MONTREAL — Canadian pizza maker Rustica Foods Inc. plans to build a third production facility to help launch new products and extend its market reach.

Slated to open in early 2026, the new plant is part of a C$65 million ($47 million) growth plan to modernize its facilities, automate production lines, acquire cutting-edge equipment and boost manufacturing capacity, as well as spur international expansion, Montreal-based Rustica said. Construction of the new facility is due to begin soon, according to the company.

Earlier this month, Rustica announced that Fonds de solidarité FTQ, a Canadian development capital fund created by trade union Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, and Export Development Canada (EDC), a federal export credit agency, became company shareholders via a strategic partnership to support the growth plan.

“This strategic partnership will allow us to fast-track key projects, including the launch of new innovative products and expanding our export markets,” Vincent Giove, vice president and chief strategy officer of Rustica Foods, said when the company announced plans for the third facility. “We are proud to work with partners who share our vision for sustainable growth driven by innovation.”

Last August, Rustica was awarded C$1 million in government funding through the federal agency Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED). CED said the investment will enable Rustica to acquire digital production equipment to bolster productivity, drive competitiveness and create jobs in the east end of Montreal, where the company has its headquarters in the borough of Anjou.

The expansion news comes as Rustica gets set to mark its 25th anniversary next month. Founded May 3, 2000, by Richard Morgante and his family and joined in 2011 by business partner Giove, the company makes fresh tomato pizzas, fresh topped pizzas, focaccias, par-baked pizzeria-style crusts, frozen topped pizzas and pizza sauce under the Rustica and Mia brands for the retail, wholesale, foodservice and private label food sectors.

Rustica started out producing fresh pizzas and selling them to supermarkets. Then in 2015, the company expanded its offerings with the acquisition of Mia Food Inc., a maker of Italian-style, shelf-stable, par-baked pizza crusts. Rustica added frozen pizza to its product portfolio in 2017. Most recently, in November 2024, the company launched Detroit-style frozen pan pizza, which joined a lineup that includes stuffed crust, rising crust, pizzeria-style stone-baked crust and fresh tomato pizzas plus long-shelf-life pizza crusts, all made in Canada, primarily with locally sourced ingredients. In the retail channel, Rustica’s products are sold at major supermarket, mass retail, warehouse club, drug and convenience store chains.