KaleMart24, a Montreal-based convenience store chain founded by Oussama Saoudi, is preparing for a rapid expansion across Quebec and Ontario, with nine locations now operating and plans to have at least 22 stores open by the first quarter of 2027.
The first KaleMart24 opened at Montreal’s Berri-UQAM Metro station in March 2024. Saoudi said 17 locations have now been secured, with eight of those under construction and expected to open by the end of the fall, while five additional franchisees are still looking for locations. The company is targeting urban areas with high pedestrian traffic and typically seeks spaces of about 1,000 to 1,500 square feet.
Saoudi, a Moroccan-born civil engineer who previously founded a matcha energy-drink company, said KaleMart24 was created to offer an alternative to the traditional convenience store model. The stores retain conventional convenience-store products while emphasizing ready-to-eat meals, smoothies, acai bowls and other products marketed as better-for-you options. He said the company is aiming to surpass 100 locations by the end of 2027.
Looking for locations out West
“We’re mostly Quebec and Ontario. Nothing in Calgary or BC yet, but we’re looking for franchisees there. But, you know, we were focusing mostly on Quebec and Ontario, Toronto,” said Saoudi.
“I grew up in Casablanca, Morocco, until I was 17. I moved to France, to Paris, to do engineering. So I’m a civil engineer by education. I spent five years in Paris doing civil engineering, then moved to Canada as part of a double degree with Polytechnique in Montreal, and then decided to stay. And before, when I was an engineering student, I used to be a huge Red Bull consumer.
“I used to drink three, four cans of Red Bull every day. You know, it’s very unhealthy, very caffeinated, gave me jitters. When I came to Canada, that’s where I discovered matcha. Matcha green tea.
“It changed my relationship with caffeine, how I see caffeine. I started drinking matcha every morning in a bottle of water. I stopped drinking Red Bull. My previous company was called Toro Matcha, which was a matcha energy drink. So basically, like a Red Bull can, but with matcha, natural ingredients. We got that company into Costco in Canada, into Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, you know, even in the U.S. with some retailers like Sprouts Markets.”
How the idea for KaleMart came into being
Throughout that journey, he was traveling a lot, going to conferences, travelling the world, seeing what’s going on, and he noticed that the convenience store landscape in Canada and the U.S. was really missing something.
“People go to convenience stores in Canada and the U.S. only to get alcohol, tobacco, or lottery. Whereas, in Europe, in Asia, people are going there for breakfast, for lunch, for snacks, for food. So there is something to do in North America in terms of convenience stores. They need to be revamped to something more premium with better products, with a better destination, better experience.
“That’s where the idea came from for KaleMart24. Once I exited that company, I started KaleMart with the idea of really keeping classic categories of a convenience store, but bringing better-for-you products, better ready-to-eat items, better meals to the people across our stores.
“Because a convenience store, you can open it at every corner in a city, whereas, a supermarket you need higher foot traffic. It’s harder to get the space.”
Real estate space opportunity
Saoudi said there are many spaces available for convenience stores that only need 1,000 square feet to 1,500.
“So there is much more opportunity in a convenience store than supermarkets to open many. And all the convenience stores right now in North America are missing that touch of food, better-for-you snacks, a clean experience, nice experience. When you go to a convenience store today in North America, it’s only to get alcohol, cigarettes, or lottery.
“You don’t really go there thinking, “Oh, I’m going to get a smoothie or an acai bowl or food.” You’re going there really to get those three items. And if you look at data, 70 per cent of sales of classic convenience stores such as Couche-Tard, Circle K are coming from tobacco, alcohol, and lottery.
“When you look at KaleMart24, 70 per cent of our sales are coming from ready-to-eat items, smoothies, acai bowls, packaged products like better-for-you products even if it’s chocolate, chips, gums, whatever, but natural products.
Changing the convenience store landscape
“We’re changing the convenience store landscape. We’re catering it to people that are looking for these items and our sales are even higher than a classic convenience store, but because people are really coming not just for the classic items, but also for these better-for-you items, for the food component of the concept.”
Saoudi said the brand is looking for high foot traffic areas, dense urban areas. But it’s also looking now at different types of locations to test a different crowd, more like in gas stations or strip malls where people park and go shop.
The typical size of a location is 1,000 to 1,500 square feet. But it can go to bigger stores of up to about 2,000 square feet.
“We’ve tried smaller stores. The smallest we have is 300 square feet. It’s really small. But the problem with those sizes is that we don’t have enough offerings. The store is really small, so we can’t offer as much products as we would want to.”
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