Happy Belly's Heal signs franchise deal for Barrie

Executive Summary

• Happy Belly Food Group Inc. signed a new franchise agreement to open a Heal Wellness location in Barrie, Ontario, expanding its QSR footprint.
• The company completed the acquisition of the remaining 50 % equity interest in Heal Lifestyle Inc., making Heal Wellness and its JVCo wholly owned subsidiaries.
• Post‑transaction, Happy Belly now has 626 contractually committed franchise locations across its brand portfolio.

Key Details

• Franchise Agreement: New Heal Wellness outlet to be launched in Barrie, Ontario – the second agreement signed this week for the brand.
• Brand Positioning: Heal Wellness offers fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls and smoothies; currently 27 locations open with over 168 in development.
• Acquisition Closing: Completed purchase of the remaining 50 % of Heal Lifestyle Inc. for an aggregate price of $3,896,948.
• Consideration Structure:
• Transfer of 2,777,777 Happy Belly common shares (previously held by JVCo) to vendors.
• Issuance of 613,469 treasury‑held Happy Belly shares to vendors, subject to a resale restriction until four months and one day after closing.
• Resulting Ownership: Both JVCo and the Heal operating entity are now wholly owned subsidiaries of Happy Belly Food Group.
• Portfolio Scale: Total of 626 contractually committed retail franchise locations across brands including Heal Wellness, Rosie's Burgers, Yolks Breakfast, Via Cibo Italian Street Food, etc.

Notable Quotes

“Barrie represents an exceptional market for Heal Wellness… The signing of this new franchise agreement further demonstrates the strength of our scalable, asset‑light business model.” – Sean Black, CEO, Happy Belly Food Group

“We are just getting started.” – Sean Black