Wild Fork Foods is exiting the Canadian market and will close its four Ontario stores, ending an expansion effort that began less than four years ago and at one point contemplated a network approaching 30 locations across the province.
The JBS-owned specialty meat and seafood retailer operates stores in Whitby, Oakville, Ancaster and Newmarket. Wild Fork said online delivery and pickup in Canada will remain available until October 13, while its stores are expected to close on or before December 14. Individual locations could close earlier as inventory is sold.
The withdrawal represents a significant reversal from Wild Fork’s original Canadian plans. The retailer entered the market in early 2023 and was initially seeking about 20 locations in the Greater Toronto Area, with longer-term plans for expansion into British Columbia and Alberta.
By 2024, Wild Fork told Retail Insider that it had identified 26 priority markets in Ontario and wanted to move toward approximately 30 stores in the province within three years. Ultimately, the chain’s Canadian standalone network reached four locations.
Wild Fork Entered Canada With Significant Expansion Plans
Wild Fork launched its Canadian e-commerce business in January 2023, initially offering same-day delivery in the Greater Toronto Area. Its first physical store followed several months later at Taunton Gardens in Whitby.
At the time, the company was actively sourcing approximately 20 GTA sites. Wild Fork was generally looking for spaces of about 3,800 to 5,000 square feet, with grocery-anchored shopping areas among its preferred locations.
The retailer subsequently expanded to Oakville and opened an Ancaster store in June 2024. The Oakville and Ancaster locations were larger than the original Whitby prototype, each spanning just under 7,000 square feet.
During the Ancaster opening, then-Wild Fork Real Estate Lead Elle Mejia-Pierce told Retail Insider that the company had identified 26 Ontario markets it wanted to enter before moving into Western Canada.
“I’d like to see us inching up towards 30 stores in the next three years,” she said at the time.
Wild Fork was then building its real estate pipeline for 2025 and 2026, with Newmarket and London among the markets being considered. British Columbia and Alberta were expected to follow Ontario as the retailer expanded nationally.
The Newmarket store opened July 1, 2025, at 7 Harry Walker Parkway South, becoming Wild Fork’s fourth Canadian standalone location. It was also the last standalone store the retailer opened in the country before announcing its withdrawal about 15 months later.
A Specialized Meat and Seafood Concept
Wild Fork is part of JBS, the global food company with extensive meat processing and food operations in Canada, the United States and other markets. The Wild Fork withdrawal does not represent a broader Canadian exit by JBS, which maintains other operations in the country.
The retail concept centres on a broad assortment of frozen proteins sold through stores and e-commerce. By 2024, Wild Fork’s Canadian assortment had grown from approximately 450 products to more than 600, ranging from everyday beef, chicken and seafood to Wagyu, lobster, bison, elk, venison and other specialty products.
Wild Fork sought to position itself as an everyday food destination rather than exclusively as a higher-end meat retailer. Its real estate strategy included locations near conventional grocery stores and other frequently visited retailers, allowing the chain to serve as a specialized protein stop alongside a larger grocery trip.
Sobeys Partnership Offered Another Route to Canadian Customers
Wild Fork was still pursuing new ways to reach Canadian consumers in 2026. This summer, the company launched its first Canadian store-within-a-store partnership with Sobeys at the grocer’s Shellard Lane location in Brantford.
The shop carried more than 250 Wild Fork meat and seafood products. Wild Fork publicly described the opening as a new chapter in its Canadian growth and said it looked forward to reaching more Canadian families through the format.
The arrangement gave Wild Fork a presence inside an established Canadian supermarket without relying solely on expansion of its standalone store network. Within months of launching the Brantford pilot, however, Wild Fork announced plans to leave Canada.
Wild Fork has not publicly detailed what will happen to the Brantford Sobeys shop following the withdrawal. Its announcement says the company is closing its Canadian operations, but no specific information regarding the Sobeys partnership was provided.
Canadian Hiring Continued Into September
Wild Fork also continued recruiting in Ontario shortly before the exit announcement. Employment listings associated with the company appeared in September for several markets, including Brantford, North York and Oshawa.
Federal Job Bank records included a Wild Fork posting in Brantford dated September 17, while other listings associated with the company appeared later in the month. The postings do not establish that Wild Fork intended to open standalone stores in North York or Oshawa, but they indicate that Canadian recruitment activity continued close to the October 6 announcement.
Together with the recently launched Sobeys pilot, the hiring activity shows that Wild Fork maintained visible Canadian operating and growth activity late in its time in the market. The timing does not establish when JBS or Wild Fork made the decision internally to leave Canada.
Wild Fork Gives No Detailed Reason for Exit
Wild Fork has not publicly provided a detailed explanation for its decision to leave Canada. In announcing the move, the company said the decision came “after careful consideration” and thanked Canadian customers for supporting the business.
“We are incredibly grateful for the customers who welcomed Wild Fork into their communities and trusted us to serve them,” the company said. “It has been a privilege to bring the Wild Fork experience to Canada, and we sincerely appreciate your support.”
Wild Fork said employees and customers would remain a priority during the transition and that it was committed to supporting store teams through the closures. The company has not disclosed how many Canadian employees will be affected, while questions also remain about the Sobeys arrangement and whether Wild Fork products could remain available through another Canadian distribution channel.
The timing of the withdrawal is particularly notable given Wild Fork’s activity earlier this year. After its standalone network stopped at four stores, the retailer was still experimenting with a different Canadian growth format through Sobeys this summer, only months before announcing that its Canadian operations would close.
