MTY Food Group

MTY Food Group is a Canadian restaurant franchising and operating company headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Montreal. Founded by Stanley Ma in 1979, the group developed from a single Quebec restaurant into a multi-brand platform that owns, manages, franchises or licenses a broad collection of food-service concepts. Its portfolio has included quick-service restaurants, fast-casual outlets, shopping-centre food-court brands, cafés, smoothie and beverage concepts, frozen-yogurt stores, sandwich shops, pizza restaurants, casual dining and regional restaurant chains. The business began with Le Paradis du Pacifique, opened by Ma in Laval after he had immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong. MTY’s first major franchised concept was Tiki Ming, launched in 1984 at Montreal’s Rockland Centre. The company subsequently introduced brands such as Sukiyaki, Franx Supreme, Chick 'n Chick, Panini Pizza, Caférama, Villa Madina, KimChi, Tandori and O'Burger, while also expanding through acquisitions. This combination of internally developed concepts and purchased chains became the defining feature of MTY’s growth model. MTY has acquired or controlled brands including Thaï Express, Country Style, Valentine, Mrs. Vanelli’s, Sushi Shop, Koya Japan, Tutti Frutti, Taco Time Canada, Jugo Juice, Mr. Sub, Extreme Pita, Mucho Burrito, Manchu Wok, Big Smoke Burger, Dagwoods, Timothy’s World Coffee, Mmmuffins and Yuzu Sushi. Through its American subsidiary Kahala Brands, acquired in 2016, MTY added a substantial United States platform and brands such as Cold Stone Creamery, Baja Fresh, La Salsa, Pinkberry, Planet Smoothie, Wetzel’s Pretzels, Famous Dave’s, Papa Murphy’s and SweetFrog. The 2017 acquisition of Imvescor further expanded its Canadian casual-dining portfolio with Pizza Delight, Mikes, Scores, Bâton Rouge and Ben & Florentine. Most of MTY’s Canadian units have historically been franchisee-operated, while the company supplies brand systems, franchising support, purchasing and operational infrastructure. Its restaurants have traditionally had a strong presence in shopping malls and cinema food courts, although the network has become more diversified across street locations and other formats. MTY’s expansion has been acquisition-led: acquisitions accounted for a substantial share of growth in some periods, allowing the group to add established franchise systems and geographic coverage quickly. The company became publicly traded through its predecessor entities and moved from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2010 under the symbol MTY. It remains an active public company whose portfolio and operating footprint have continued to evolve through acquisitions, divestitures, franchising and brand management.

Stanley Ma founded the business in 1979 after opening Le Paradis du Pacifique on Saint-Martin Boulevard in Laval, Quebec. The first major MTY-branded concept, Tiki Ming, opened in 1984 at the Rockland Centre in Montreal. It became the foundation for a growing collection of franchised food-court and quick-service restaurants. The predecessor company was incorporated as Golden Sky Resources Inc. in 1986 and began trading on the Vancouver Stock Exchange in 1989. Its corporate identity changed several times, including Golden Sky Ventures International Inc. in 1994 and iNsu Innovations Group Inc. in 2000. The name MTY Food Group was adopted in 2003; the acronym was derived from the consonants associated with Stanley Ma’s Chinese name. The company’s earlier activities also included a computer and technology division, Gold Tech Computer Systems, which was sold in 2003. During the late 1990s and 2000s, MTY combined new brand creation with acquisitions. It purchased Fontaine Santé in 1999, La Crémière in 2001, Croissant Plus in 2002, Cultures in 2003, Mrs. Vanelli’s and Thaï Express in 2004, Sushi Shop and Koya Japan in 2006, Tutti Frutti and Taco Time Canada in 2008, and Country Style in 2009. These transactions broadened the group beyond Chinese and mall-based food concepts into cafés, breakfast restaurants, sandwiches, smoothies, Mexican food and other categories. MTY moved from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2010. It then acquired or developed additional regional systems, including Groupe Valentine, Jugo Juice, Mr. Sub, Koryo Korean BBQ, Mr. Souvlaki, Extreme Pita, PurBlendz, Mucho Burrito, SushiGo, Thai Zone, Café Dépôt, Sushi Man, Muffin Plus, Fabrika, Madison New York Grill & Bar, Café Van Houtte and Manchu Wok. The acquisition of Extreme Brandz in 2013 marked an important step into the United States, while the purchase of Manchu Wok strengthened MTY’s presence in Canadian food courts. The group accelerated its international scale in 2016 by acquiring Kahala Brands. The transaction added a large American franchise platform and brands including Cold Stone Creamery and Taco Time’s United States business. Later in 2016 MTY acquired Baja Fresh and La Salsa, and it also took a majority interest in La Diperie. In 2017 it acquired Dagwoods and announced the purchase of Imvescor Restaurant Group. Imvescor, completed in early 2018, brought a substantial casual-dining portfolio led by Pizza Delight, Mikes, Scores, Bâton Rouge and Ben & Florentine. Further expansion followed with Timothy’s and Mmmuffins in 2018, SweetFrog in 2018, South St. Burger in 2019 and Yuzu Sushi in 2019. Across these stages, MTY’s model relied heavily on franchising, brand diversification and acquisitions. Its locations shifted from a predominantly shopping-mall and cinema-food-court profile toward a broader mix of street-front restaurants, non-traditional venues and international franchise operations. The group remains an active Canadian public company led by founder Stanley Ma.

• 2018

  Imvescor transaction completed

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  MTY completed its acquisition of Imvescor Restaurant Group and added several prominent Canadian dining brands.

• 2016

  Kahala Brands acquired

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The acquisition gave MTY a major United States platform and a broad set of additional franchise brands.

• 2010

  Transferred to the Toronto Stock Exchange

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  MTY moved from the TSX Venture Exchange to the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol MTY.

• 2003

  MTY name adopted

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The company adopted the MTY Food Group name after earlier corporate identities including Golden Sky and iNsu Innovations.

• 1989

  Initial public trading

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The predecessor began trading on the Vancouver Stock Exchange.

• 1986

  Predecessor incorporated

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Golden Sky Resources Inc., an MTY predecessor, was incorporated.

• 1984

  Tiki Ming launched

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  The first Tiki Ming restaurant opened at Montreal’s Rockland Centre and became MTY’s first major franchised concept.

• 1979

  First restaurant opened

  [1]MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org

  Stanley Ma opened Le Paradis du Pacifique in Laval, Quebec, establishing the business that developed into MTY Food Group.

Multi-brand franchising platform serving accessible quick-service, fast-casual and casual-dining occasions through a mix of mall, street-front, non-traditional and international locations.

• Chinese quick-service restaurant · 1984

  Tiki Ming

  A Chinese restaurant concept launched in 1984 and the first major franchised brand developed by the MTY group. Tiki Ming became closely associated with Canadian shopping-centre food courts and helped establish MTY’s original operating and franchising model.

• Thai quick-service restaurant

  Thaï Express

  A Thai-inspired quick-service concept acquired by MTY in 2004. The brand serves prepared Thai-style dishes in a standardized fast-food format and has been one of MTY’s best-known international-facing concepts.

• Coffee and baked goods

  Country Style

  A Canadian coffee, baked-goods and convenience-oriented restaurant chain acquired by MTY in 2009. Its locations operate in a range of traditional and non-traditional settings, including travel and convenience channels.

• Chinese quick-service restaurant

  Manchu Wok

  A Chinese quick-service chain acquired in 2014. The brand has historically had a strong presence in shopping-centre food courts and operates through a large franchise network.

• Pizza and casual dining

  Pizza Delight

  A Canadian pizza and family-dining brand added through MTY’s acquisition of Imvescor Restaurant Group. The concept operates in full-service and takeout-oriented formats across its franchise network.

• Casual dining

  Bâton Rouge

  A casual-dining restaurant brand acquired through Imvescor. Its menu and restaurant format are associated with grilled meals, ribs and other full-service dining occasions.

• Frozen yogurt and dessert

  Yogen Früz

  A frozen-yogurt and dessert concept operated by MTY in relevant franchise territories. The brand offers customizable frozen-yogurt products and toppings through compact retail formats.

• 2018

  Acquisition of SweetFrogM&A

  Background

  MTY expanded its dessert and frozen-yogurt portfolio in the United States.

  Action taken

  MTY agreed to acquire SweetFrog, an American frozen-yogurt chain.

  Aftermath

  SweetFrog became part of MTY’s broader North American franchise portfolio.

  Source

• 2017

  Acquisition of Imvescor Restaurant GroupM&A

  Background

  MTY continued its acquisition-led expansion into Canadian casual dining and multi-unit restaurant franchising.

  Action taken

  MTY announced a stock-and-cash transaction for Imvescor, which was completed by the end of February 2018.

  Aftermath

  The combination added Pizza Delight, Mikes, Scores, Bâton Rouge and Ben & Florentine to MTY’s portfolio.

  Reported purchase consideration. Approximately C$248 million (Announced December 2017; completed February 2018)

  Source

• 2016

  Acquisition of Kahala BrandsM&A

  Background

  MTY sought faster international and United States expansion through the purchase of a large American franchising platform.

  Action taken

  MTY agreed to acquire Kahala Brands and completed the transaction in July 2016, adding numerous restaurant concepts and a substantial franchise network.

  Aftermath

  The deal materially expanded MTY’s United States presence and added brands such as Cold Stone Creamery and Taco Time’s American operations.

  Source

1. 1MTY Food Groupen.wikipedia.org
2. 2MTY Food Group corporate websitemtygroup.com