TORONTO, Ontario, Canada – Happy Belly Food Group Inc., a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is happy to announce that, as of February 12th, 2025 it has signed an area development agreement for the province of British Columbia to open 25 new franchised locations of its newest acquisition that closed on January 27th, 2025, Smile Tiger Coffee Roasters (“Smile Tiger”), an emerging brand in the quick service beverage industry.
“As we continue to focus on asset light growth, it made so much sense to partner with Scott Grandin who is easily one of the top Area Developers in Canada’s QSR industry,” said Sean Black, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly.
“We are committed to creating shareholder value across our portfolio with our disciplined approach to organic & inorganic growth as we are just getting started in the quick service beverage industry. Acquiring cash-flow-positive brands that are debt-free and demonstrate positive same-store sales like Smile Tiger aligns with our low-risk strategy for delivering consistent returns.
Now our focus is on leveraging our platform to scale the brand across Canada with a focus on doubling the EBITDA in 24 months or less.”
“We currently have 446 contractually committed retail franchise locations from area developers across all emerging brands in the Happy Belly Food Group portfolio including those in development, under construction or already open.
We are working to actively expand this pipeline significantly in 2025 & 2026 with our disciplined approach to growth. It is key for us to continue selecting the right franchise partners along with the right real estate in order to achieve our development goals for the brands. The selection process has now officially started.”
“Happy Belly’s track record over the last several years speaks for itself-whether with Heal Wellness, iQ Foods, Via Cibo, Rosie’s Burgers, or Yolks Breakfast, we have consistently proven our ability to acquire high-potential assets at reasonable multiples and rapidly expand their EBITDA.
Smile Tiger is no exception. Signing this area development agreement for 25 net new locations in British Columbia alone, exemplifies our ability to identify and integrate strong-performing brands, setting them up for even greater success under our Happy Belly operational framework.”
