~ iFranchise Group is a leading franchise consulting firm and will serve as a valuable resource to Plant&Co as the Company launches and execution its franchise expansion plan for the popular YamChops ~

Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – March 18, 2021) – Plant&Co. Brands Ltd. (CSE: VEGN) (FSE: VGP) (OTC PINK: VGANF) (“Plant&Co” or the “Company“), a modern health and wellness company curating delicious plant-based foods, today announced it has retained the iFranchise Group, a leading franchise consulting firm, to oversee the launch and execution of a North American-wide franchise expansion plan for the popular YamChops^{TM ~} Grown Not Raised ^TM ~ (“YamChops”) vegan butcher shop. YamChops, a wholly owned subsidiary of Plant&Co, specializes in the preparation, distribution, and retail sales of over 45 proprietary plant-based meats, chicken, pork, fish, and many other delicious vegan food products.

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“One of the reasons we chose the iFranchise Group to lead the launch of our YamChops franchise expansion is because it was recently recognized as the best overall in franchise consulting and development by Entrepreneur Magazine,” said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Plant&Co. “We need a group who understands the franchise market in Canada and the U.S. and can assist Plant&Co to create the best pricing and support structure for both the Company and entrepreneurs who purchase a YamChops franchise. iFranchise has worked with some of the most successful franchisors in the world, including Ace Hardware, Bridgestone/Firestone, Chem-Dry, Chevron, Fleming, HoneyBaked Ham, McDonald’s, Tribune Companies, and many others. We look forward to executing an aggressive and successful expansion plan throughout both countries with the assistance of iFranchise.”

iFranchise joins Cassells Brock & Blackwell LLP, a national law firm with one of Canada’s most sophisticated franchise law teams, to assist with Plant&Co’ launch of the YamChops franchise. Plant&Co offers a strong corporate structure with financial and technical resources to support individual franchisees and to promote franchise growth throughout North America.

iFranchise Group’s Toronto, Canada franchise consulting office specializes in developing custom strategies, for new or existing franchisors in Toronto and throughout Canada. The group has an intimate and personal understanding of the franchise market, and works with both local business owners establishing a single franchise and large franchisors those looking to expand into Canada and the U.S. They assist companies to identify and take advantage of their unique strengths, seek out key opportunities, and achieve their specific business expansion objectives. Growing a business through franchising requires an understanding of unique market opportunities and challenges, iFranchise is known to provide individualized solutions geared toward achieving full growth potential.

As announced on March 2, 2021, Plant&Co is executing a strategic plan to aggressively expand its reach across North America by franchising the popular YamChops^TM vegan butcher shop. The YamChops franchise program will target entrepreneurs in major centres and offer turnkey YamChops franchises opportunities. Franchise locations will be small but efficient butcher shops allowing for ease of remodelling, efficient operations, and lower costs. Like Toronto, future YamChops locations will target popular and affluent areas of major centres.

YamChops franchise include:

• Architectural/construction renderings
• Systems manuals and training programs
• Proprietary plant-based food products and recipes
• Strategic retail sales strategy

Figure 1: Earlier YamChops location in Toronto

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Interested entrepreneurs can find more information regarding YamChops franchising opportunities by visiting the YamChops website: https://yamchops.com/pages/franchise

Once featured on TV’s famous Dragons Den, named NOW Magazine Reader’s Choice Award for “Best Butcher & Best Deli” in Toronto, and recently recognized in a Wall Street Journal article as a leader in the race for a piece of the faux-meat market, YamChops is North America’s first Plant-Based Butcher Shop. For over 12 successful years, it has specialized in the development, preparation, and distribution of plant-based meats and other vegan food products. YamChops has a retail location in the heart of Toronto’s food district, a dynamic website, and it enjoys a high demand on five of the most popular food delivery platforms: Uber Eats, Skip the Dishes, Door Dash, Corner Shop and Ritual One, with more still to come!

Today, plant-based food products have entered the mainstream and are included on shopping lists of many consumers across North America. The sales of plant-based meats in North America, a food category that did not exist a decade ago, grew to almost US $800 million in 2019, up 37 per cent from 2017. According to research firm Meticulous Market Research the global plant-based food market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9% from 2020 to 2027 to reach $74.2 billion by 2027.

About iFranchise Group
iFranchise Group is the nation’s leading franchise consulting firm. iFranchise Group offers the skills of the nation’s top franchise experts in franchise strategic planning, operations training and documentation, franchise marketing and sales, and franchise best practices for emerging and established franchise companies worldwide.

About Plant&Co

Plant&Co. Brands Ltd. (CSE: VEGN) (FSE: VGP) (OTC PINK: VGANF) is modern health and wellness company curating delicious plant-based foods. For more information please visit: www.PlantandCo.com.

About Holy Crap Foods Inc.

At Holy Crap Foods Inc. our mission is to create products that create a healthy gut through simple, quality ingredients that ultimately feed the connection between gut and mind. Holy Crap is an organic breakfast cereal for today’s consumer that expects their food to work hard for them. Our great tasting cereal helps maintain a healthy gut which creates a happy mind. For more information on the healthy and high-quality breakfast cereals visit: www.HolyCrap.com.

About YamChops

YamChops is a plant-based butcher shop based in Toronto, Ontario. Vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians and even meat enthusiasts love visiting the beautifully curated shop located in the heart of Toronto’s food district. Whether customers sample YamChops’ Tunaless “Tuna”, Chick*n Schnitzel, Szechuan “Beef”, Montreal Style “Steak”, or browse their vegan grocery market assisted by its knowledgeable staff, customers will have an unforgettable experience at YamChops vegan butcher shop. YamChops’ mission is to provide extraordinary plant-based foods and provide extraordinary service to its customers, with a vision to expand its plant based culinary experience and make YamChops the destination of choice for all consumers. For more product information please visit: www.YamChops.com. Interested entrepreneurs can find more information regarding YamChops franchising opportunities by visiting: https://yamchops.com/pages/franchise.

For additional information, please contact:

Shawn Moniz
Chief Executive Officer
Plant & Co. Brands Ltd.
[email protected]

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. 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 including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company’s control. There are no assurances that the business plans for Plant&Co. Brands 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.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/77713