Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 3, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce the promotion of Gary Fung from Senor Vice President of Finance to Chief Financial Officer of Happy Belly Food Group.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 1, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands, is pleased to announce that it has signed as of April 30th, 2024, an area development agreement for the province of Ontario for the contractual opening of 15 franchised restaurants of Via Cibo ("Via Cibo"), serving fast casual Italian street food made with fresh traditional ingredients.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 24, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has closed, as of April 23rd, 2024, its acquisition of CraveIt Restaurant Group's ("CraveIt") Via Cibo Restaurant Chain ("Via Cibo"), serving fast casual Italian street food made with the best traditional ingredients, as initially announced in the Company's press release dated January 5th, 2024 (the "Transaction")."Happy Belly started 2024 with the signing of the largest M&A it has conducted to date, and today we are pleased to announce the closing of that transaction. This marks a significant stride forward in our journey to becoming a leading consolidator of emerging food brands. The closing of this Transaction represents the incorporation of our 7th restaurant brand, and our 9th brand overall," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly."Via Cibo, an all-franchised system, is an asset-light entity with established street-front real estate locations in both Ontario and Alberta. Furthermore, Via Cibo is debt free and cashflow positive. The acquisition fits the exact financial metrics and belly check criteria that Happy Belly looks for in an acquisition."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 23, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a new franchisee agreement in Ontario, specifically for the Greater Toronto Area for its Heal Wellness brand, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, and smoothies quick serve restaurant. The signing of this new franchisee is the 25th signed franchise agreement for Heal in the last 14 months and 14th for Ontario.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands, is pleased to announce its financial results and corporate update for the year ended December 31st, 2023."I'm extremely proud of the positive progress that our management team, alongside our brand partners, have been able to achieve in fiscal 2023. With our ninth (9th) consecutive QoQ growth, and seventh (7th) consecutive record setting quarter in revenue, you can see our continued commitment to shareholders as we continue to execute our plans and improve company wide performance," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly Food Group. "We are once again witnessing the consistent and repeatable pattern of Happy Belly's operations staying financially disciplined while achieving organic and inorganic growth as we successfully added 8 additional locations to our physical store count in 2023 vs 2022."We achieved positive EBITDA for BOTH our CPG and QSR divisions as we accelerated growth within those verticals. Each quarter has resulted in significant QoQ growth while continuing to accelerate our growth, improve operations within our businesses and deliver consistent record quarters for our shareholders."Financial Highlights

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 18, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a lease and franchise agreement to open the third (3rd) Heal Wellness in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, for its Heal Wellness brand, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, and smoothies quick serve restaurant. This new franchised location is the 24th signed franchise agreement for Heal in the last 14 months and 6th for Alberta so far. Grand Opening is anticipated to be in Q3 2024.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 16, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed as of April 15th, 2024, our second multi-unit franchise agreement for Yolks Breakfast ("Yolks") that will see three (3) full-service restaurants being developed in Calgary, Alberta. Yolks is a boutique restaurant brand serving delicious breakfast, brunch and lunch in the Vancouver area.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 11, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured a real estate location for Yolks Breakfast ("Yolks") in Ottawa. Yolks is a boutique full-service restaurant brand serving delicious breakfast, brunch and lunch.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 5, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands, is pleased to announce it has signed as of April 4th, 2024, the Company's very first multi-unit franchise agreement for Yolks Breakfast ("Yolks") that will see five (5) full-service restaurants being developed in major cities across Ontario. Yolks is a boutique restaurant brand serving delicious breakfast, brunch and lunch in the Vancouver area.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 3, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands, is pleased to announce that it has signed a franchisee for Joey Turks Island Grill for Scarborough, Ontario. Joey Turks ("Joey Turks") a fast casual restaurant serving delicious original Caribbean Island recipes is a 100% owned subsidiary of Happy Belly Food Group.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 2, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that our Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) division is experiencing ongoing growth and sustained profitability as it expands internationally and records multiple sales records.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 25, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured another real estate location for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls and smoothie quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 15, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce the opening of its newest Heal Wellness location on Queen Street East in The Beaches neighborhood in Toronto, Ontario."Serving up fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, and smoothies in our newest location is just the beginning for store openings in 2024 for Heal and the Happy Belly portfolio of emerging brands. In addition to our six (6) Heal corporate locations, this is our first opening of a franchised location for Heal with another 60 franchised Heal stores contractually committed to in the pipeline still to come across Canada and the US", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. This opening is a major milestone for Heal Wellness and Happy Belly as we leverage our franchising experience and framework to accelerate our growth." "As our Heal Wellness franchise program continues to attract franchisees from both Canada and the US, we are observing a direct correlation between the rapid expansion of our franchise infrastructure, and the positive impact it's having on Happy Belly's financial health as we accelerate the growth of Heal's retail footprint. There are multiple locations currently under construction for Heal franchisees, and we look forward to announcing a number of openings throughout 2024 as we continue to sign franchise agreements and source prime real estate locations for our franchisees"."With a total of 275 contractually committed retail locations in the pipeline across all emerging brands in the Happy Belly Portfolio still to come, our team is heads down sourcing and continually reviewing real estate locations, combing through franchisee applications, and working hand in hand with our area developers to continue our rapid growth of asset light franchising development."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 5, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a franchisee for an Ancaster location (in the city of Hamilton) for its Heal Wellness brand, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, smoothies, and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 28, 2024) - Coho Collective Kitchens Inc. (TSXV: COHO) ("Coho" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce its ongoing collaboration with Next Level Partners, a division of Happy Belly Food Group (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly") to provide consultancy services for the development of the highly anticipated Purebread location on West 4th Avenue in Vancouver. Together, they are committed to a model of accelerated growth, executing on its vision of nationwide expansion by 2026..

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that the non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of unsecured convertible debentures (the "Debentures") previously announced on February 13th, 2024 with a strategic investment fund, Trio Capital Group Inc. ("Trio Capital Group") has now closed, raising proceeds of $1,000,000.00 CDN.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 13, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has signed a lead order for a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of unsecured convertible debentures (the "Debentures") for total gross proceeds of $1,000,000 CDN received from a strategic investment fund, Trio Capital Group Inc. ("Trio Capital Group")."I would like to thank Trio Capital Group for their investment, especially Mr. Paul Paletta for his support of Happy Belly as we execute on our growth strategy focused on building a stable of emerging brands," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "Receiving this kind of support and confidence in our plan as a company allows us to accelerate both our organic and inorganic growth in 2024-2025.""This is our third consecutive above-market convertible debenture for Happy Belly which demonstrates the market support for this management team. With the support and confidence of shareholders alike, we plan to deliver real shareholder value as we grow Happy Belly."Debenture Details:

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured another real estate location for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed as of February 6th, 2024, an area development agreement for the province of Ontario for the opening of 25 franchised restaurants of Yolks Breakfast ("Yolks"), a boutique restaurant brand serving delicious breakfast, brunch and lunch in the Vancouver area.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 31, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has closed on the 50% acquisition of Yolks Breakfast Inc. As of January 29th, 2024, all closing matters have been addressed and completed to acquire Yolks ("Yolks"), a boutique restaurant brand serving delicious breakfast and brunch delights in the Vancouver area.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 24, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured a lease for its second co-branded store featuring both Lettuce Love Café ("Lettuce Love") and Heal Wellness QSRs. This multi-branded location is to be operated by a single franchisee. Lettuce Love Café is a 100% owned subsidiary of Happy Belly serving delicious gluten-free meals, plant-based bowls, sandwiches and wraps. Heal Wellness serves fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 18, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured another real estate location for Heal Wellness ("Heal"), a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant."On October 26th , 2023 we announced a five-unit franchise agreement for our Heal Wellness brand in Alberta, and today we are pleased to announce our second secured real estate location of that agreement. With the first Heal Wellness location in Alberta being in the City of Sherwood Park, our second location will be on 112th St at the front door of University of Alberta Campus including University of Alberta Hospital ("U of A")", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."U of A is in the top 5 ranked universities in Canada and is home to more than 42,000 students which provides huge organic foot traffic and exposure to the Heal Wellness brand. Being at the campus provides us with the perfect customer demographic for our smoothies and smoothie bowl offerings. We look forward to becoming a part of the university meal program that will further accelerate our retail adoption to the 42,000 student base that is growing on an annual basis. I have been working in this industry for over 25 years and this is the first time I have been able to secure a space on 112th St, at the front door of U of A, what a great day for Happy Belly". "This signing signifies our third (3) location of Heal in Western Canada, and with this location being in a university/college environment we ideally plan many more over time as the brand grows. We continue to leverage our previous franchising experience to accelerate the organic growth of all our brands globally. As our stable of emerging QSR brands continues to grow, so does our ability and means to secure prime real estate locations across Canada." "With possession taking place in Q2 2024, we are just getting started to increase our footprint in Western Canada as this is our third secured real estate location for Heal in Western Canada in the last few months (out of fifty (50) committed through our area development agreements in AB and BC). We anticipate a significant number of openings in 2024 across Canada.""We look forward to continuing to execute on our franchising model as we accelerate our growth organically and inorganically through accretive M&A. The rapid expansion of the Heal Wellness brand is a prime example of our ability to execute an asset light franchise model. As free cash flow increases from the brand, we anticipate accelerating our corporate store development schedule with supplemental growth coming from our franchise program. We are just getting started."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 10, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce the launch of their franchising program for Joey Turks Island Grill with the signing of a 30 unit area development agreement for the province of Ontario on January 9th, 2024. Joey Turks is a 100% owned subsidiary of Happy Belly Food Group ("Joey Turks"), a fast casual restaurant serving original Caribbean Island recipe menu items.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 5, 2024) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed as of January 4th, 2023, a binding LOI agreement to acquire 100% of CraveIt Restaurant Group's ("CraveIt") Via Cibo Restaurant Chain ("Via Cibo"), serving fast casual Italian street food made with the best traditional ingredients. "Happy Belly starts 2024 with the signing of the largest M&A it has conducted to date. This marks a significant stride forward in our journey to becoming a leading consolidator of emerging food brands. This acquisition represents the incorporation of our 7th restaurant brand, and our 9th brand overall." "Via Cibo Restaurants, an all-franchised system, is and asset-light entity with established street-front real estate locations in both Ontario and Alberta. Furthermore, Via Cibo is debt free and cashflow positive. This acquisition fits the exact financial metrics and belly check criteria Happy Belly is looking for," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly."As part of our accelerated M&A program, we have successfully executed another 100% acquisition, bringing seven (7) franchised Via Cibo restaurants into our portfolio across Ontario and Alberta. Additionally, we welcome four (4) Reef Kitchen locations in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario, marking our entry into the ghost kitchen category - a significant addition to our expanding brand portfolio."

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - December 8, 2023) - Coho Collective Kitchens Inc. (TSXV: COHO) ("Coho" or the "Company"), a leading player in the culinary industry, is excited to announce the signing of a strategic consulting agreement with Next Level Partners, a division of Happy Belly Food Group ("Happy Belly"). This collaboration marks a significant milestone in Coho's pursuit of a robust growth strategy for both the Coho and Purebread businesses.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 5, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed as of December 4th, 2023, a definitive franchise acquisition agreement to acquire 50% of breakfast brand sensation Yolk's Breakfast Inc ("Yolks"), a boutique restaurant brand serving delicious breakfast and brunch delights in the Vancouver area.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 1, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that further to its news release on November 24th stating the preparation for US entry of its Heal Wellness brand ("Heal"), that it has now signed as of November 30th, 2023, a ten-unit term sheet for the state of Florida for Heal, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, smoothies, and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant. "As we continue to evolve our materials for adapting a franchising framework within the United States, such as preparing our franchising disclosures and franchising agreements, we now do so with a ten-unit commitment signed by a multi-unit franchisee. This is another step forward in the process of starting to plant our feet in the United States," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."Having a franchisee located in Florida gives us boots on the ground as we proceed to establish our presence in the United States, a key step for both Happy Belly and our portfolio of emerging brands. Our real-estate search has begun as we look to identify and map out various locations in south east Florida suitable for the demographic profile of a Heal customer. This was a very important step during my previous experience with both Extreme Brandz and MTY Food Group as I helped several of their brands gain entry into the United States. I look forward to working with our franchisee as I firmly believe we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us as we accelerate the growth of our Heal Wellness brand in an asset light franchise model across the state of Florida.""We anticipate continued demand for our franchising offerings as we continue to organically grow our footprint throughout North America for each brand in our portfolio. We look forward to working closely with interested parties and our brands, beginning with Heal Wellness as our first brand entry into the United States. We anticipate this entry to be the first of many over time into the United States."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 29, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured another real estate location for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant."On October 26th, we announced a five-unit franchise agreement for our Heal Wellness brand in Alberta, and today we are pleased to announce that the first real estate location of that agreement has been signed as of November 28th, 2023. The first Heal Wellness location in Alberta will be in the city of Sherwood Park, home to renowned schools, world-class recreation facilities, and almost 4,000 businesses," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."This signing signifies our first location of Heal in Alberta and is a milestone for Happy Belly as we leverage our previous franchising experience to accelerate the organic growth of all our brands, coast to coast. As our stable of emerging QSR brands continues to grow, so does our ability and means to secure prime real estate locations across Canada. The city of Sherwood Park is just outside Edmonton with enough residents to make it the fifth biggest urban centre in the province. It is an ideal city that will expand Heal's customer reach in a demographical aligned area, giving us tremendous opportunity in-store, as well as delivery.""With an anticipated Q2 2024 opening, we are just getting started to increase our footprint in Western Canada as this is our second secured real estate location for Heal in Western Canada in the last few weeks (out of fifty committed through our area development agreements in Alberta and British Columbia). We anticipate a significant number of openings in 2024 across Canada.""We look forward to continuing to execute on our franchising model as we accelerate our growth organically and inorganically through accretive M&A. The rapid expansion of the Heal Wellness brand is a prime example of our ability to execute. As free cash flow increases from the brand, we anticipate accelerating our corporate store development schedule with supplemental growth coming from our franchise program. We are just getting started."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 28, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce its financial results and corporate update for the three months ended September 30th, 2023.Financial Highlights

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 27, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce its 100% wholly owned Caribbean restaurant Joey Turks is now open in Hamilton, Ontario. "Today is an exciting day for Happy Belly Food Group. In order to create significant value for our shareholders the management team has built a fast casual Caribbean brand from scratch. The opening of Joey Turks takes us back to the days where we launched our first corporate Mucho Burrito from scratch at Dixie and Eglington. We are using the same process to build and scale our newest restaurant brand based on great food and great people. Mucho has grown to approximately 150 locations across north America, so we are using the same formula to create Joey Turks", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."There are many similarities, such as launching a brand that has first mover advantage in fast casual Caribbean, just like we did in fast casual Mexican. We are early to the Caribbean category as there is no clear leader in this sector and no emerging QSR or Fast Casual brand across Canada offering great island cuisine in an asset-light fast casual franchise model. We are now implementing the same playbook as we work to scale Joey Turks into a national brand. We have done this before, and now leveraging the same team to deliver great people, great food, and great real estate." "We see this as the first of many opportunities in sectors that have open ice for us. With the cost of capital being high, our M&A strategy remains laser focused on creating value for our shareholders. During my time at MTY (TSX: MTY), I was able to see how the company benefited from creating several of their early brands in-house. We see no reason to not repeat the same blueprint of success with Happy Belly."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 24, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it is preparing its first QSR brand for entry into the United States. "Due to the tremendous corporate unit growth we are experiencing in Canada and demand for our franchising offerings globally, we have pre-emptively registered our US trademark for Heal Wellness and fast-tracked our application while simultaneously prepared materials for adapting a franchising framework within the United States. We have already begun discussions in several southern states of the US for franchising and real estate locations," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."Over the past several months we have had interest from various restaurant development groups for multi-unit agreements and area development agreements across the United States. We are now in the position where we can set up our franchising structure and offer franchising opportunities to these interested parties as we formerly create and register the necessary structures as we establish a Happy Belly presence in the United States. We look forward to working closely with interested parties and our brands, beginning with Heal Wellness as our first brand entry into the United States.""We anticipate completing our US franchise structure prior to closing out our fiscal 2023. We anticipate and look forward to delivering updates on progress as we continue our real estate and franchisee discussions for our Heal Wellness brand south of the border. Based on my previous experience in helping to launch both Extreme Brandz and MTY Food Group into the United States, I believe we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us to accelerate the growth of our brands in an asset light model across the United States. The demographics and climate of these particular areas are a perfect fit for our brands. We anticipate this entry to be the first of many other of our brands over time into the United States. This is reinforcement of our commitment to the continued organic growth of our brands."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 23, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured a new store location for the opening of a 3rd Rosie's Burgers ("Rosie's") at the Well, in downtown Toronto. "With our foot firmly on the gas and leaning in to accelerate growth we are pleased to announce that our Smash Burger brand Rosie's Burgers has secured a prime location in the busy pedestrian area of the Well in downtown Toronto. This will be Rosie's third (3rd) location. As we work within our wide network of landlord relationships and franchisee groups we are confident in our ability to once again grow a nationwide smash burger brand", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. We would like to thank RioCan (REI-UN-T) and Allied Properties (AP-UN-T) as we continue to work with them as we grow the footprint of our brands throughout Canada. "We are active in multiple conversations with various groups across Canada as we continue to accelerate the growth of our brand portfolio. There is no shortage of opportunities as we continue to organically expand Happy Belly's footprint in the QSR space. We are happy to share the news of this location for Rosie's as we schedule its opening in Q1 2024. We look forward to continuing to share the news of many more newly secured locations for brands across our portfolio as we continue to accelerate growth through our asset-light franchise model. We are just getting starting here at Happy Belly. About the WellThe Well is currently one of the largest multi-use developments in Canadian history, scheduled to finish construction in June 2023. Covering a total of 7.8 square acres. The Well features six residential towers of 14-46 stories, and a 36-story office tower with three floors of extensive retail space on the ground level.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 20, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce the signing of an area development agreement for the province of Alberta for the opening of 20 franchised restaurants of Rosie's Burgers ("Rosie's"), a boutique QSR restaurant brand serving original recipe smash burgers, poutine, onion rings, milkshakes and more.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 17, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has secured another real estate location for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant."On October 24th, we announced a five-unit franchise agreement for our Heal Wellness brand, and today we are pleased to announce that the first real estate location of that agreement has been signed. The first Heal Wellness location in British Columbia will be in the city of Chilliwack, the second fastest growing metropolitan city in Canada", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."This signing signifies our first location of Heal in British Columbia and is a milestone for Happy Belly as we leverage our previous franchising experience to accelerate the growth of our brands. As our stable of emerging QSR brands continues to grow, so does our ability to secure prime real estate locations across Canada. The city of Chilliwack continues to rapidly grow at an impressive double-digit rate and will expand Heal's customer reach in a heavily populated and demographical aligned area to the brand, giving us tremendous opportunity in-store, as well as delivery.""With an anticipated Q2 2024 opening, we are just getting started to increase our footprint on the west coast. This is just one location out of fifty units committed through our area development program out west and we anticipate a significant number of openings in 2024 across Canada.""We look forward to continuing to execute on our franchising model as we accelerate our growth organically and inorganically through accretive M&A. The rapid expansion of the Heal Wellness brand is a prime example of our ability to execute. As free cash flow increases from the brand, we anticipate accelerating our corporate store development schedule with supplemental growth coming from our franchise program. We are just getting started."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 16, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce the signing of an area development agreement for the province of Ontario for the opening of 30 franchised restaurants of Rosie's Burgers ("Rosie's"), a boutique QSR restaurant brand serving original recipe smash burgers, poutine, onion rings, milkshakes and more.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 15, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that due to continued franchising demand and steady organic growth of our brand portfolio we have brought on a Senor Vice President of Finance to oversee our growth verticals."Happy Belly is once again at an inflection point of growth. We are experiencing steady and ahead of schedule signing of franchise agreements across our portfolio of brands, complimented with steady organic growth within our corporate locations. We pride ourselves on running a lean team of expert individuals in our management ranks, and we are thrilled to welcome Gary Fung to the Happy Belly family as his skill sets and personality are a perfect match for where we currently are in our growth stage as a company, and where we will be very shortly," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly.Gary Fung comes from a very successful career at Tim Hortons spanning 15 years where he held multiple progressive leadership positions. Most recently as Head of Development Finance and Analytics overseeing:

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 14, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has closed on the acquisition of Smash Burger Brand Rosie's Burgers.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 13, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a franchisee for a St. Catharines location for its Heal Wellness brand, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, smoothies, and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 27, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed as of October 26th, 2023, a definitive franchise acquisition agreement to acquire smash burger brand Rosie's Burgers ("Rosies"), a boutique QSR restaurant brand serving original recipe smash burgers, poutine, onion rings, milkshakes and more."We are very pleased to welcome Rosie's Burgers to our portfolio of emerging brands. The burger category is one that our team has deep knowledge in as we previously helped build The Burgers Priest into a leading brand in Canada. With the signing of this definitive agreement for an asset-light franchising model, we look forward to working with Rosie's founders and their team as we focus on an accelerated franchise development model and real estate growth plan for across Canada," Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 26, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 24, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 18, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a new client for an accelerated growth strategy through its Next Level Partners division.A recent quick serve restaurant ("QSR") and cafe acquisition made by a public company in British Columbia is Next Level Partners newest client. The public company is a family of brands that empowers food and beverage entrepreneurs to scale and gain exposure by offering ghost kitchen facilities, commercial equipment, and support through their network of retail spaces, commissary kitchens and restaurants. We are pleased that this engagement has brought forward an opportunity for Next Level Partners to help with not only the integration of their newest brand acquisition, but to work hand in hand with its management team to develop an accelerated growth strategy to accompany the acquisition. "I was introduced to this public company and their CEO by one of Happy Belly's largest shareholders. I was really impressed with the management team and the recent acquisition they made, especially considering it was for one of BC's most beloved and well-known local brands. Those discussions then led Shawn and I to visit one of their storefronts in Vancouver for a belly check as well as the opportunity to meet their COO. Their management team was looking to accelerate the growth of their newly acquired regional brand and transform it into a nationally recognized brand. It was a perfect fit for our Next Level Partners program so when the opportunity presented itself it made a lot of sense for both companies to work together on a brand acceleration strategy," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly.This is another important step forward for Happy Belly. As we continue to develop and grow our brands organically, we also accelerate our ability to becoming cash flow positive in 2024 through the continued growth of our Next Level Partners division.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement for Lettuce Love Café, a wholly owned subsidiary of Happy Belly serving delicious gluten-free meals, plant-based bowls, sandwiches and wraps."It is amazing to see what has been accomplished by our team in less than one year since acquiring Lettuce Love Café, a very undervalued brand within the Happy Belly portfolio. Since acquisition Happy Belly has optimized operations and has seen four (4) consecutive quarters of profitability within the Lettuce Love brand. Once consistently delivering profitability, we leveraged our network and signed a 20-unit franchise area development agreement for Ontario and are now pleased to announce a six (6) franchise unit transaction that will see Lettuce Love Café grow in several locations around the GTA; all before our one year anniversary since acquisition," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 3, 2023) -  Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a multi-unit franchise agreement for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowl, acai bowls, smoothies and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 13, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed a franchisee for PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill, a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) of Oakville, Ontario.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 8, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has signed its first franchisee and secured another real estate location for Heal Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, smoothies, and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 25, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce its financial results and corporate update for the three months ended June 30th, 2023.Financial Highlights

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 31, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that its CPG vertical comprising of LumberHeads Popcorn and HolyCrap Cereals and Oatmeal's both received record purchase orders in the month of July while expanding distribution and increased retail footprint servicing more retail locations.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 24, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that the non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of unsecured convertible debentures (the "Debentures") previously announced on February 24th, 2023 was oversubscribed and led to the announcement of a second offering on June 29th, 2023, which has now closed, raising gross proceeds of $645,000.00 CDN.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that on July 18th, 2023 it has signed an area development agreement for the province of British Columbia for the opening of 30 franchise restaurants of HEAL Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, smoothies, and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant."Todays announcement furthers our presence in Western Canada through our nation-wide franchising program, launching our second brand for franchising in British Columbia. A key element of our real estate growth strategy is having multiple brands available to franchise within a single territory. By using our existing Area Developer for British Columbia Stephen Travers to quarterback multiple brands within their territory, we realize the dividends of potential combination stores, increased synergies on location availability, and the optionality to place multiple brands in key high-traffic customer locations", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 18, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that on July 17th, 2023 it has signed an area development agreement for the province of British Columbia for the opening of 20 franchise restaurants of PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill, a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and its delicious traditional foods."Todays announcement marks Happy Belly's entry into its third (3rd) province where it holds area development agreements in place as we continue to rapidly develop our brands, real estate footprint, and nation-wide franchising program. We have 80 units in development for PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill across British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario, showing our brand partners and shareholders just how serious we are about accelerating our growth," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "Our accelerated franchise development model and real estate growth plan is establishing PIRHO as a National brand with a lot more opportunity still to grow within Canada as we also keep a close eye to territory south of the border for future expansion. Since the start of 2023 we have built a pipeline of a combined 130 QSR units across our brand portfolio in just three (3) provinces that are in franchising development. There is still significant open ice for Happy Belly to grow and expand into, and we are aggressively pursuing these opportunities."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 7, 2023) -  Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has entered the Caribbean fast casual sector with the launch of its 100% wholly owned subsidiary brand, Joey Turks Island Grill."Establishing our presence in the fast casual Caribbean sector with island inspired food in Canada is a strategic step forward for Happy Belly as we look to have first mover advantage and build a national chain", said Sean Black, CIO of Happy Belly. "In this sector there is no clear market leader in Canada, and no emerging QSR or Fast Casual concept that we really wanted to acquire, so the path forward for us became clear to utilize the in-house experience we have and the capital in hand to launch our own brand. Speed to market is very important when launching a new brand so we plan to quickly execute on both a corporate and franchise store accelerated growth strategy.""This is no different than how we incubated and grew Mucho Burrito to be the market leader in Canada for fast casual Mexican when there were no other attractive options to us. With construction already underway at our first corporate store location, the launch of our own fast casual brand in this sector will add to our portfolio as we plan to open our first store in Q3.""We see this as the first of many opportunities in sectors that have open ice for us. With the cost of capital being high, our M&A strategy remains laser focused on creating value for our shareholders. We refuse to overpay for M&A deals when we have the experience, the capital, and the access to real estate to create our own brands. During my time at MTY [TSX:MTY], I was able to see how the company benefited from creating several of their early brands in-house. We see no reason to not repeat the same blueprint of success with Happy Belly.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 29, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has completed construction and opened a new corporate location for its Heal Wellness brand in Mississauga's neighborhood of Port Credit, Ontario, ahead of schedule."In less than five weeks since we started construction our Heal Wellness team has opened a net new corporate location. This new store location is Heal's fourth (4th) net new store location since being acquired just over one year ago. With six (6) corporate stores now open we have accelerated Heals corporate development, averaging a new corporate store opening each quarter. This demonstrates our team's ability to help our brands accelerate their speed to market," said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Happy Belly. "Furthermore, the new location will replicate the successful integration and leveraging of shared resources that is currently being utilized across our entire brand portfolio, including our Next Level Partners division.""We would like to thank our team for once again opening another corporate location so quickly with very low capital requirements. This new location expands HEAL's customer reach in an area that is heavily populated and is demographical aligned to the brand, giving us tremendous opportunity in-store, as well as delivery. Having a stable of emerging QSR growth brands is what allows Happy Belly to quickly leverage real estate opportunities like this recent project to accelerate our disciplined organic growth. We look forward to continuing to execute on our model as we accelerate our growth organically and inorganically through accretive M&A. The rapid expansion of the Heal Wellness brand is a prime example of our ability to execute. As free cash flow increases from the brand, we anticipate accelerating our corporate store development schedule with supplemental growth coming from our franchise program which is in full swing and developing as per our growth timelines.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 28, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has signed its first client to its advisory arm that specializes in the development and growth of early-stage companies needing strategic and operational guidance to scale their businesses. Clients of our Next Level Partners program provide predictable contract revenue for Happy Belly, an important step forward on our path to profitability.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 26, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce its financial results and corporate update for the three months ended March 31st, 2023.Financial Highlights

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 19, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has closed its franchise acquisition agreement with PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill ("PIRHO"), a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and its delicious traditional foods."Closing this transaction is another step forward for Happy Belly and Pirho Fresh Greek Grill. Our attention and focus now turns to accelerating the brands growth through our franchise model across Canada with 60 stores already committed through Area Development agreements recently signed in Ontario and Alberta. The plan is in motion to establish PIRHO as a category leader for fast casual Greek food in Canada just like Cava Grill in the United States", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "By using our existing team and road map for accelerated growth, we are building a first mover advantage for Pirho just like we did Mucho Burrito which was the first national fast casual Mexican brand in Canada when we owned it. We look forward to working with George Plagakis, founder of PIRHO as we focus on getting restaurants open as well as significantly growing our franchise pipeline beyond the initial 60 stores already signed.""My team is already hard at work cultivating new franchisee's for PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill as we build this brand into what I believe is going to be a category leader in the Greek fast casual QSR space. Both family and friends repeatedly tell me when eating at PIRHO that the food is excellent, the service is friendly, and from a customer perspective they would love to see this chain nationwide. Working shoulder to shoulder with the experienced management team at Happy Belly in fast casual, I look forward to accelerating this brands growth with 60 additional franchise locations in Ontario and Alberta very soon", said Scott Grandin, Area Developer.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 16, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has launched an advisory arm of Happy Belly Group that will specialize in the development and growth of early-stage restaurant and CPG companies that need strategic, operational and financial guidance to grow and scale their businesses. The Next Level Partners division will focus on Strategy, Growth Acceleration, Operational Efficiency, Capital Allocation and M&A Readiness for brands that need support and guidance to get their brand to the next level. We specialize our services to offer brands the guidance they need in order to help achieve their goals. The name of our division speaks to exactly how we will operate, as true partners. Through growth modeling and operational excellence, our services will guide founders to focus on operational improvement to accelerate revenue and reduce costs. Services will hone in on the brands key business drivers to help shape management's objectives, goals and strategies. We guide and support management to set the foundation for growth.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 12, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce it has completed construction and opened a new corporate location for its Heal Wellness brand in the heart of downtown Milton."In less than five weeks since we announced the signing of our Milton location our partners at Heal Wellness have constructed and opened a net new corporate location. This demonstrates our team's ability to help our brands accelerate their speed to market" said Sean Black, CIO of Happy Belly. "This is the third new corporate location opened since Heal Wellness was acquired, its fifth location in total, and we anticipate more net new openings on the way in 2023. Furthermore, the new location will replicate the successful integration and leveraging of shared resources that is currently being utilized across our brand portfolio.""We would like to thank our team for once again opening another corporate location so quickly with very low capital requirements. This new location expands HEAL's customer reach in an area that is heavily populated and is demographical aligned to the brand, giving us tremendous opportunity in-store, as well as delivery. Having a stable of emerging QSR growth brands is what will allow Happy Belly to quickly leverage real estate opportunities like this recent project to accelerate our disciplined organic growth. We look forward to continuing to execute on our model as we accelerate our growth organically and inorganically through accretive M&A. The rapid expansion of the Heal Wellness brand is a prime example of our ability to execute."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 5, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that HEAL Wellness has signed for and begun construction plans to open a 6th corporate location located in Mississauga's neighborhood of Port Credit, Ontario."This new store location is HEAL'S fourth (4th) net new store location since being acquired one year ago, demonstrating an ability to quickly integrate into existing infrastructure provided by Happy Belly to maximize operational efficiency and accelerated speed to market ability for real estate. Furthermore, the new location will replicate the successful integration and leveraging of shared resources that is currently being utilized across our brand portfolio," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 28, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that on April 28th, 2023 it has signed an area development agreement for the province of Alberta for the opening of 30 franchise restaurants of HEAL Wellness, a fresh smoothie bowls, acai bowls, smoothies, and delicious breakfast waffles quick serve restaurant.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 20, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce its financial results and corporate update for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2022.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 14, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that in discussions with Healthy Planet, Holy Crap Oatmeal is to be available in 24 retail locations of Healthy Planet with estimated initial deliver of product by Q3 of this year."On the heels of our KOA Natural Foods acquisition news we are continuing to expand and drive organic growth within our CPG vertical with new retail and distribution wins. With the recent discussions of Healthy Planet taking in four of our Holy Crap Oatmeal SKUs we will be reaching a new demographic of customer while expanding our footprint in overall retail locations for our products", said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Happy Belly Food Group. "It's been an incredible start to the new year as we continue to see the results of being a sales-driven organization. We are confident that we will continue to grow distribution of not only our Holy Crap line of Oatmeal and Superseeds, but with our other CPG products such as LumberHeads Sweet and Salty and Sea Salt popcorn SKUs as the year unfolds while continuing to drive business results and creating incremental shareholder value."

VANCOUVER, BC, April 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Trading resumes in:

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 10, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that on April 6th it has signed a non-arms length binding LOI for the acquisition of 50% of KOA Natural Foods, a hand-crafted snack manufacturer based out of Ontario.

VANCOUVER, BC, April 10, 2023 /CNW/ - The following issues have been halted by IIROC:

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 4, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that Heal Wellness has begun construction to open another corporate location located in downtown Milton."This new store location comes just five (5) months after Heal Wellness opened a corporate store in downtown Burlington, and makes its third (3rd) net new in construction/operations since being acquired 10 months prior, demonstrating an ability to quickly integrate into existing infrastructure provided by Happy Belly to maximize operational efficiency and accelerated speed to market ability for real estate. Furthermore, the new location will replicate the successful integration and leveraging of shared resources that is currently being utilized across our brand portfolio," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 3, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that the non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of unsecured convertible debentures (the "Debentures") previously announced on February 24th, 2023 was oversubscribed and the first tranche has been closed and was subscribed to by one strategic investor, raising gross proceeds of $1,000,000.00 CDN. Due to investor interest the financing was oversubscribed and a second tranche under the same terms and conditions is expected to close shortly. "I would very much like to thank this existing shareholder for his continued support of our long-term strategic plan to build the leading consolidator of emerging brands in Canada. We look forward to immediately applying this acceleration capital towards disciplined organic & inorganic growth", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "Due to the positive response from other existing shareholders and investors this round of financing was oversubscribed so we are extending our debenture with a second tranche offering that will close shortly. This is our second consecutive oversubscribed above-market convertible debenture for Happy Belly. This further demonstrates the market support for our management team, growth plan, and execution to date".No broker fees, warrants, or finders' fees were paid in the closing of this financing. Debenture Details

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 31, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that on March 30th, 2023 it has signed an area development agreement for the province of Alberta for the opening of 30 franchise restaurants of PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill, a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and its delicious traditional foods."Todays announcement establishes PIRHO as the leading national brand for Fast Casual Greek cuisine. By using our existing team and road map for accelerated growth, we are building PIRHO with a first mover advantage just like we did Mucho Burrito," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly."Putting the band back together is a critical step for us to achieve our goals. Speed to market is crucial when scaling a growth brand, and we plan to leverage our platform across our portfolio of emerging brands to help us achieve this. Scott Grandin and his team on the ground in Alberta have the experience in developing brands quickly so the opportunity to combine teams makes perfect sense. Happy Belly is quickly becoming a national franchisor of brands. With 60 units for PIRHO Fresh Greek Grill in development, and 80 units combined across our brands, we are showing our brand partners and shareholders just how serious we are about accelerated growth in an asset light franchise model, meanwhile keeping in mind I have only been at this full time for 10 months so we are just getting started."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 23, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that on March 22nd, 2023 it has signed an area development agreement for the province of Ontario for the opening of 30 franchise restaurants of PIRHO Food Grill, a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and its delicious traditional foods."We are very pleased to announce this area development agreement today for PIRHO. Ontario is the home market for this brand, so accelerating growth locally with 30 additional franchise locations was a key first step for George and his team at PIRHO to be the leader in Canada" said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "This makes 50 units total that are currently signed with area development agreements for Happy Belly brands since announcing our expansion into the asset light franchise model earlier this month. This agreement commences the start of our accelerated franchise development model and real estate growth plan for PIRHO Grill which we plan to leverage across our portfolio of emerging brands.""We have been watching the sector closely and believe there is significant opportunity in the Greek fast casual space both here in Canada and the US. We jumped into the fresh Mexican category early and launched Mucho Burrito when Chipotle had less than 100 locations in the US. Today Pirho is accelerating growth in Canada and has early mover advantage while the market leader for fresh Mediterranean Cava Grill only has approximately 250 locations in the US, so it is early days and we are making our move to be a leader in Canada for fast casual Greek.""The opportunities continue with Happy Belly and I am very excited to work with Sean Black and his team again to grow the PIRHO Food Grill brand into what I believe is going to be a category leader in the Greek fast casual QSR space. I have eaten at PIRHO many times and each time I leave with a conviction that this concept combined with the experience of the management team at Happy Belly in fast casual has real legs in the franchising world. I look forward to helping build this brand with 30 additional franchise locations here in Ontario very soon", said Scott Grandin.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 17, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive franchise acquisition agreement with PIRHO Food Grill ("PIRHO"), a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and the Mediterranean."We are very pleased to welcome PIRHO Food Grill into our portfolio of emerging brands. After announcing our entry into franchising with Lettuce Love, our plant-based QSR on March 9th, we are excited to add PIRHO Food Grill to our franchising operations with their fast casual Greek offering", said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "With the signing of this definitive agreement for an asset-light franchising model, we look forward to working with George Plagakis, founder of PIRHO Grill, and his team as we focus on a accelerated franchise development model and real estate growth plan for PIRHO Grill that is already in motion"."Ever since we grew our previous brands such as Extreme Pita, Mucho Burrito, Burger's Priest and Fresh to over 300 franchised and corporate locations we have been looking for our next thoroughbred in fast casual. I can confidently say that not only have we found that next thoroughbred, but that we feel we have the chance to create a real category leader in North America with PIRHO Grill. The asset-light franchise model that we are implementing is one that I have worked with previously at Extreme Brandz and MTY Food Group (TSX: MTY). It yielded great success for us and will continue to be a big part of the future growth plans here for Happy Belly."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - March 9, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce the signing of an area development agreement for the province of Ontario for the opening of 20 franchised restaurants of Lettuce Love Café, a wholly owned subsidiary of Happy Belly Food Group.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 24, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has signed a lead order for a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of unsecured convertible debentures (the "Debentures") for total gross proceeds of $1,000,000 CDN received from a strategic investor. "I would very much like to thank this existing shareholder for his dedication to Happy Belly and his continued support as we execute on our growth strategy focused on building a stable of emerging brands," said Sean Black, Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly. "Receiving this kind of support and confidence in our plan as a company allows us to accelerate both our organic and inorganic growth in 2023. We look forward to further strengthening our relationship with this strategic investor to support future accretive M&A opportunities as they present themselves.""This is our second consecutive above-market convertible debenture for Happy Belly. This demonstrates the market support for this management team despite the current challenging times for many companies attempting to raise capital. With the support and confidence of shareholders alike, we will continue to deliver shareholder value as we grow Happy Belly."Debenture Details

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 3, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that in the month of January it has expanded distribution of its Holy Crap Cereal and Oatmeal SKUs through various in-store retailers and an online B2B wholesale platform serving Canadian and US retail markets.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 20, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that Federated Co-op has listed and taken delivery of 2 additional SKUs from our Oatmeal product line. Our Mango Coconut and Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal SKUs are now available at 90 Federated Co-op retail locations. This is in addition to our news release on October 24th, 2022 announcing the expansion of distribution of our Natural Superseed Cereal SKU, also at Federated Co-op."The introduction of our Oatmeal line into the Federated Co-op family of 90 retail store locations further accelerates the retail adoption of our Oatmeal line. Our team's dedication and focus on expanding our retail distribution with existing retail relationships generates yet another win for our brands. These wins drive organic growth and continue to increase our monthly sales," said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Happy Belly Food Group. "We continue to execute and deliver on our sales-oriented strategy across our brand portfolio. It is through these efforts that we see a natural expansion of relationships with retailers and distributors. Feedback from retailers adding distribution of our product lines for Holy Crap Oatmeal continues to be extremely positive. In the last 4 months we have listed our products in close to 260 net new retail locations. In addition to these net new retail locations, we have also organically increased SKU listings of additional Holy Crap products within existing retail locations. Our national sales team will continue to expand the availability of our great tasting and organic line of products. As consumers continue to purchase our products, our growth and sales continues to accelerate."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - January 6, 2023) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has completed construction and opened a new corporate location for its Lettuce Love brand in the heart of little Italy in downtown Toronto.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 30, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that its LumberHeads snack brand has expanded its product line with the addition of our Sea Salt flavour that has reached the shelves of its retail partners. "We are pleased to announce continued organic growth with our LumberHeads snack brand, and the additional listing of a second product SKU at Sobeys locations, particularly in our brands hometown of Milton, Ontario," said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Happy Belly Food Group. "We continue to scale and operationalize our brands through our shared services model to accelerate product development, market growth, and product launches. In the short time since our acquisition of LumberHeads we have organically grown the brand from four (4) retail locations to over seventy (70) throughout southern Ontario as we continue to expand our distribution points monthly. We anticipate continued accelerated sales growth, product development (additional flavours) and continued adoption in our retail distribution network(s) throughout 2023. We will continue to drive additional market share, product adoption, and sales revenue as we grow our LumberHeads snack brand."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 23, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has appointed Sean Black, current Chief Investment Officer of Happy Belly, and former Chief Development Officer of MTY, to the board of directors. "As a natural evolution of Happy Belly's growth, we are pleased to welcome Sean Black to the board of directors. Ever since joining us full time earlier this year Mr. Black has been invaluable to our team in shaping our growth strategy, building our M&A framework, and evolving our brand development and franchise models. He has been key in laying the groundwork for the future development of our company. He is a perfect fit for the expanded responsibilities of becoming a member of the board," said Shawn Moniz, Chief Executive Officer of Happy Belly. "On behalf of the board we welcome Mr. Black."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - December 12, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a leading consolidator of emerging food brands is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding acquisition agreement for Lady Glaze, a Gourmet Doughnut and Dessert business with five (5) existing locations and a 3,000 square foot manufacturing facility.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - le 8 décembre/December 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. 14DEC2022 Warrants listed on April 21, 2021 will expire on December 14, 2022.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 25, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce its popcorn CPG brand, LumberHeads, is now being distributed by Sheldon Creek Dairy, an Ontario-based business servicing over 400 retail locations through its food distribution network. An initial order for LumberHeads popcorn has already been delivered for a select number of stores, making LumberHeads popcorn available in retail locations across Sheldon Creek Dairy's food distribution network.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 22, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce its financial results and corporate update for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 18, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce that it has signed a binding letter of intent to partner in the franchising operations of Pirho Grill, a gourmet bowls, wraps, and pitas fast casual Greek restaurant with the fresh wholesome tastes of Greece and the Mediterranean.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - November 17, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce it has completed construction and opened a new corporate location for its Heal Wellness brand in the heart of Burlington's Central Business District, located in downtown Burlington.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 24, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce that its Natural Holy Crap Cereal SKU has gained 90 additional retail store locations. Federated Co-op already distributes Holy Crap Cereals; and has decided to expand its listings with the addition of our most popular flavour.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 14, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce that Heal Wellness, a portfolio brand, has solidified plans to open another corporate location next Happy Belly's most recent acquisition of Lettuce Love in Burlington, Ontario, replacing Pure Love Smoothie Bar. The new store location comes just 4 months after Heal Wellness opened a corporate store in Toronto, demonstrating an ability to quickly integrate into existing infrastructure provided by Happy Belly to maximize efficiently, speed to market, and cost-effective use of physical assets. Furthermore, the new location will replicate the successful integration and leveraging of shared resources that is currently being utilized between Heal Wellness and their shared co-location space with Yamchops in downtown Toronto. "Shareholders can start to see a repeatable pattern emerging with our ability to organically grow our brands. We share and leverage infrastructure across the portfolio while enabling access to our shared resource pool that provides access to SMEs not readily or normally available to brands during their growth phase," said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Happy Belly Food Group. "Our approach has always been to specialize in the development and growth of emerging consumer brands in the food sector. The rapid expansion of the Heal Wellness brand is a prime example of our approach reflected in our execution."The new location anticipates operations to commence with a grand opening in November. Heal Wellness was an accretive acquisition by Happy Belly Food Group, and it is anticipated that the new store location will continue to drive both the top line and bottom line of the company. About Heal Wellness"Heal Wellness was created out of a passion and mission to serve quick, fresh wellness foods that power and support a busy, active lifestyle. Currently, we are pleased to offer a wide variety of smoothie bowls, smoothies, and delicious breakfast waffles. We are proud to highlight that every superfood ingredient in the Heal Wellness menu is carefully selected with the intention of fueling the body with a reduced ecological footprint," said Jesse Davidson, Co-founder of Heal Wellness.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 13, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce that it has closed on its immediately accretive and non-dilutive acquisition of Lettuce Love Café, a Quick Serve Restaurant (QSR).

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 3, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce that its healthy and delicious breakfast cereal Holy Crap, is to be carried by 69 Metro locations across Ontario before the end of October.

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 23, 2022) - Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (CSE: HBFG) (OTCQB: VGANF) ("Happy Belly" or the "Company"), a Quick Serve Restaurant ("QSR") and Consumer Packaged Goods ("CPG") wellness company bringing delicious foods and retail brands to customers, is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive acquisition agreement with Lettuce Love Café ("Lettuce Love"), a QSR serving delicious Gluten-free Meals and Smoothies."Signing our definitive agreement for this accretive acquisition is another step forward for Happy Belly. We are delivering on a repeated pattern of growth through acquisitions of profitable QSRs, increasing our footprint and geographical customer reach with our brick-and-mortar locations, while growing of menu and customer product offerings," said Shawn Moniz, CEO of Happy Belly Food Group. "Once closed, we will have QSR locations of our brands in Toronto, Burlington, Hamilton, and Guelph. The Company anticipates immediate organic growth upon closing as the acquisition of Lettuce Love is immediately accretive and non-dilutive to shareholders with no immediate out-of-pocket funding requirements."

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - Le 29 août/August 2022) - Plant & Co. Brands Ltd. (VEGN, VEGN.WT) has announced a name and symbol change to Happy Belly Food Group Inc. (HBFG, HBFG.WT).