Foodtastic has added to its portfolio of restaurant brands, buying health-focused QSR Freshii.

The deal is valued at $74.4 million and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, pending customary closing conditions and approvals.

“We have been watching Freshii for some time – it is a great fit for us, and helps Foodtastic expand into a new category,” said Peter Mammas, president and CEO of Foodtastic, in a statement.

Freshii represents a more health-focused offering for Foodtastic’s portfolio. Freshii has 331 locations in 20 countries, the bulk of which are located in Canada, though that is down from 361 at the end of Decemeber 2020. Despite the struggles the company has faced due to the pandemic – and under-performance since its 2017 IPO – the company has aggressive growth goals; when discussing its third quarter results last month, the company said it had agreements in place for 125 new locations in North America at the end of Q3, including its first drive-thru concept in Western Canada. System sales were down 7% year-over-year in Q3, with same-store sales growth down 11%.

The company also has a growing CPG business, retail sales for which grew by 113% in Q3. The recently launched Natura Market ecommerce platform added $3.7 million in sales to Freshii’s results last quarter.

“We believe that Freshii’s brand, franchise network and talent will benefit from Foodtastic’s greater scale – in particular, we believe that this combination will improve Freshii’s potential for growth, enhance franchisee profitability, and generate additional opportunities for our CPG business,” Daniel Haroun, Freshii’s CEO, said in a statement.

Foodstatic has been expanding rapidly over the last two years, beginning with when it added Second Cup to its portfolio in early 2021. It followed that by buying Pita Pit and Milestones later that year, and Shoeless Joe’s this past summer.

At the beginning of December, Foodstatic also acquired Quesada Restaurants and its 175 locations across Canada. That deal also represents a growth opportunity, as Quesada currently has plans to open an additional 50 locations.