Innovative food company Wild Fork has launched in Canada with delivery of quality meat, seafood and more right to Canadians’ doorsteps with plans on opening numerous physical locations across the country.
“At the core, we are a protein company and at the highest level what we’re aiming to do is transform how people shop for and consume protein,” said Sherryl Woodward, Head of Brand Experience at Wild Fork.
“It starts with quality. Everything we do starts with quality. We have an entire team dedicated to product inclusive of a head chef. They go out and work directly to find the best suppliers . . . Chefs literally try every single item before something is put on our website for Canadians to be ready to buy it.”
Woodward said that is combined with “insane” variety. For example, it doesn’t have just one type of beef but in numerous types such as seasoned, pre-sliced, AAA, Prime, Angus, etc.
“So depending on what you are looking for, you can buy it all from us,” she added.
“You can get your specialty and everyday things and everything across the board is hyper, hyper, hyper competitively priced. We are constantly every day trying to offer Canadians bang for the buck which especially right now is incredibly important.”
The brand launched in Canada on January 19 this year as an online business servicing the Greater Toronto Area with same day delivery. The first retail store is opening this spring in Whitby, Ontario.
“It’s exciting to part of this unique brand which will be opening retail locations later this year in the GTA,” shares Max Izen, Head of Real Estate for Wild Fork.
“We’ve had a great reaction to our brand so far and look forward to bringing it to more communities in the near future.”
Ali Fieder Baker, Vice President at commercial real estate firm Avison Young which is handling Wild Fork’s Canadian real estate needs, said the first physical store will be located in the Taunton Gardens shopping centre.
She said the store will be about 4,000 square feet.
“Right now we’re actively sourcing 20 sites in the GTA with goals to open those in 2024-2025. We are focused on Ontario growth right now and then BC and Alberta come 2025,” said Baker.
The brand will be looking for space from 3,800 square feet to 5,000 square feet.
“We love a grocery-anchored plaza. That would be ideal,” she said.
“We consider ourselves a second shop to grocery, liquor, drug store. If we can’t be on a physical site with a grocery store, we’d like to be across the street or in close proximity. We’re really focusing on these key high traffic nodes for that day-to-day shopping. And we basically sweep all the real estate within that node to see what we can find and what would work for us.”
Woodward said Wild Fork is complementary to a grocery store.
At the core, she said, the brand is trying to drive some appetite appeal and some excitement.
“We want to excite your meals and it goes back to the fact we really want to transform that eating experience. That could be through trying something different. But it’s all about the joy of eating with us,” said Woodward.
Woodward said despite different trends out there with more people becoming vegetarians, protein is still very core to people’s everyday meals.
Wild Fork also offers pizza, desserts and breads.
While the brand just launched in January, it has existed in the U.S., Brazil and Mexico.
The brand says it is transforming the way people shop and eat protein.
“By managing every step of the process from farm to fork, we ensure you get the highest quality, largest variety and most consistent eating experience at the most affordable prices. It’s at the core of everything we do,” says the company on its website.
“The new fresh way to eat is here and it’s frozen. We’ve evolved how to shop for the best quality meat, seafood and more by locking in freshness until you’re ready to make your star ingredient sizzle. We deliver the largest variety of quality meat, seafood and more right to your door at affordable prices, ensuring you get what you want every time.”
