Business Expansion

Jersey City – October 29, 2026 -- Oishii, operator of what it calls the world's largest indoor vertical Smart Farm, will reach more than 500 U.S. retail locations across 25 states by the end of 2026, more than doubling its points of distribution, after adding Walmart, The Fresh Market and Giant Food as first-time retail partners.

Four chains add more than 220 stores in the Q4 rollout

Walmart will carry Oishii strawberries in 78 stores across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Fresh Market adds 84 stores across the Southeast, including first-time entry into North Carolina, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Giant Food brings 30 stores in Maryland and Virginia.

Existing partner Sprouts Farmers Market adds 34 stores in Florida and Georgia. Oishii has grown its Sprouts presence from 20 to 65 locations, a 225% increase, since its initial Northeast launch.

Lincoln – October 19, 2026 -- Ameritas is expanding advisor recruiting and business development through Ameritas Investment Company (AIC) and Ameritas Advisory Services (AAS), which together support more than 550 financial professionals and oversee $22.2 billion in customer assets.

AIC and AAS manage $13.7 billion in assets under management

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the two units held $13.7 billion in assets under management alongside the $22.2 billion in total customer assets. Financial Planning's IBD Elite 2026 survey ranked both firms among the nation's top 20 independent broker-dealers in wealth management by annual revenue.

Stockholm – October 19, 2026 -- Arelion has provisioned multi-terabit capacity on its Helsinki–Warsaw route and onboarded several new enterprise and wholesale customers, one year after launching its fully diverse Baltic corridor in October 2025.

Demand rises across financial services, cloud and hosting

Since the October 2025 launch, demand has accelerated across financial services, cloud, hosting and digital platforms, according to Arelion. The carrier has deployed several new high-capacity services across the Baltic region, including wavelengths, Ethernet and IP Transit. It attributes the rising performance requirements to AI and cloud workloads.

Atlanta – October 15, 2026 -- Slutty Vegan has converted its Fulton Street restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, into its first operating franchised location, handing ownership to Destiny Correa, the general manager who ran the site for nearly five years.

Founder gifts the store and waives two fees

Founder and CEO Pinky Cole Hayes gifted Correa the store outright. Slutty Vegan also waived both the initial franchise fee and the recurring marketing fee that new franchise partners typically pay. The brand cited Correa's years-long commitment as the reason.

Correa helped build Fulton Street into one of the brand's flagship restaurants. The location now operates under her ownership.

"I walked into this store five years ago as a manager, and now I'm walking back in as the owner," Correa said.

Garland, Texas – October 15, 2026 -- Massimo Group (NASDAQ: MAMO) is developing a retail program to widen sales of its powersports products across Ace Hardware, a network of more than 5,000 U.S. stores, and has submitted a dedicated 2026 holiday program for Black Friday and Christmas.

The company has historically sold through a number of independently operated Ace locations. It is now building programs that can be offered to Ace retailers on a wider basis.

Massimo submits holiday program for participating Ace stores

The holiday program would supply participating stores with select Massimo products for the Black Friday and Christmas selling periods. It is being structured around inventory availability, retail pricing, merchandising and logistics.

No purchase commitments or minimum store participation levels have been established. Retailer participation remains subject to applicable approvals and ordering decisions.

Newport Beach – October 14, 2026 -- Pilates Addiction has sold more than 350 licenses across 27 states, with 40 studios open in 12 states and another 75 scheduled to launch through early 2027.

Franchisor shifts from license sales to studio openings

The brand is entering its largest wave of openings to date, just over a year into its national expansion. It is moving from rapid franchise sales to opening studios at scale, supported by systems that guide owners through real estate, training, pre-opening marketing and launch.

New locations are planned across Texas, California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia. Target markets include Dallas, Austin, San Francisco, Denver and Las Vegas.

CEO Sarah Luna said the 350-license milestone matters less than the next phase, adding that "this fall will set the pace for what's ahead."

Hallandale Beach – October 13, 2026 -- NextPlat Corp (NASDAQ: NXPL) has opened a new PharmcoRx community pharmacy in Jacksonville, extending its Florida pharmacy network, which currently stands at six retail locations, into the northern part of the state.

New pharmacy sits across from HCA Florida Memorial Hospital

The store is located at 3604 University Blvd South, Suite 102, directly opposite HCA Florida Memorial Hospital. Several specialty medical practices and healthcare providers operate nearby, and the site serves major southside Jacksonville business and residential areas.

Dallas – – October 13, 2026 -- Southwest Fitness Holdings LLC is investing $5 million in Crunch Garland, its 15th Crunch Fitness location in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with a soft opening set for Thursday, October 15 at 5:00 a.m.

The 34,589-square-foot club at 825 West Centerville Road is a ground-up build in Crunch's 3.0 club format. Southwest Fitness Holdings is a subsidiary of franchise group CR Fitness Holdings. The company expects the site to create more than 70 local jobs across personal training, group fitness, sales, operations, member services and club leadership.

Cairo – October 06, 2026 -- Dwight School Cairo opened its doors on September 14, enrolling its first cohort of students for the 2026-27 academic year at Cairo Festival City, Egypt, under a strategic partnership between Al-Futtaim Education Foundation and the Dwight-Franklin School Group.

School inaugurated September 21 by Al-Futtaim and Dwight leadership

Omar Al Futtaim, Vice Chairman and CEO of Al-Futtaim Group, and Dr. Blake Spahn, Vice Chancellor of the Dwight-Franklin School Group, led the official inauguration ceremony on September 21. Mira Al Futtaim, Chief Future Education Officer at Al-Futtaim Education Foundation and Chairwoman of Emiratisation at Al-Futtaim Group, joined the event alongside school leadership, educators and founding families.

Woodinville, Wash. – – October 06, 2026 -- The Harvest Yard, a 100,000-square-foot mixed-use development in Woodinville, Washington, has reached nearly 90% lease occupancy as its first tenants open to the public, with premium workspace operator Kiln signing a 22,045-square-foot lease for a location opening in Fall 2027.

Kiln expands footprint with 22,045-square-foot Woodinville location

Kiln, which operates more than 25 locations open or under development across the Western U.S., cited the site's proximity to Eastside aerospace, hardware manufacturing and tech startup clusters as a key driver for the lease. The space will include private offices, team studios, shared workspace, and meeting and event facilities. CEO and Co-Founder Arian Lewis said the company was drawn to the development's design and hospitality focus.