Odd Burger Signs Four New Franchise Agreements, Launches Mobile App and Provides Corporate Update
LONDON, ON, Aug. 22, 2022 /CNW/ - Odd Burger Corporation (TSXV: ODD) (OTCQB: ODDAF) (FSE: IA9),one of the world's first vegan fast-food chains and the first to go public, today announced that it has signed four new Franchise Agreements in the last thirty days – a record number for the Company. The new franchise locations will be in Surrey BC, Brampton ON, Oakville ON and Regina SK.
The Surrey, BC Franchise Agreement was signed with Christopher & Kiran Kroh. The franchisees are currently seeking a location in South Surrey and, once a location is secured, plan to open some time in 2023. The location will be the third Franchise Agreement signed in the Province of British Columbia with the two other locations slated to open in Victoria and Vancouver.
A Franchise Agreement was also executed for the previously announced Brampton, ON location at 9055 Airport Road, Brampton, ON. Franchisees Jayant Ahluwalia and Divneet Kaur will take over operations at the Brampton location prior to the store opening. Construction at the Brampton location is nearing completion and the location is expected to open in September, 2022 pending approval from local municipal authorities. Grand opening details will be announced on the Company's social media accounts in the near future. Odd Burger currently has 7 other locations operational in Ontario.
The Company also executed a Franchise Agreement for a location in Oakville, ON. Franchisees Vijaykumar & Trupti Mehta plan to open their location at Dorval Crossing West, Oakville, ON which was previously secured by Odd Burger and will be subleased to the franchisees pending approval from the landlord. The franchisees plan to start the process of obtaining permits soon with construction to begin once permits are approved.
Odd Burger is also pleased to announce its first location in the Province of Saskatchewan. A Franchise Agreement was executed between the Company and Jatin Arvindbhai Patel, Anilkumar Jivanlal Patel, and Kuldipsinh Vaghela for a location in Regina, SK. The franchisees are currently seeking an ideal location to open up their Odd Burger franchise as it will be one of the first vegan fast food chains to operate in Saskatchewan. This will be the third Franchise Agreement executed in Canada's prairie provinces, with two other locations previously announced in Calgary and Edmonton Alberta.
"We are seeing a rapid acceleration of our franchising operations all across Canada,"says James McInnes, co-founder and CEO of Odd Burger. "The strategic partnerships with our area representatives are proving to be extremely effective as they have brought in incredibly passionate franchisees that believe in our mission and will help make Odd Burger the world leader in vegan fast food".
Previously, Odd Burger signed two Area Representative Agreements that will see over 76 additional locations opening in the next 8 years in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. As it currently stands, the company has signed a total of 10 new Franchise Agreements in addition to its operational franchise in Windsor, ON and its 6 other corporate locations in Ontario. As it plans to launch in the U.S. soon, the Company has also established a Delaware-based franchisor corporation and has largely completed its U.S. Franchise Agreement.
Those interested in Odd Burger franchising opportunities can visit https://oddburger.com/pages/franchise-what-we-offer.
Odd Burger is pleased to announce the launch of a newly developed mobile application for both Apple and Android based mobile devices. The mobile app will provide customers with a loyalty program whereby customers can receive points when they place orders on the app and then customers are able to redeem those points for Odd Burger food or credits towards future purchases.
Customers can also receive a free Famous Burger when they download the app and place their first order. In addition, the company has implemented a referral program in which both the customer and their friend receive five dollars towards their next purchase when they refer a friend to download the app and after that friend places their first order.
The mobile app launched on August 17th and was downloaded by nearly 1000 new users in the first 48 hours. Odd Burger worked with Smooth Commerce to develop the app and successfully launch it into the marketplace.
"We are blown away by the degree of interest in our new mobile app," says James McInnes, co-founder and CEO of Odd Burger. "The huge initial uptake of our Odd App demonstrates the passion that our customers have for our brand and their excitement to share it with their friends and family".
"We are extremely excited to partner with the Odd Burger team to implement some of the most sophisticated mobile app technology available for the restaurant industry," says Brian Deck, CEO of Smooth Commerce. "Utilizing the Smooth Commerce platform reduces the technology burden for our partners and provides their customers with a seamless user experience that would otherwise take years to develop. We look forward to watching Odd Burger's sales and customer base grow as a result of the new program".
The Company is pleased to announce that Francois Arbour has joined Odd Burger's Board of Directors. Arbour is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and investor with more than 20 years of experience in digital marketing, e-commerce, and technology. He is currently the co-founder and CEO of designstripe.com, a design tool for non-designers. Francois founded Premiumbeat.com in 2004 as one of the first websites to sell royalty-free stock music online. He sold Premiumbeat.com to Shutterstock in 2015, where he stayed on as an executive for 2 years. Francois then invested in more than 80 startups, including companies like Oura Ring, Fightcamp, Palantir and Instacart.
The Board of Directors is now comprised of James McInnes (Chairman), Vasiliki McInnes, Edward (Ted) Sehl, Michael Fricker, Bill McDonald and Francois Arbour. Bill McDonald will not be standing for election at the next shareholders meeting and will be replaced at that time by Utsang Desai.
Officers of the company are comprised of James McInnes (President and CEO), Ted Sehl (CFO), Vasiliki McInnes (COO), Avra Epstein (Vice President, Marketing) and Trevor Wong-Chor (Corporate Secretary).
An aggregate of 150,000 options to purchase company shares exercisable at a price of $0.40 for a period of five years has been issued to Arbour in connection with his appointment to the Board of Directors.
The Company has determined that exemptions from the various requirements of TSX Venture Exchange Policy 5.9 are available for the grant of these Options. The Options are subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance.
Odd Burger Corporation is a chain of company-owned and franchised vegan fast-food restaurants as well as a food technology company that manufactures and distributes a line of plant-based protein and dairy alternatives under the brand Preposterous Foods to foodservice channels. Odd Burger restaurants operate as smart kitchens, which use state-of-the art cooking technology and automation solutions to deliver a delicious food experience to customers craving healthier and more sustainable fast food. With small store footprints optimized for delivery and takeout, advanced cooking technology, competitive pricing, a vertically integrated supply chain along with healthier ingredients, Odd Burger is revolutionizing the fast-food industry by creating guilt-free fast food. Odd Burger Corporation is traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol ODD, on the OTCQB under ODDAF, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under IA9. For more information visit https://www.oddburger.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements that relate to among other things, the Company's strategies, intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations and estimates, and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "could", "should", "would", "likely", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "objective" and "continue" and words and expressions of similar import. Forward looking information contained or referred to in this news release includes statements relating but not limited to: completion of the new manufacturing facility, the impact of the development agreement in the areas discussed; the expected future expansion of Odd Burger locations and the number of franchises and the benefits the Company expects to derive therefrom; as well as the number of retail outlets to be opened and the Canada Small Business Financing Program discussed herein. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include but are not limited to: financing risk, general business and economic conditions (including but not limited to currency rates); changes in laws and regulations; legal and regulatory proceedings; and the ability to execute strategic plans. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forward-looking statements contained in this document, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
SOURCE Odd Burger Corporation
[email protected]; Odd Burger Investor Relations, 800-286-2145, [email protected]
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