District Ventures Teams Up with Convenience Store Leader Circle K

Canadian-made products to be offered to millions of Circle K customers

TORONTO, May 1, 2019 /CNW/ - In a Canadian first, District Ventures has announced a partnership with global convenience industry leader, Circle K, that will see Canadian food and beverage products made more accessible to consumers. Through this newly formed partnership, entrepreneurs who have received capital and programming from District Ventures will be listed in over 400 Circle K locations in Ontario starting May 1.

The first brands entering Circle K under the newly formed partnership are Bow Valley BBQ from Canmore, AB, Little Tucker from Calgary, AB, Maze Bar from Toronto, ON, and Zak Organics from Moose Jaw, SK.

"We are constantly seeking ways to push the envelope for Canadian brands in the food, beverage, health and wellness sectors to help them grow and prosper," said Arlene Dickinson, CEO, District Ventures. "With Circle K, we have a great opportunity to assist entrepreneurs by expanding their retail distribution in addition to providing high-quality Canadian products to consumers in the growing convenience store market."   

District Ventures is the only ecosystem of its kind in Canada that helps companies with capital, marketing and programming in the food, beverage, health and wellness consumer space. Through District Ventures, companies are well positioned to increase sales, distribution and ultimately valuation.

"At Circle K, we are proud to bring innovative and refreshing Canadian-made products to the over 14 million people who visit our stores every month," said Steve Pitts, Vice President Circle K Ontario. "The new partnership with District Ventures helps fulfill our mission of making our customers' lives a little easier every day by offering them convenient and healthy food options and by supporting the entrepreneurs in the communities where we work and live."

Circle K is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Canadian-company Alimentation Couche-Tard. It has nearly 10,000 stores in the United States and Canada and serves over 9 million customers a day across its global network. It is one of the world's largest company-owned convenience store groups.

About District Ventures

District Ventures is Canada's only ecosystem that focuses on bringing capital, marketing, programming and commercialization to companies in the food, beverage, health and wellness industries. District Ventures is led by renown Canadian entrepreneur Arlene Dickinson and comprised of an accelerator, venture capital fund and marketing agency, which operate alongside each other to assist companies in increasing their sales, distribution and ultimately their company's valuation.

Companies interested in joining the accelerator program are encouraged to visit www.districtventures.ca 

About Circle K

Circle K is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alimentation Couche-Tard ("Couche-Tard.") Couche-Tard is the leader in the Canadian convenience store industry. In the United States, it is the largest independent convenience store operator in terms of the number of company-operated stores. As of February 3,2019, Couche-Tard's network comprised 9,933 convenience stores throughout North America, including 8,660 stores with road transportation fuel dispensing. Its North American network consists of 19 business units, including 15 in the United States covering 48 states and 4 in Canada covering all 10 provinces. Approximately 105,000 people are employed throughout its network in North America. 

In Europe, Couche-Tard operates a broad retail network across Scandinavia, Ireland, Poland, the Baltics and Russia through ten business units. As of February 3, 2019, Couche-Tard's network comprised 2,709 stores with approximately 25,000 people work in its retail network, terminals and service offices across Europe. In addition, under licensing agreements, more than 2,000 stores are operated under the Circle K banner in 14 other countries and territories, which brings the worldwide total network to approximately 16,000 stores.

For more information on Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. or to consult its quarterly Consolidated Financial Statements and Management Discussion and Analysis, please visit: http://corpo.couche-tard.com. 

SOURCE District Ventures

Media Contact: Jerry Nasr, PR and Social Communications Manager, District Ventures, 416-585-2090, [email protected]