LONDON, Ont. — Odd Burger Corporation has signed four new franchise agreements in the last 30 days. The new franchise locations will be in Surrey, B.C., Brampton, Ont., Oakville, Ont. and Regina, Sask.
In Surrey, B.C., the agreement was signed with franchisees Christopher and Kiran Kroh, who are currently seeking a location, with plans to open in 2023. In Brampton, Ont., franchisees Jayant Ahluwalia and Divneet Kaur will take over operations at the Airport Road location prior to the store opening. Construction is almost complete and is slated to open in September 2022, pending approval from local municipal authorities. In Oakville, Ont., franchisees Vijaykuman and Trupti Mehta plan to start the process of obtaining permits and then starting construction. Finally, the brand’s first location in Saskatchewan will be run by Jatin Arvindbhai Patel, Anilkumar Jivanlal Patel and Kuldipsinh Vaghela. The franchisees are currently seeking a location.
“We are seeing a rapid acceleration of our franchising operations all across Canada,” says James McInnes, co-founder and CEO of Odd Burger. “The strategic partnerships with our area representatives are proving to be extremely effective as they have brought in incredibly passionate franchisees that believe in our mission and will help make Odd Burger the world leader in vegan fast food.”
Overall, Odd Burger will see more than 76 additional locations opening in the next eight years in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta. In preparation for its U.S. launch, the company has also established a Delaware-based franchisor corporation and has largely completed its U.S. franchise agreement.
Additionally, Odd Burger has launched its new mobile app, in partnership with Smooth Commerce, to provide customers with a loyalty program so they can receive and eventually redeem points for future purchases. Customers can also receive a free Famous Burger when they download the app and place their first order. The company also implemented a referral program, where both the customer and their friend receive $5 towards their next purchase. The mobile app was downloaded by nearly 1,000 users in the first 48 hours.
“We are blown away by the degree of interest in our new mobile app,” says McInnes. “The huge initial uptake of our Odd App demonstrates the passion that our customers have for our brand and their excitement to share it with their friends and family.”
“We are extremely excited to partner with the Odd Burger team to implement some of the most sophisticated mobile-app technology available for the restaurant industry,” says Brian Deck, CEO of Smooth Commerce. “Utilizing the Smooth Commerce platform reduces the technology burden for our partners and provides their customers with a seamless user experience that would otherwise take years to develop. We look forward to watching Odd Burger’s sales and customer base grow as a result of the new program.”
Lastly, Francois Arbour has joined Odd Burger’s Board of Directors. He is a serial entrepreneur, technologist and investor with more than 20 years of experience in digital marketing, e-commerce and technology. In addition to Arbour, the Board of Directors is comprised of James McInnes, Vasiliki McInnes, Edward Sehl, Michael Fricker and Bill McDonald.
