MTY Food Group Inc., franchisor and operator of multiple concepts of restaurants worldwide, announces an increase of 10% of its quarterly dividend payment, which increases from 15¢ per share to 16.5¢ per share. The 16.5¢ dividend will be payable on February 15, 2019 to shareholders registered in the Company's records at the end of the business day on February 4, 2019.  "We are excited to announce that we are significantly increasing our quarterly dividends.

Canada’s National Zero Waste Council and Provision Coalition applaud the formal commitment made today by eight leading Canadian companies — Kraft Heinz Canada, Loblaw Companies Ltd, Maple Leaf Foods, Metro Inc, Save-On-Foods, Sobeys Inc, Unilever Canada and Walmart Canada – to take measurable action to prevent and reduce food waste in their own operations by 50 per cent by 2025.

According to Sportscene Group Inc.’s results for the first quarter of fiscal 2019, following three years of sustained growth, the company’s strategic repositioning has been successfully completed, as its performance continues to meet expectations in terms of restaurant traffic, increased sales, higher profitability and improved financial health.  For the 13-week period ending November 25, 2018, Sportscene Group’s consolidated revenues grew by 10.

Colabor Group Inc. announced that Mr. Mario Brin’s tenure as Interim Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has ended today by mutual agreement. "We thank Mario for his support during this short interim period and wish him all the best for his next challenges. We are continuing our search to fill the position of Chief Financial Officer for Colabor and are confident that we will do so in the short term”, said Lionel Ettedgui, President and CEO of Colabor.

Iconic bagel bakery St-Viateur Bagel is set to close its Monkland Avenue location later this winter. According to the Montreal Gazette, St-Viateur was unable to renegotiate its lease with real estate company Développement Métro Montreal Corporation, the owners of the NDG building housing the St-Viateur Bagel & Café. The location, in the Monkland Village, has been open for some 18 years.

Following a year of unprecedented growth in 2018, Paramount Fine Foods has announced global-expansion plans for 2019.  The Middle-Eastern restaurant chain plans to open 16 locations by the end of the year, bringing its total number of restaurants to more than 80 worldwide. “2019 is shaping up to be one of the biggest and brightest years for Paramount. I’m so excited about the opportunity to expose the Paramount brand to new markets across Canada and the world.

La Corporation des Moines Bénédictins (Fromagerie de Saint Benoît-du-Lac) has received an investment from Agriculture and Agri-Food of over $1.6 million to purchase and install modern automation equipment in its new plant. This investment is expected to lead to lower operation costs, increased production, higher demand of milk and job creation.  Fromagerie de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac’s project was supported by the Dairy Processing Investment Fund, a $100 million, four-year (2017-21) program...

Shares of meal-kit service Blue Apron soared 28 percent Tuesday after the company said that it believes it will be profitable in 2019. The company's stock, which has a market value of $230 million, had recently been trading below $1. At one point it fell as low as 65 cents. If the stock had remained below the dollar benchmark it would have been in danger of being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange. Since its initial public offering in June 2017, the stock has dropped by 88 percent.

Foodtastic Inc. is pleased to announce that it has acquired Les Rotisseries Au Coq (Au Coq). Founded in Montreal in 1960, Au Coq specializes in delivery and carryout rotisserie style chicken. Peter Mammas, President and Chief Executive Officer of Foodtastic, said, "Au Coq is a treasured local brand and we are excited to welcome Au Coq into the Foodtastic family. We look forward to preserving Au Coq's strong heritage, while growing the brand across the region.

Amazon is planning to send free samples right to the doors of customers, raising some privacy concerns in the age of data mining and detailed digital user profiles, according to CNBC. According to CNBC, the company will send samples based on a shopper’s purchasing history. Amazon markets the feature to brands using its wide swath of user data to “put their products in the hands of the right customers.