Canadian restaurant franchisor Foodtastic has acquired Kinton Ramen, a Japanese ramen brand founded in Canada with locations across Canada and in the United States.
Foodtastic, in a news release, said the acquisition brings an established Asian dining concept into its portfolio and aligns with the company’s strategy to invest in restaurant brands with clear characteristics and development potential. Founded in Toronto in 2012, Kinton Ramen was among the first Japanese ramen restaurants in the city and has since expanded across Canada and into the United States, it said.
Foodtastic is a leading Canadian restaurant franchisor with a portfolio of 30 diverse brands and over 1,200 establishments across the country. Brands include Milestones, Dunkin’, Pita Pit, Quesada, Second Cup, Rotisseries Benny, La Belle et La Bœuf, and Freshii, among others.
“We have been looking to add a strong Asian concept to our portfolio for some time, and Kinton Ramen is exactly the kind of brand we wanted to bring into Foodtastic,” said Peter Mammas, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Foodtastic.
“Kinton has built a clear position in the Canadian restaurant market, with a loyal following, a strong culinary identity and significant room to grow. We believe Foodtastic’s scale, infrastructure and franchise expertise will help support the brand’s next stage of growth across Canada.”
Foodtastic said Kinton Ramen offers Japanese ramen with a menu designed for dine-in, takeout, and delivery. The brand operates 58 locations in five Canadian provinces and one U.S. state, including Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec, Alberta, Manitoba, and New York.
“We weren’t exactly in this ramen noodle space. We own Noodlebox but it’s quite different. In a wok. It’s a different type of noodle. It’s also kind of a hybrid here where you have service and you also have opportunity to have counter. So we found the segment very attractive,” said Mammas. “I eat a lot at Kinton and I found that the consistency was always there. The service was good. The stores look great. I really got excited about this about three years ago. It took us quite a bit of time to actually convince them to sell to us and to come to a deal. So I’m really happy that this one happened. It took a lot longer than I would ever have imagined.”
Following the acquisition, Foodtastic said it will focus on expanding Kinton Ramen in Canada and will use its operating infrastructure to support the brand. There are no plans to change Kinton Ramen’s menu, loyalty program, brand identity, franchisee relationships, or guest experience.
“I think it could easily double,” said Mammas. Kinton Ramen today has 58 locations in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and B.C. It’s mostly in urban areas right now but I think the footprint and the type of operation allows us to open in a lot of suburban markets as well. I think we’re going to double it.”
He said 20 locations are currently corporate.
“As is our DNA, we will be franchising the corporate stores as well in the near future and we’re going to continue to build the concept.”
“Kinton Ramen has always been about delivering a memorable and authentic ramen experience to guests, one bowl at a time,” said James Kim, founder of Kinton Ramen. “Foodtastic understands the strength of the brand and the significance of preserving what guests and franchisees already know and value. We are looking forward to working with the Foodtastic team as Kinton enters its next phase of growth.”
The acquisition expands Foodtastic’s portfolio of established restaurant brands in Canada. Foodtastic now operates brands across the quick-service, fast-casual, coffee, healthy-eating, casual-dining, and specialty-dining categories, added the company.
Mammas said the Kinton Ramen footprint is compact and the sales per square foot are “very interesting.”
“The build out costs are probably less than other full-service restaurants and there’s a lot of third-party delivery that can be done with this type of food. I think they’ve also kind of perfected the way ramen is delivered. That’s a big credit to them. It’s always coming to the customer hot. You put in your ramen right after. It’s almost a restaurant experience in your house which is hard to do.”
Mammas said expansion opportunity exists in Atlantic Canada as well as Quebec.
“Our runway is pretty good,” he said.
Mammas said 2025 was “pretty good” for the restaurant industry.
“When we got into 2026, once the Iran war started we saw a slow down. The last couple of weeks have been ticking positively. So that looks good. Hopefully this peace deal transpires and they sign it like they’re saying. We’ve already seen the effects at the gas pumps. Price of gas has dropped close to 15% in the last little while. That leaves more money in people’s pockets and they can enjoy some great food more often.”
Mammas said Foodtastic is a company that wants to grow and will grow in the future.
“There’s still quite a few segments that we’re not in, that we’re actively pursuing to see how we could bridge those gaps. But definitely we want to open new stores with existing brands and we want to keep on acquiring.”
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