A former Highland Farms property in Mississauga is being transformed into a sprawling 176,000-square-foot international grocery and food destination complete with live seafood tanks, cafés, prepared foods, wholesale offerings, and what the company describes as “1,000 feet of chocolate.”
Food World Plus is preparing to open at 50 Matheson Boulevard East near Hurontario Street and Highway 401, taking over one of the larger grocery-oriented retail sites in the area. The concept blends elements of a supermarket, food hall, specialty retailer, and wholesale operation under one roof.
While an official opening date has not yet been announced, marketing activity surrounding the project has accelerated significantly in recent weeks, suggesting the launch is approaching quickly.
The project is being developed by JDass Corp, a Canadian company with business interests spanning retail, hospitality, imports, real estate, hotels, convention centres, and other sectors. The company also operates Food World Supermarket in Etobicoke.
Former Grocery Site Takes on a New Role
For years, the Matheson Boulevard property operated as a Highland Farms grocery store serving Mississauga-area shoppers. The large-format site occupies nearly 14 acres and includes approximately 1,100 parking spaces, giving the new concept substantial scale and visibility in a busy commercial corridor near Highway 401.
Food World Plus is taking a dramatically different approach to the space than a conventional supermarket.
Early promotional materials point to a project built around international assortments, prepared foods, specialty departments, and immersive food-focused experiences designed to encourage customers to spend extended periods inside the store.
The retailer is expected to feature products and culinary offerings representing South Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern, East Asian, African, European, and Latin American cuisines.
The store will reportedly include halal and kosher butcher counters, sushi stations, cafés, dessert counters, juice bars, bakery and deli departments, floral offerings, health and beauty sections, and specialty beauty products including Korean skincare and niche fragrances.
Another component of the project will function as a wholesale cash-and-carry business serving both consumers and commercial customers.
Grocery Retail Continues Moving Beyond Traditional Supermarkets
The project arrives at a time when grocery retailers are investing more heavily in prepared foods, specialty assortments, and experience-driven shopping environments.
Across North America, large-format grocery operators have increasingly expanded foodservice programs, live cooking stations, seating areas, and specialty food offerings as consumers seek convenience, dining, and discovery within a single shopping trip.
Food World Plus appears designed around many of those same ideas, combining grocery retail with elements more commonly associated with food halls and destination-oriented retail projects.
The concept also reflects the growing influence of international food retail within the GTA, where demographic growth and cultural diversity continue reshaping consumer demand.
International Grocery Competition Expands in Mississauga
Over the past decade, the Greater Toronto Area has seen rapid expansion among international grocery operators as retailers compete through assortment, authenticity, prepared foods, and shopping experience.
Retailers including T&T Supermarket, Nations Fresh Foods, Seafood City, Adonis, and Al Premium Food Mart have all expanded aggressively in recent years.
Many of those retailers have evolved beyond traditional grocery stores, drawing customers with prepared meals, imported specialty products, cafés, and food hall-style experiences that encourage longer visits and repeat traffic.
Food World Plus appears poised to compete directly within that increasingly crowded and fast-evolving segment of the market.
Large-Format Food Retail Still Drawing Investment
The Mississauga project is also notable because it arrives during a period when many retailers are downsizing footprints, emphasizing efficiency, or focusing on smaller-format urban concepts.
Food World Plus is taking the opposite approach by investing heavily in scale, assortment, and destination-oriented suburban retail.
Its location near Highway 401 and the future Hazel McCallion LRT corridor could further strengthen the project’s long-term positioning within Mississauga’s retail landscape.
If successful, Food World Plus may signal continued appetite for large-format food retail concepts that blend shopping, dining, and entertainment into a single suburban destination.
