Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - November 16, 2021) - The Good Flour Corp. (CSE: GFCO) (OTC Pink: LPPPF) ("GFCO") is pleased to provide an overview of GFCO's corporate strategy and near term business objectives. GFCO recently commenced trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange following the acquisition (the "Transaction") of VGAN Brands Inc. and Nextjen Gluten-Free (collectively referred to as the "Company").
Market Overview
Consumer tastes are changing. Globally all major food staple markets have been disrupted - meat products, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt) and prepared foods. Recently there has been a significant focus on the global vegan products market which has an estimated size of US$14.7 billion (Source: August 19, 2021 Press Release from Research and Markets). There remains a food staple market that is 10 times the size of the global vegan market that has not yet been disrupted. This market is the global wheat flour market which reached an estimate value of US$160 Billion in 2020 (Source: July 9, 2021 Press Release from Research and Markets).
The Company's mission is to disrupt the US$160 billion global flour industry with its range of gluten-free, allergen-free, and additive-free baking mixes for retail and food service customers. Gluten-free and allergen-free foods are part of a growing under-tapped global market.
- 10 priority allergens cause over 90% of all adverse food reactions (Source: Health Canada)
- Almost half of all children suffer from food allergies (Source: American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology)
- 1 in 4 people have a food sensitivity -28% of the population suffer from some form of food intolerance with lactose and gluten being the two most common (Source: US Food and Drug Administration)
- 55 diseases are reported to improve on a gluten-free diet such as autism, diabetes, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis and most other autoimmune diseases (Source: New England Journal of Medicine)
The Products
With the acquisition of Nextjen Gluten-Free, the Company provides a range of gluten-free & allergen-free products for retail & food service. These products have been developed to allow individuals with gluten and other food allergies to enjoy life without giving up their favorite foods or settling for low-quality alternatives. Simply put, "Flour" but good for you. The products which have been developed over the last decade include: All-purpose baking flour; Pizza & pasta flour; Tempura batter mix; Fish & chips batter mix; Fried chicken mix; Pancake & waffle mix; Vanilla bean cake mix; and Pizza shells.
The Company's products are trusted by some of the most notable names in food service and are available to consumers at Canadian retailers. Food service accounts include Panago Pizza, Earls, Fairmont Hotels, Four Seasons Hotels and Virtuous Pie. Broadline food distributors include Sysco and Gordon Food Service. Retailers include Amazon, Choices Markets, Nesters, IGA and Whole Foods.
In the Company's mission to reach an even larger audience with Nextjen's creations, the Company is relaunching these superior mixes under The Good Flour Co. brand with the vision of putting them next to every boring old gluten-filled yellow bag on the shelves.
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Production Expansion
There has always been a significant demand for the Company's products, but supply and manufacturing constraints have hindered the Company's ability to scale its production. Following the recent completion of the Transaction, one of the first initiatives of the Company is to significantly expand its production capacity. A new 8,000 square foot facility has been secured in Burnaby, British Columbia, and the Company is in the final stages of acquiring an automated production line that will dramatically increase its production of both retail and food service product lines by a magnitude of eight-fold. This will allow the Company to meet the significant demand for its products, and to take on a focused distribution initiative with its experienced management team.
The Company anticipates the automated production facility will be operational in the second calendar quarter of 2022. Once operational, the Company expects that a single shift will be able to generate an annual $5 million retail value in product with a single daily shift and an annual $10 million retail value in product with two daily shifts. This assumes a product mix consisting of food service bags and retail bags and does not include additional retail value from the production of frozen pizza shells. The Company is also evaluating partnering with co-packers in North America to provide additional production capacity.
Founders & Management
The Company is managed by the founders of Nextjen Gluten-Free and an experienced executive team:
Chef Jen Peters (Founder) - Chef Peters honed her skills as a protégé of Chef Bruno Marti, the beloved godfather of fine dining cuisine in Canada. With Chef Marti's guidance, Jen developed an uncompromising dedication to high-quality food ingredients. She then worked and trained in Michelin-starred restaurants in England. After returning home to Vancouver, BC and discovering she was gluten intolerant, she was determined to find a way to keep delicious breads, scones, and pastas in her life. In 2012, Jen finally perfected her recipe and founded Nextjen Gluten-Free with her partner, Chef Hamid Salimian.
Chef Hamid Salimian (Founder) - Chef Salimian has a 30-year career in the hospitality industry as a top executive chef in Vancouver's fine dining restaurants and an international award-winning culinary competitor. He is the co-founder of NextJen Gluten-Free and jointly manages this successful gluten-free food production company with his partner. Hamid continues to be a member of the culinary development team for a large restaurant chain with 67 locations across North America and an annual revenue of over $270 million. Three years ago, he joined a group of top BC chefs to create, open and run two new restaurants on Granville Island, PopinaCanteen and PopinaCantina. Hamid is also a full time Culinary Arts Instructor at Vancouver Community College (VCC) and created a modern cooking course for professional chefs.
Matthew Clayton (Chief Executive Officer) - Over the last twenty-three years, Matthew's career has been spent developing, building, and managing public and private companies across North America. He has spent focused segments of his professional life in; nutritional sciences, sport supplements, organic skincare, craft beverages, rapid diagnostic testing, transportation, and has consulted to First People's, and all levels of government, and on recent energy related projects on the West Coast of Canada. Matthew has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as Health Canada, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, and various other agencies across European Union countries.
Dean Golbeck (Chief Financial Officer) - Mr. Golbeck holds a Chartered Accountant designation (CPA, CA) with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Vancouver Island University. He started his career with a Big Four accounting firm where he worked on a mix of large public company audits and mid-market assurance and advisory services. In 2017, Mr. Golbeck achieved the Certificate of Completion for the CPA In-Depth Tax Course. Shortly after, he moved to a mid-sized accounting firm where he focused on corporate reorganizations and tax planning for high-net-worth individuals.
Molly Millar (VP Operations & Marketing) - Ms. Millar brings several years of experience working with growth-stage companies, focusing on marketing, e-commerce, sales and operations. She is passionate about working with small teams to help them develop and execute their brand voice, as well as their sales & marketing strategy. She holds a B.A. from the University of British Columbia and is currently the Chair of the Transportation Advisory Committee for the City of Vancouver.
About The Good Flour Corp.
GFCO's mission is to provide a gluten-free, allergen free, hassle-free all-purpose baking flour blend that allows individuals with gluten and other food allergies to enjoy life without giving up their favorite foods or settling for low-quality alternatives. The Company also provides gluten and allergen free fried chicken batter, fish & chip batter, pizza & pasta mix, tempura batter, pancake and waffle blend, cake mix and pizza crusts.
For additional information on The Good Flour Corp. please refer to www.goodflour.co.
Company Contact
info@goodflour.co
604-568-1598
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events related to the Company that may occur in the future. Forward-looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's future business objectives, its ability to disrupt the global wheat flour market, product details, plans to expand production capacity and demand for the Company's product.
In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "would", or "might" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the timely receipt of regulatory approvals; the ability to source ingredients; the ability to attract qualified management and staff; the ability to effectively expand manufacturing and production capacity; the success of market initiatives and the ability to grow brand awareness; the ability to obtain retail partners to distribute Company's products; the ability to attract, maintain and expand relationships with key strategic restaurant and food service partners and the Company will continue to have access to financing until it achieves profitability. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, they may be incorrect.
Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks related to general business, economic and social uncertainties; local and global market and economic uncertainties arising in respect of the COVID-19 pandemic; risks associated with supply chain for machinery and equipment; litigation, availability of key product ingredients; legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; failure to effectively expand manufacturing and production capacity; the ability to obtain retail partners to distribute Company's products; failure to attract, maintain and expand relationships with key strategic restaurant and food service partners; changing consumer taste preferences; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; the sufficiency of our cash to meet liquidity needs; failure to attract qualified management and staff, labour disputes; and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.
Although the Company has attempted to identify factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update forward-looking information.
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