More often than not, the diet of a vegan was imagined as a simple variety of different salads, fruit and nuts… and more often than not, people would simply refer to vegan diets as “the food that my food eats.”
Living in a society accustomed to animal products in almost every dish we eat, it was hard to fathom how one can have a satisfying diet void of these things.
Now? It’s 2021: you can order an entirely plant-based meal and get anything from tacos to a burger and fries, resembling (with startling accuracy) the aesthetic and taste of the traditional meat version.
Who would have thought?
Through the use of culinary innovations such as textured vegetable protein (TVP), plant-based “meat” is now replicating the taste and feel of actual meat, to an astonishingly close resemblance.
Now That We’ve Touched On the Actual Foods… What About Rising Food Trends?
Let’s start with the supersized competitor… McDonald’s. This company has been changing the way we eat since the time of Elvis Presley. Speedy service, simplified menu options, meticulously designed, factory-like kitchens made to produce your meal as fast as humanly possible; these were all innovations utilized by McDonald’s to make the experience of eating out as automated and efficient as possible. One could even arguably credit the evolution to today’s “fast-food” concept to McDonald’s.
As you can imagine, the mass volume of burgers and fries that Mcdonald’s churns out daily is nearly unimaginable. The amount of cows and livestock needed in slaughterhouses to satisfy the company’s demand alone is devastatingly high. Though consumers only need to pay a few dollars for their burger, the natural world and animals within it are footing the real bill here… which just keeps growing.
And now, we’re back to veganism.
Let’s take a bite out of Odd Burger and learn what their plans are, in the intersect between veganism and fast food.
Odd Burger (CANADA: ODD) was originally founded in 2014. A grassroots vegan organization that delivered organic fruit and veggies from farmers straight to customers’ doors, Odd Burger ended up developing meal kits, utilizing their own popular recipes. Through their own “market research,” they found people showed great fondness for vegan fast food.
Their very own Famous Burger sold out at the 2016 Ontario Ribfest, garnering mass media attention throughout North America due to it’s popularity. 2017-2018 saw the company grow from a food truck, to Canada’s first vegan fast-food restaurant. To top that all off, 2018 saw the creation of their own manufacturing center; the heart of the business in which all of their innovations are created and shipped off to their restaurants.
Disrupting the fast-food industry by using technology, automation, and franchise-like scaling strategies, Odd Burger stands by its mandate to provide accessible fast food without using or exploiting animals.
So how do they do it?
For one, their food is fast. ODD has set up a 60-second process to cook food on-demand, with a consistent delivery result. Their locations are small and compact, overhead-friendly, and are equipped with easy self-checkout and cashless points-of-sale. Efficient and compliant, in a world where contactless is currently best.
Odd Burger’s cooking equipment is also quite advanced; pre-programmed, automated machinery which puts together menu items quickly and accurately, reducing the potential of inconsistent food and/or labour costs. As an added bonus, pick-up and delivery is made easy with street-level access within all of their strategically designed locations.
The Company was previously known as Globally Local Technologies, but has since rebranded to Odd Burger Corp. All images / mentions of Globally Local can be understood as the same company… but a previous evolution.
And, of course, the company is 100% vegan, from management down to menu. Odd Burger develops and manufactures all products, and the ingredients used for them, with a calculated, scientific approach. This affords ODD a plethora of exciting fast food offerings, designed from scratch for Odd Burger, by Odd Burger.
Now, let’s put aside the fact that red meat is known to be one of the leading causes of heart disease. Let’s also put aside the fact that when slaughterhouses, globally, need to harvest 800,000 cow carcasses daily, diseases within the animal’s edible parts, such as tumors, aren’t always caught along the production line. We’ll circumvent the personal health issues for now, and just talk about environmental impact.
One single hamburger patty, made of beef, uses 600 gallons of water. For context, this is over 4,000 water bottles. The average plant-based patty uses barely one percent of that.
Meat and dairy operations take up 83% of the world’s farmland, yet provide only 18% of the world’s calories and 37% of the world’s protein. The average plant-based patty takes 93% less land, and its growing process is much less resource-heavy.
Driving 5 miles in a compact car emits the same amount of greenhouse gasses it takes to produce a single hamburger patty, according to studies conducted by the Sierra Club.
If these stats seem staggering, then you’re seeing the same thing we are; after all, the impact that plant-based foods have on the well-being of the earth and the animals living on it is a significant driving factor for those who adapt to plant-based diets.
With disruptive customer service operations and innovative (yet classic) offerings, Odd Burger is ready to enter into the fast food market with the world as a whole in mind.
How Big are the Markets that Odd Burger is Aiming for?
The fast food industry was estimated to be worth around US$647 billion in 2018.
By 2027, it’s estimated to be a nearly trillion-dollar industry, with projections of $US931 billion in size. We’re expecting a large percentage of this growth to be plant-based, as well, as the consumer trend shifts in this direction.
The plant-based market, which is becoming more popular than ever, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.9%, reaching an expected $US74.2 billion by 2027.
The pandemic-era has seen many people transition to plant-based diets, due to having more time to get creative with their food and learn about the realities of their environmental impact. Lockdown fatigue and a desire to shake things up has seen fast food orders increase, with food delivery programs and government-mandated stay-at-home orders coming together to push the industry to new heights.
With a wide array of companies in these markets, we like to see players in the game that stand out.
But who’s behind Odd Burger?
Management – The Team Behind the Scenes
James McInnes – Co-Founder & CEO, Director
James is an accomplished entrepreneur and scientist. James was involved in the development of the product line, implementation of the technology systems, and foundation of the Odd Burger brand. James has been vegan for more than 8 years.
Vasiliki McInnes – CoFounder & COO, Director
Vasiliki is an experienced leader and public health specialist. She has managed teams of more than one hundred staff in the health care industry and is an expert in policy development and operations. Vasiliki has been vegan for more than 7 years.
Carlo Rigillo – CFO
Carlo has over 13 years of experience as a financial executive, including 4 years as a director of finance. Carlo has been CFO at both private and public companies and has a wealth of experience in consumer health, consumer products, and manufacturing sectors.
Braden Halpin – VP Operations & Store Development
Braden is leading the expansion of corporate and franchised restaurants. Braden was an account executive at a major Toronto commercial real estate firm for over 8 years where he worked with national and international retail brands. Braden has been vegan for more than 5 years.
Avra Epstein – VP Marketing
Avra is leading the marketing and branding team at Globally Local and is a licensed lawyer and marketing expert. Previous to joining Odd Burger, Avra was the founder of Vegan Social Events where she worked with large international brands such as Daiya Foods, Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum, and Field Roast. Avra has been vegan for more than 6 years.
Dean Cebulski – Director
Dean served as the president of a large food manufacturing company specializing in both animal and plant-based protein production. Dean has a deep knowledge of advanced manufacturing equipment and technologies and has built entire food divisions from scratch to international recognition.
What Does The Future Hold?
With an extensive team that is certified in many different aspects of what makes a company run successfully, it is without a doubt that the expansion plans will be fruitful. After cutting their largest store in London, Ontario due to it not fitting the new compact, efficient pandemic-friendly model, the company has gone full-steam ahead on their competitive model.
Right now, Odd Burger has five announced locations (four corporate-owned, one franchised) in various stages of development throughout Ontario, with aggressive expansion plans in place.
ODD has brought in just over C$1 million in consolidated sales, annually, for the last 2 years, and the rapid expansion plan includes 1-2 locations being added per month, each expected to contribute an additional C$50-100k in revenues monthly. With a team experienced in all areas of design, development, and automation, we’re expecting these plans to move ahead like clockwork.
To Summarize:
- Tech: The company manufactures 29 unique plant-based products, literally designed for foodservice use.
- Flexible labor model: Odd Burger locations can be fully operated with just a single front-of-house staff member and two back-of-house staff members, keeping overhead extremely low.
- Efficiency: Innovation and creativity is often the enemy of efficiency, but not with Odd Burger. Their proprietary products are all produced out of one current factory, and assembled at their respective locations within 60 seconds, thanks to their pre-programmed, advanced cooking equipment.
- Ownership: Founders currently own nearly 50% of the company, proving that they believe in the future upside of the company.
- Resourcefulness: Odd Burger’s locations are built a compact as possible, using a self-checkout system. They have created a model that is capable of scaling on a massive level, while maintaining compliance with all public health guidelines.
Disclaimer: Odd Burger Corp. is an Edge Investments communications client, and we own shares in the company.