Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2026) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: HBFGF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging restaurant brands, is pleased to announce the grand opening of its newest Heal Wellness ("Heal") location, located at 14 York Street, in Toronto's downtown core, Ontario, on Saturday July 18th, 2026. This location is being opened by the franchise group led by Alex Rechichi and Bedford Park Capital, which entered into Heal's largest Multi-Unit Franchise Agreement to date for 45 locations across Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Heal Wellness is a fast-growing quick-service restaurant ("QSR") brand specializing in fresh smoothie bowls, açaí bowls, smoothies, and other better-for-you menu offerings built around clean ingredients and an active lifestyle.
Happy Belly 1
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Being located on York Street in downtown Toronto, our newest Heal Wellness location is positioned in the heart of one of Canada's busiest tourism, entertainment, and commercial districts. The surrounding area benefits from significant year-round pedestrian traffic generated by nearby office towers, condominium communities, transit connections, and major attractions, including the CN Tower, Ripley's Aquarium of Canada, The Rec Room, and Rogers Centre, home of the Toronto Blue Jays. Its proximity to Union Station, the PATH network, Scotiabank Arena, and Toronto's waterfront further attracts a diverse mix of residents, commuters, office workers, event attendees, and international visitors. This combination of population density, tourism activity, and consistent daily traffic creates an ideal environment for Heal's convenient, better-for-you smoothie bowls, açaí bowls, smoothies, and other health-focused menu offerings.
"Opening this new Heal location in downtown Toronto marks another important milestone in the brand's Ontario expansion and in the rollout of our 45-location Multi-Unit Franchise Agreement with the group led by Alex Rechichi and Bedford Park Capital," said Sean Black, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly Food Group. "Downtown Toronto provides an exceptional platform for Heal, with its dense and diverse customer base, strong pedestrian and transit traffic, and steady flow of residents, professionals, students, visitors, and health-conscious consumers. The market's combination of residential density, office activity, universities and colleges, fitness facilities, retail, hospitality, and entertainment aligns well with Heal's functional, convenient, and grab-and-go offering. We believe these fundamentals support strong long-term potential for this location and further demonstrate the scalability of Heal across high-traffic urban markets."
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"Heal Wellness continues to expand rapidly across Canada and into the United States, solidifying its position as a leading açaí and smoothie bowl brand," said Sean Black. "With 45 locations now open and more than 163 in development, Heal remains a key driver of growth within Happy Belly's broader portfolio of 686 contractually committed retail franchise locations across multiple emerging brands in various stages of development, construction, and operation. We continue to build a predictable and disciplined growth engine designed to create long-term shareholder value."
"We are just getting started," said Sean Black.
About Heal Wellness
Heal Wellness was founded with a passion and mission to provide quick, fresh wellness foods that support a busy and active lifestyle. We currently offer a diverse range of smoothie bowls and smoothies. We take pride in meticulously selecting every superfood ingredient on our menu to fuel the body, including acai smoothie bowls, smoothies, and super-seed grain bowls. Our smoothie bowls are crafted with real fruit and enriched with superfoods like acai, pitaya, goji berries, chia seeds, and more.
Franchising
For franchising inquiries please see www.happybellyfg.com/franchise-with-us/ or contact us at hello@happybellyfg.com.
About Happy Belly Food Group
Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: HBFGF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company") is a leader in acquiring and scaling emerging food brands across Canada.
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Sean Black
Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer
Shawn Moniz
Co-founder, President
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE VISIT:
www: www.happybellyfg.com or email hello@happybellyfg.com
If you wish to contact us please call: 1-877-589-8805
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release, which has been prepared by management.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to the Company within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-Looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur and include the future performance of Happy Belly and her subsidiaries. Forward-Looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the business plans for Happy Belly described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are posted on www.sedarplus.ca.
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Source: Happy Belly Food Group Inc.
