SunOpta Announces Further Details on New “Mega” Plant-Based Beverage Facility in Midlothian TX

MINNEAPOLIS – (BUSINESS WIRE) – SunOpta Inc. (“SunOpta” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: STKL) (TSX: SOY), a leading healthy food and beverage company focused on plant-based foods and beverages and fruit-based foods and beverages, announced today Details announced of its new plant-based beverage facility in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area.

The new manufacturing facility in Midlothian, Texas will initially be 285,000 square feet and expand to 400,000 square feet. Once fully expanded, the new facility will be the largest facility in the SunOpta network for plant-based foods and beverages. This new facility, which is expected to be operational in late 2022, will bring the community up to 185 new high-paying jobs in production and management. The City of Midlothian and Ellis Counties have approved a package of incentives, including a grant to be awarded by Midlothian Economic Development upon completion of the facility and operations, and an eight-year tax break totaling approximately $ 7.5 million. The location of the new facility in the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area will also support SunOpta’s sustainability goals and significantly reduce emissions through less use of transport.

The facility is operated under a 15-year lease, which was concluded on August 13, 2021 with the usual extension options. The cost of expanding the facility is expected to be funded primarily through leasing, with the manufacturing facilities expected to be funded primarily from SunOpta’s existing delayed draw loan granted in December 2020.

“We are focused on doubling our plant-based business over the next five years, and this new facility will add capacity and new capabilities to meet our long-term growth goal. This new facility will provide our customers with additional capacity to accelerate growth and help reduce their costs and ours. This enhanced presence will further expand our manufacturing and supply chain advantages to support growth across our business, including oat milk. The city of Midlothian is the perfect choice for us with a business-friendly local government, skilled workforce and a vibrant local community. In combination with our plants in California, Minnesota and Pennsylvania, the Texas location forms a competitive, “diamond-shaped” national network. As a sustainable food company, we are pleased to announce that this new facility is estimated to eliminate more than 15 million freight miles from our supply chain annually, ”said Joe Ennen, Chief Executive Officer.

About SunOpta Inc.

SunOpta Inc. is a leading company that specializes in the sourcing, processing, and production of organic, natural, and GMO-free plant and fruit-based food and beverage products.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws, based on information available to us as of the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, our expectation that the new facility will be operational in late 2022, our expected sources of funding for the facility, our estimate that the new facility will eliminate 15 million freight miles annually from our chain and advance our sustainability goals, and our expectation that recent investments will continue to support strong growth in our Plant-Based Food and Beverage operating segment. In general, forward-looking statements do not relate exclusively to historical or current facts and are usually accompanied by words such as “continue”, “expect”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”. , “Goal”, “should”, “would”, “plans”, “will”, “intend”, “confident”, “can”, “project”, “potential”, “intention”, “could”, ” forecast, “” budget, “” forecast, “or other similar terms and expressions intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on information available to the company as of the date of this publication and are based on estimates and assumptions made by the company in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, including, but not limited to, those actual financial results of the company; uninterrupted operation and service level for our customers during COVID-19; current customer demand for the company’s products and the additional expected demand due to COVID-19; general economic conditions; continued consumer interest in health and wellness; the company’s ability to maintain product price levels; Planned plant and business expansions, closings and disposals; Cost rationalization and product development initiatives; alternative uses for the company’s capital resources; Portfolio optimization and productivity efforts; the sustainability of the company’s sales pipeline; the company’s expectations for commodity prices, margins and hedging results; improved availability and field prices for fruit; Procurement and logistics savings; Freight lane cost reductions; Yield and throughput improvements; and labor cost reductions. Whether the actual timing and results will match the company’s expectations and predictions is subject to many risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, potential losses to suppliers and customers, and supply chain, logistics and other disruptions due to or related to COVID – 19; unexpected problems or delays in the company’s structural improvements and automation investments; Failure or inability to timely implement portfolio changes, process improvements, go-to-market improvements and process sustainability strategies; Changes in the level of investment; local and global political and economic conditions; Patterns of consumer spending and changes in market trends; Decrease in customer demand; delayed or unsuccessful product development efforts; potential product recalls; Working capital management; Availability and pricing of raw materials and consumables; potential breaches of contract under the Company’s credit facilities; and other risks described from time to time under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q (available at www.sec.gov). As a result, all forward-looking statements made herein are limited by these cautionary statements, and no assurance can be given that actual results or developments expected by the company will be realized. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly correct or update the forward-looking statements in this document, in other documents or on its website to reflect future events or circumstances, except as required by applicable securities laws.

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