TSXV: JK OTCQB: JKHCF FRA: 68Z
The Company has also Hired Foodpanda's Former
Head of Kitchens & Concepts, Ryan
Ching, to be the Managing Director of its Business in the
Region
VANCOUVER, BC, Nov. 1, 2022
/CNW/ - Just Kitchen Holdings Corp. ("JustKitchen" or the
"Company") (TSXV: JK) (OTCQB: JKHCF) (FRA: 68Z), a
technology focused and enabled operator of ghost kitchens
specializing in the development of delivery-only food brands,
announces the opening of multiple new ghost kitchen locations
in Hong Kong (the "New
Locations"). The New Locations include two stalls in the
10-stall Yuen Long shared commercial kitchen facility (the
"Facility") and a site within an office tower in Kwun Tong.
JustKitchen has also hired Ryan
Ching, the former Head of Kitchens & Concepts at
Foodpanda, to be the Managing Director of its business in
Hong Kong.
Each stall at the Facility is initially offering three food
brands: one stall is focused on the Body Fit, Formosa Chang, and
BIT Beef Noodle menus, while the other is offering Mr. Beast,
Little Mario's Pizza and Inluck Taiwanese cuisine. Allocating
certain brands and menus to certain stalls enables JustKitchen to
be operate more efficiently and in a specialized manner.
Situated in the North-Western part of New Territories Hong Kong,
Yuen Long is one of the fastest growing areas of the country, with
a current population of over 500,000 people.1 Yuen Long
is commonly recognized within the top five delivery zones by order
volumes on demand-side delivery platforms in Hong Kong.
JustKitchen also opened an additional location in the Kwun Tong
area within the Citi Tower building in mid-July. This ghost kitchen
has a high proportion of pick-up business and is strategically
located to serve the growing office catchment area as part of the
Hong Kong government's CBD 2.0
Plan. The Company is also excited to add a newly licensed brand to
its portfolio – the local Vietnamese favourite, Bánh Mì Kitchen
("BMK"). The Kwun Tong location offers BMK alongside
established consumer favourites, Bodyfit and MrBeast
Other Kitchens
In addition to the New Locations, JustKitchen has secured a
lease and a license for delivery for a fully equipped commercial
kitchen ("Hub") in Chai Wan
in Hong Kong. At approximately
3,000 square feet, the Hub will be able to support existing and
future ghost kitchen locations and also serve as a spoke for the
Company in Hong Kong moving
forward. The first line of in-house production commenced in late
May with all product lines completing this transaction in August.
The Hub has been able to achieve food cost reductions to under 30%
of net sales and is on track to reach 25% by the end of the
calendar year. A spoke situated within the Hub is expected to
become operational in early October.
In mid-August, the Company also commenced operations of a pop-up
kitchen in Quarry Bay situated within Swire Properties' Taikoo
Place office precinct. The commitment of the pop-up kitchen extends
up to the end of 2022 with an option to lease in 2023. Bodyfit,
MrBeast and BMK are the brands currently offered with plans to
rotate and promote new brands on a regular basis.
Managing Director, Hong Kong
To assist with all the growth in Hong
Kong, the Company recently hired Ryan Ching as its Managing Director for the
region. He is an experienced product and operations leader with a
passion for the integration and collaboration of technology;
product and design; strategy development; business model
innovation; and customer-centric promotion in a diverse global
marketplace.
Mr. Ching has 15 years of experience and is also skilled in
customer experience design, digital transformation, business
planning as well as product optimization across digital, physical
and financial products around the world. Mr. Ching has a Bachelor
of Commerce and Accounting from the University
of Melbourne and an MBA from Melbourne Business School.
JustKitchen's management team welcomes Mr. Ching to the
Company.
Management Commentary
"We are excited to be expanding our footprint with more ghost
kitchens in Hong Kong. It is a
growing market for JustKitchen and we have learned a tremendous
amount from our existing locations about the region and the
consumers there," said Jason Chen,
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of JustKitchen.
"Adding Ryan to the JustKitchen team is also exciting as his
knowledge and experience in the app-driven foodservice sector in
Hong Kong is expected to be quite
valuable. We are looking forward to working with him to continue
growing the Company and offering our customers innovative food
experiences," added Mr. Chen.
ABOUT JUSTKITCHEN
Just Kitchen Holdings Corp. (the "Company" or
"Just Kitchen") is primarily
an operator of ghost kitchens specializing in the development and
marketing of proprietary and franchised delivery-only food brands
for customers and businesses. The Company currently operates in
Taiwan, Hong Kong, the
Philippines and Malaysia.
It has also signed an agreement that will allow JustKitchen to sell
several of its proprietary food brands in Japan and it has also signed a brand swap
agreement in India. Where
appropriate, JustKitchen utilizes a hub-and-spoke operating model,
which features advanced food preparation taking place at larger hub
kitchens and final meal preparation taking place at smaller spoke
kitchens located in areas with higher population densities. The
Company combines this operating model with online and mobile
application-based food ordering via its proprietary mobile food
ordering app and other third-party ordering apps. Delivery is
fulfilled by third-party companies, to minimize capital investments
and operating expenses and reach more customers in underserved
markets. The Company's other business, JustMarket, is an e-commerce
grocery delivery platform that allows customers to purchase
groceries for delivery or add select grocery items to meals ordered
through JustKitchen.
For more information about the Company, please visit
investors.justkitchen.com. JustKitchen's final prospectus,
financial statements and management's discussion and analysis,
among other documents, are all available on the Company's profile
page on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of such statements under applicable securities
law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by
words such as "anticipates", "plan", "continue", "expect",
"project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may",
"will", "potential", "proposed", "positioned" and other similar
words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or
"will" occur including but not limited to the Company's comments
regarding each of the New Locations being planned to initially
offer multiple food brands; that allocating certain brands and
menus to certain stalls will enable JustKitchen to be operate more
efficiently and in a specialized manner; JustKitchen being part of
bringing innovative food brands for delivery to Hong Kong's forward-thinking consumers; the
new kitchen being able to support existing and future ghost kitchen
locations and also serve as a spoke for the Company in Hong Kong moving forward; and Ryan Ching's experience in the app-driven
foodservice sector in Hong Kong
being expected to be quite valuable. These statements are only
predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the
conclusions or making the projections contained in the
forward-looking statements throughout this news release.
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates
of management at the date the statements are made and are subject
to a variety of risks, including those risk factors identified in
the Company's prospectus dated March 26,
2021, and uncertainties and other factors that could cause
actual events or results to differ materially from those projected
in the forward-looking statements. The Company is under no
obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
expressly required by applicable law.
Endnotes:
- "Yuen Long: Market town", Wikipedia, last edited
April 28, 2022,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuen_Long
SOURCE Just Kitchen Holdings Corp.