Odd Burger Corporation has secured land in London, Ont., for the development of a new 50,000-square-foot food manufacturing facility.
The land, located on Innovation Drive, was purchased from the City of London and approved by city council on Tuesday.
Odd Burger worked closely with the London Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) to secure the land purchase agreement from the city and the partnership will continue into the construction and operational phases.
“We are thrilled to commence this next chapter of growth for our company and we believe that London is the best place in the world to execute our vision for a more sustainable future,” said James McInnes, co-founder and CEO of Odd Burger.
“We will be creating one of Canada’s most advanced plant-based food manufacturing facilities and we believe that through this investment, we will be able to make a tremendous change in the industry by creating more affordable, healthy, and sustainable food.”
The facility will be operated by Odd Burger’s food technology and manufacturing subsidiary, Preposterous Foods Inc., and will produce the company’s plant-based proteins and dairy-free sauces. Preposterous Foods Inc. also plans to release a product line to be sold in grocery stores throughout Canada and the United States.
The facility will start off at 50,000 square feet, but there is opportunity to expand to almost 150,000 square feet as needed.
“This investment by Odd Burger is just the latest in a long list of recent examples demonstrating why London’s economy continues to be among the best in all of Canada,” said Josh Morgan, acting mayor of London.
“As a council, and with strong support from the LEDC, we have worked exceptionally hard to ensure businesses and industries choose London when it comes time to launch or expand their operations.”
McInnes said London was the ideal place to keep Odd Burger because that’s where it all started.
“We’re from London,” said McInnes. “We love the city, our families eat here. So that’s obviously a factor. But a bigger factor was the amount of support that we received from the LEDC and city council. We felt like London had so much potential for supporting us here.”
Odd Burger originally opened its first restaurant in London on Sept. 25, 2021, located on Commissioners Road East. But, that’s not all. Since then, they have grown.
“Right now we have 92 locations that are either operational or under development in Canada alone. That doesn’t include the United Stated, which the States is a huge market for us. So we’re projecting hundreds of locations over the next several years.”