Victoria-based vegan meat company Very Good Butchers says they have signed a deal to distribute their products across Canada.
The deal between the vegan “butcher” and wholesale distributor UNFI Canada (a subsidiary of United Natural Foods, Inc.) was announced on Wednesday.
“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 UNFl’s vast distribution network,” said CEO Mitchell Scott.
“We are thrilled to have the support from this leading wholesale distributor as we continue to significantly scale our production.”
The Very Good Butchers says that this new deal will see their products shipped to Eastern Canada in the coming weeks, adding to a current distribution network of 275 stores.
Shipped products are currently limited to the production capacity from the company’s sole Victoria facility.
Two additional production facilities will be coming online in 2021 in Vancouver and Patterson, California, which the company says will help meet increased demand.
The Very Good Butchers has seen a rapid expansion and interest in its operation since its humble beginnings in 2016 as a family-owned business selling products on Denman Island.
An appearance on CBC’s Dragon’s Den failed to bring a deal but garnered increased publicity for the company, and in June 2020 a public stock offering saw shares jump in value by 800 per cent.
Mitchell says the UNFI deal will help scale operations for The Very Good Butchers to the next level and added he is “incredibly proud” of what the company has accomplished.
