MODERN MEAT REPORTS PROGRESS ON PRODUCTION IN EXPECTATION OF NEW ORDERS

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Modern Plant Based Foods Inc., (CSE: MEAT) ("Modern Foods") or (the "Company"), an award-winning plant-based food company is pleased to report that Modern Meat Inc., ("Modern Meat"), a portfolio company of Modern Plant-Based Foods, has made significant positive progress on expanding production capabilities with a copacker in Saskatchewan. The management team has completed initial testing on prototypes and aims to move forward with initial production runs in the next few months. This improvement to production capacities will allow Modern Meat to sufficiently supply its Modern Seafood products to larger-scale restaurants and retailers. The Company expects to see increased demand due to the competition in the plant-based industry beginning to shrink.  

The Company has been in the research and development phase with the co-packer for several months to ensure the facility is able to produce the quality and requirements for the Modern products, specifically for innovative items in the portfolio such as its Modern Crab Cake. "We have arguably some of the best quality/complex plant-based meat analogues on the market and remain steadfast to our commitment on quality standards." states Avtar Dhaliwal, CEO of Modern Plant-based Foods. The Modern Meat portfolio consists of high-quality artisanal plant-based protein based "meat" products. The production process is integral to developing the Company's recipes to a sufficient standard. Mr. Dhaliwal continues: "We are now seeing a major shift as many plant-based companies begin to deviate from their initial trajectory. We are here to stay. I am pleased to report the progress we have made with this new copacker as completion of the project will allow us to expand further into the global plant-based fish market and supply high quality products to large scale outlets."

The global plant-based fish market is projected to surge at an impressive CAGR of around 28% from 2021 to 2031, to top a valuation of US$ 1.3 billion by 2031.¹ Currently, this is a gap in the food industry that companies can fill since plant-based seafood only makes up $9.5 million (1%) of the total plant-based meat dollar sales.² Modern Meat has developed a proprietary vegan "seafood" recipe using whole real ingredients without the use of gluten, GMO's or any animal products which is currently being produced into a Crab Cake format. The Company is still in discussion over particulars of the formats which will be launched in addition to the current Crab Cake offering.

The partnered co-packing facility is a leader in innovation for the plant-based food industry having worked with fortune 500 companies experiencing proven success with their development and production processes. The facility is segregated into two locations having an innovation centre and a pilot processing plant. Having received its certifications for CFIA, Halal, Organic, and HACCP, the Company has found the partner successfully meets the criteria for Food Quality standards. The facility also allows access to additional services including nutritional labelling, packaging evaluation, shelf-life testing, and product formulation.

About Modern Plant-Based Foods

Modern Plant Based Foods is a Canadian food company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that offers a portfolio of plant-based products including meat and dairy-free alternatives, soups, and vegan snacks. Our products are available at select restaurants and retailers across Canada including our own Modern Wellness Bar located in Vancouver. We take a holistic approach to plant-based living and understand the importance of providing nutritious and sustainable alternatives to consumers without sacrificing taste. We want people to feel good about the food they eat which is why we are deliberate in choosing ingredients free of soy, gluten, nuts, and GMOs. Our mission is to change the way food is produced and consumed for the benefit of people, animals, and the environment by using natural plant-based ingredients.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward- looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the Company and the Company's business and prospects; the Company's objectives, goals or future plans; the Company's sales growth, planned expansion, awareness of the Company's brands, future sales and revenue growth, and the business, operations, management and capitalization of the Company. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic and social uncertainties; local and global market and economic uncertainties arising in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic; litigation, availability of key product ingredients, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; the ability to effectively expand manufacturing and production capacity; the ability to obtain retail partners to distribute Company products, the success of market initiatives and the ability to grow brand awareness; the ability to attract, maintain and expand relationships with key strategic restaurant and food service partners; our ability to predict consumer taste preferences; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; the sufficiency of our cash to meet liquidity needs; those additional risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com; and other matters discussed in this news release. Accordingly, the forward-looking statements discussed in this release may not occur and could differ materially as a result of these known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the Company. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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¹ https://vegconomist.com/market-and-trends/plant-based-seafood-market-to-skyrocket-increasing-13x-to-us1-3-billion-in-next-decade/

² https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2020/06/03/plant-based-fish-is-the-new-vegan-trend/?sh=7b362b782ba7

SOURCE Modern Plant Based Foods Inc.

Avtar Dhaliwal, Chief Executive Officer, [email protected], 604-395-0974