Smoothies and food items in a colorful collage.
(Source: Happy Belly Food Group)
  • Happy Belly Food Group (CSE:HBFG), a conglomerate of emerging food brands, will open its newest Heal Wellness smoothie and acai bowl restaurant Saturday in Sherwood Park, Alberta.
  • The new location is in addition to 326 in the pipeline across the company’s brand portfolio, which has generated more than 56x revenue growth since 2019.
  • Happy Belly Food Group owns a growing number of food brands, including Rosie’s Burgers, Holy Crap and Lumber Heads Food Co.
  • Happy Belly Food Group stock has added 177.78 per cent year-over-year.

Happy Belly Food Group (CSE:HBFG), a conglomerate of emerging food brands, will open its newest Heal Wellness smoothie and acai bowl restaurant Saturday in Sherwood Park, Alberta.

The new Heal location at 905-8005 Emerald Drive is the company’s first in Alberta and second in Western Canada opened in the past six weeks. It is expected to expand the brand’s customer base in a densely populated area. According to Friday’s news release, Sherwood Park is growing at a double-digit rate and is recognized for its agricultural heritage and locally sourced produce, making Heal Wellness a logical fit in the community.

Happy Belly has an additional seven Heal locations under construction across Alberta and British Columbia, 11 in total across the country, and contractual commitments for 50 units in Western Canada.

What you get if you invest in Happy Belly Food Group today

Happy Belly has 326 contractually committed restaurants in the pipeline across its portfolio, and is actively sourcing and analyzing new locations to accelerate growth. Its brands include:

  • Rosie’s Burgers
  • Holy Crap
  • Lumber Heads Food Co.
  • Yolks
  • Lettuce Love Café
  • Pirho Fresh Greek Grill
  • Joey Turks Island Grill
  • Via Cibo

With such a massive number of locations under contract, the company’s development efforts have been predictably prolific, opening a new location, expanding product distribution, signing a new franchisee, or securing a development agreement every few weeks going back to 2022. 

Happy Belly’s impressive growth trajectory has translated into 56.3x revenue growth from C$90,000 in 2019 to C$5.07 million in 2023. It has been accompanied by controlled operating expenses and increasing gross profitability – last registering at 51.6 per cent in 2023 – demonstrating management’s efficiency at balancing scale and shareholder value.

Investors in Happy Belly have been rewarded with a 177.78 per cent return year-over-year, but have collected only about 25 per cent since the company pivoted from its previous incarnation, EuroLife Brands, in November 2020, signalling that the market is finally coming around to acknowledging this exponential growth story.

Potential investors should keep an eye out for pullbacks, likely occasioned by a decelerating store count, as it inevitably will, to capitalize on more attractive prices as gross profitability tips into positive net income.

Leadership insights

“The rapid expansion of the Heal Wellness brand serves as a testament to our ability to execute effectively,” Sean Black, Happy Belly’s chief investment officer, said in a statement. “As the brand’s free cash flow grows, we anticipate accelerating our corporate store development timeline, supplemented by the growth of our franchise program.”

“We look forward to announcing several more openings throughout 2024,” Black added, “as we continue to sign franchise agreements and secure prime real estate locations for our franchisees nationwide.”

About Happy Belly Food Group

Happy Belly Food Group is the parent company of a growing number of food brands.

Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE:HBFG) is up by 2 per cent trading at C$0.51 per share as of 10:58 am ET.

Join the discussion: Find out what everybody’s saying about this restaurant conglomerate stock on the Happy Belly Food Group Inc. Bullboard and check out Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

(Top photo of Happy Belly Food Group brands: Happy Belly Food Group)


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