Eshbal Launches North American Production with Queen Street Bakery Inc.

TSXV: ESBL

VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Eshbal Functional Food Inc. (TSXV: ESBL)  ("Eshbal" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that on January 1 it has partnered with Toronto, Ontario -based Queen St Gluten Free Inc. ("Queen St Bakery."), a specialized manufacturer of gluten-free foods, to produce Eshbal's products for the North American market.

Under the agreement, Queen St. Bakery will manufacture Eshbal's gluten-free Pita Bread, with additional products from Eshbal's best-selling Israeli products expected to follow. Eshbal has Supplied proprietary production equipment in Queen St's. facility, and Eshbal's R&D team has provided product-specific know-how for ongoing production. Eshbal will supply its proprietary flour blend from its own facility on an ongoing basis, with the remaining ingredients to be sourced locally. Queen St. has successfully completed several trials runs and, subject final packaging approvals, plans to initiate commercial production in Q1, 2026.

Queen St. Bakery Inc. was founded to address a need for gluten-free baked goods that are both flavorful and offer the same or better nutritional benefit as their gluten-containing counterparts. Like Eshbal's products, Queen St's. breads, bagels and related products often elevate classic baked goods to 'superfoods'. All products are made with simple, certified gluten-free ingredients and are available on online and in retail locations across Canada and the US.

Canadian Manufacturing Advantages

The Company selected Canada for local production due to favorable sourcing conditions for gluten-free ingredients, including pulses, grains, and other foundational inputs. This drives cost and quality advantages. The products can be delivered with supply-chain efficiency enabled by Toronto's proximity to the US Northeast states. The availability of the excess backhaul capacity that typically exists from Ontario to the entire US market for food and beverage products will enable efficiency as far away as California.

Such supply chain efficiency is critical for mainstream US grocers as they typically require real-time restocking.

Synergies with NYC-Based Dare 2 Be Different Foods and Roll-Up Strategy

The Queen St. partnership is the third significant transaction completed by the Company in North America in the past six months. In November, Eshbal acquired a majority-position in NYC-based Dare 2 Be Different Foods, which expands the Company's product catalogue and provides distribution in Walmart and 300+ stores in the US Northeast. That same month, Eshbal entered into an agreement with Florida-based Active Marketing Group to provide nationwide sales and marketing support across the combined product catalogue.

The Company intends to continue its roll-up strategy of the fragmented, artisanal gluten-free and "Better for You" industry to create the level of scale and efficiency that mainstream grocers require for such products.

Tony Ayala, President of Queen St. Bakery remarked: "We're excited to partner with Eshbal to support the local production of their gluten-free Pita products. We believe these products fill a significant gap in the market. We look forward to working closely with the Eshbal team."

Avi Markus, Chief Commercial Officer of Eshbal for North America added: "This agreement represents a significant operational milestone for Eshbal as we continue to build our North American platform. Working with Queen St. Bakery enables us to localize production, align shipment schedules and ensure first-rate quality with a trusted manufacturing partner."

About Eshbal Functional Food
Eshbal Functional Food is an innovative and profitable food-tech company that focuses on the gluten-free and "Better for You" categories. Eshbal is pursuing a roll up strategy in the fragmented, artisanal gluten-free market to create a platform that delivers the scale needed by mainstream grocers. Its recent acquisition of Dare 2 be Different Foods gives the Company distribution in Walmart and 300+ other stores in Northeast USA.

To learn more, visit: Eshbal.com  

Disclaimers:
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc., nor its Regulation Servicer provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws. Words such as "expects" "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks," "estimates" and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, and are based upon management's current expectations, beliefs and projections, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain. Such expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith. However, there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs and projections will be achieved, and actual results may differ materially from what is expressed in or indicated by the forward-looking statements. Forward- looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting the Company, reference is made to the Company's reports filed from time to time at sedarplus.ca. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statements are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward- looking statements to reflect actual results, subsequent events or circumstances, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information except to the extent required by applicable securities laws. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect thereto or with respect to other forward-looking statements. References and links to websites have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release. The Company is not responsible for the contents of third-party websites.

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SOURCE Eshbal Functional Foods Inc