The Very Good Food Company Announces Distribution Partnership with North America's Leading Wholesale Distributor and Expanded Points of Retail

October 22, 2020 7:00 AM EDT | Source: The Very Good Food Company Inc.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 22, 2020) - The Very Good Food Company Inc. (CSE: VERY) (OTCQB: VRYYF) (FSE: 0SI) ("VGFC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a new wholesale distribution partner in Canada and an overall increase in the number of existing retail points of distribution in Western Canada.

New Distribution Partner

The Very Good Food Company recently entered into a new distribution agreement with UNFI Canada to distribute The Very Good Butchers line up of products across Canada, first focusing on the East coast. This agreement represents a significant milestone for the Company. UNFI Canada is a subsidiary of United Natural Foods, Inc., which is the largest publicly traded wholesale distributor in North America delivering healthier food options to people throughout Canada and the United States. UNFI has expected annual sales in excess of $21 billion USD, 40,000 retail partners and 10,000 suppliers.

CEO Mitchell Scott stated: "The distribution agreement with UNFI is a particularly exciting achievement for us, as it opens up the potential for significant expansion across North America utilizing UNFI's vast distribution network. We are thrilled to have the support from this leading wholesale distributor as we continue to significantly scale our production."

Under this new agreement, the Company will be sending its first shipment of product to Eastern Canada within the coming weeks, officially expanding its retail distribution across the entire country.

Expanded Points of Distribution

Through its ongoing effort to bring The Very Good Butchers brand to more consumers, the Company is also pleased to announce a significant increase in the number of points of distribution within its existing wholesale partnerships to 275 stores; in addition to the new distribution agreement with UNFI. This represents an increase of 34% above the previously reported figure in July 2020.

The increase in distribution is limited to the production volume out of the current operational Victoria facility; with additional volume coming online in 2021 from the two recently announced facilities in Vancouver, Canada and Patterson, California. The willingness of existing wholesale partners to expand the reach of The Very Good Butcher's line up of products across their networks represents the significant increased demand the Company is experiencing from consumers.

CEO Mitchell Scott commented: "With two production facilities coming online in 2021, the recent partnership with a third party logistics partner and now our distribution agreement with UNFI, we continue to build the infrastructure necessary to scale our operations to the next level. I am incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished to date and look forward to an exciting end to 2020."

Debt Settlement Agreement

VGFC today also announced that it has entered into debt settlement agreements with Axe Communications Inc. and Market IQ Media Group Incorporated (together, the "Creditors") to settle an aggregate of $130,834 in debt (the "Debt") for services provided by the Creditors to the Company. In settlement and full satisfaction of the Debt, the Company will issue to the Creditors an aggregate of 47,866 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Debt Shares") at a deemed issue price of $2.13 per Debt Share. All of the Debt Shares will be subject to a restrictive period of four months and one day from issuance.

About The Very Good Food Company

The Very Good Food Company Inc. is an emerging plant-based food technology company that designs, develops, produces, distributes and sells a variety of plant-based meat and other food alternatives. Our mission is to employ plant-based food technology to create products that are delicious while maintaining a wholesome nutritional profile. To date we have developed a core product line under The Very Good Butchers brand.

For further information, please contact:

Mitchell Scott
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Kevan Matheson
Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
Email: invest@verygoodbutchers.com

Phone: +1 855-472-9841

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "proposed", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information contained or referred to in this news release includes, but may not be limited to the new distribution agreement with UNFI and the benefits the Company expects to derive therefrom, and the Company's ongoing focus on expanding its production capacity.

Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: negative cash flow and future financing requirements to sustain operations, dilution, limited history of operations and revenues and no history of earnings or dividends, competition, economic changes, delays in the Company's expansion plans, and the impact of and risks associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic including the risk of disruption at the Company's facilities or in its supply and distribution channels. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company.

Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/66585

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