with Starke Corporation that will bring 40 new locations to the province over 8 years. In total, Odd Burger has 92 locations operational or under Area Representative Agreements in Canada, making it one of the fastest growing vegan restaurant chains in the country. Odd Burger is also seeking similar development agreements in the U.S., as it plans to launch its first set of locations outside of Canada.

Securing Area Representative Agreements in territories throughout North America provides Odd Burger with contractual growth targets. These agreements allow the company to better project its manufacturing needs in the future and make strategic investments to meet this demand.