Odd Burger is making a bet on CPG, hoping its status as Canada’s only plant-based restaurant chain pays dividends in retail.
The brand has five frozen plant-based protein offerings, including Odd Burger’s Crispy ChickUn Fillet, Beefy Smash Burger, allergen-friendly Chickpea Burger, Breakfast Sausage and ChickUn Pretenders. These are expected to be available in September, starting with Odd Burger restaurant locations and select Canadian independent retailers, health food and local vegan stores.
This represents the first phase of Odd Burger’s foray into retail, followed by what will be a national major banner rollout, explains James McInnes, CEO and co-founder of Odd Burger.
“It’s better to go to market with that many SKUs,” McInnes says. “For us, it’s not a huge risk, as we are doing this in a phased approach anyway.”
He says the brand picked the product line that would work best at retail, informed by broker recommendations. Odd Burger, through its manufacturing division, Preposterous Foods, will be utilizing Toronto-based A.S. Food Sales to accelerate the growth of its new retail product line and secure distribution with different retailers.
The SKUs come in a stand up pouch, which have the least amount of packaging you can use for a retail product, McInnes explains. The type of plastic used, he says, is also “much more recyclable” than standard pouches.
The design features prominent appetite appeal and is a dark pink, based on Odd Burger’s existing, category-conspicuous QSR branding. “When we developed the retail packaging line, it’s just an extension of our current brand, which is what makes it so different,” McInnes says.
The primary goal of the packaging is for Odd Burger to convey that it’s bringing delicious plant-based fast food to home. It’s restaurant quality, McInnes says, and people love that they can make their own, favourite creations at home.
The original branding for the restaurant was done by Concrete, while the company’s in-house team adapted it for the packaging.
In June, Odd Burger announced that it had signed its first agreement to develop 20 locations in Washington State over the next eight years, through a deal signed with B.C.-based franchise development company 5th Group Holdings.
“The U.S. market has always been our primary expansion target and we are now ready to open our first set of U.S. locations,” McInnes says.
Yesterday, Odd Burger announced that it will be the title sponsor at this year’s VegTO taking place in Toronto in September.
