-- Pure Sunfarms Continues to Launch New
Products, Including Pre-Rolls in Ontario and Continues to Prepare for Launch of
First Cannabis 2.0 Products this Summer --
VANCOUVER, BC, June 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Village Farms
International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:
VFF) (TSX: VFF) today announced its majority-owned joint
venture for large-scale, low-cost, high-quality cannabis
production, Pure Sunfarms, has begun shipping branded, packaged
dried flower products to Saskatchewan following approval from the
Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (the "SLGA"), the
provincial regulator responsible for permitting and monitoring the
operation of local cannabis wholesalers and retailers in the
Province. Pure Sunfarms expects its products to be available to
Saskatchewan consumers beginning
next week.
Saskatchewan ranks as the fifth largest Canadian province
by cannabis sales, comprising approximately 6% of the country's
total sales1 and has the second highest per capita spend
on cannabis of the five largest provinces1 (behind
Alberta). Saskatchewan currently has 44 licensed
retailers and with the SLGA's announcement to move towards an open
market cannabis model by September of this year, there will be no
cap on the number of dispensaries permitted in municipalities
provincewide which is expected to give more consumers access to
product.
"Following Pure Sunfarms' success in British Columbia, Ontario, and most recently, Alberta, we are pleased to supply another key
market in Canada as we continue to
expand our footprint across the country," said Mandesh Dosanjh,
President & CEO, Pure Sunfarms. "With Saskatchewan's strong network of retailers, we
are excited to offer even more Canadians our signature strains at a
great price."
Pure Sunfarms Approved to Begin Shipments to
Manitoba
Village Farms also announced that Pure Sunfarms has been
accepted by the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation as an
official supplier of non-medical adult-use cannabis to the
Province's licensed private sector retailers and will begin
shipping branded, packaged products to Manitoba as soon as possible.
Manitoba ranks as the sixth largest Canadian province by
cannabis sales, comprising approximately 4.5% of the country's
total sales and has a higher per capita spend on cannabis than the
country average1.
"Expansion into additional provinces is one of a number of
growth drivers for Pure Sunfarms this year as it continues to
capitalize on its leading brand performance since entering the
retail branded market last September," said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village Farms. "We
expect further provincial launches in the coming months, along with
the continued introduction of new cannabis products, including the
launch of pre-rolls in Ontario
this week, and the launch of its first bottled oil and Cannabis 2.0
products this summer."
Following the imminent launch in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Pure Sunfarms' products will be
available in five of Canada's six
most populous provinces, which in aggregate represent more than 70%
of the total Canadian population. Pure Sunfarms continues to
advance discussions with other provincial distributors for
potential supply agreements to further expand its presence in the
Canadian cannabis market.
Pure Sunfarms Continues to Launch New Dried Cannabis
Products, Including First Pre-Rolls in Ontario
Pure Sunfarms' continues to launch new product offerings,
including pre-roll formats, new strains and new package sizes:
- Pre-rolled dried cannabis products (four different strains) in
Ontario;
- Pre-rolls of Afghan Kush, one of Pure Sunfarms top-selling
strains, as well as Headband, in British
Columbia;
- Two new strains, D. Bubba and high-THC Pink Kush, two
well-known British Columbia
strains, which are Pure Sunfarms' first new strains since the
launch of its initial eight strains in September 2019;
- A Hybrid 28-gram (1-ounce) large-format package in British Columbia and Alberta, and in Ontario in the coming weeks; and,
- White Rhino 7-gram and Island Honey 7-gram packages in
Alberta.
"Pre-rolls were the second largest-selling product category in
Ontario in its fiscal 2020
year2," said Mr. DeGiglio. "The launch of its
first pre-rolled products in Ontario builds on Pure Sunfarms' leading dried
cannabis market share performance in Canada's largest provincial market, and comes
at an opportune time as the opening of retail stores in
Ontario is expected to accelerate
throughout this year, driving continued growth."
Pure Sunfarms Continues to Prepare for Launch of First
Bottled Cannabis Oils and Cannabis 2.0 Products this Summer
Pure Sunfarms continues to prepare for the roll out of its first
bottled cannabis oils, as well as its first Cannabis 2.0 offerings
this summer. Pure Sunfarms' Cannabis 2.0 roll out will begin
with the launch of a selection of pre-filled 510 vape cartridges
and bottled cannabis oil, available in the extract forms
of its top-selling3 dried cannabis strains,
under the highly regarded and well trusted Pure Sunfarms brand.
- 12 months ended April 30, 2020.
Source: Statistics Canada.
- Source: Ontario Cannabis Store – A Year in Review
2019-2020.
- Market share performance is based on calculations by Pure
Sunfarms from sales information provided by the Ontario Cannabis
Store (OCS).
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms is one of the largest and longest-operating
vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America. Village Farms produces is and
distributes fresh, premium-quality produce with year-round to
national grocers in the U.S. and Canada from more than nine million square feet
of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) greenhouses in
Canada and the U.S., as well as
from its partner greenhouses in Canada and Mexico. The Company is
leveraging its 30 years of experience as a large-scale, low-cost
vertically integrated grower for the rapidly emerging global
cannabis and CBD opportunities. In
Canada, British-Columbia-based Pure Sunfarms (majority-owned
by Village Farms) is one of the single largest cannabis operations
in the world and one of the best-selling brands in the
country. In the U.S., subject to compliance with all
applicable U.S. federal and state laws, the Company is pursuing a
strategy become a leading developer and supplier of branded and
white-labeled CBD products targeting "big box" and other
major retailers and consumer packaged goods companies, and with one
the largest greenhouse operations in country, is well positioned
for the potential federal legalization of high-THC
cannabis.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and is
subject to the safe harbor created by those sections. This press
release also contains "forward-looking information" within the
meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. We refer to such
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information
collectively as "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking
statements may relate to the Company's future outlook or financial
position and anticipated events or results and may include
statements regarding the financial position, business strategy,
budgets, expansion plans, litigation, projected production,
projected costs, capital expenditures, financial results, taxes,
plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Particularly,
statements regarding future results, performance, achievements,
prospects or opportunities for the Company, the greenhouse
vegetable industry or the cannabis industry are forward-looking
statements. In some cases, forward-looking information can be
identified by such terms as "outlook", "may", "might", "will",
"could", "should", "would", "occur", "expect", "plan",
"anticipate", "believe", "intend", "try", "estimate", "predict",
"potential", "continue", "likely", "schedule", "objectives", or the
negative or grammatical variation thereof or other similar
expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. The
forward-looking statements in this press release are subject to
risks that may include, but are not limited to: our limited
operating history, including that of our Pure Sunfarms Corp. joint
venture for the production of cannabis in Canada (our "Joint Venture") and our start-up
operations of growing hemp in the United
States; the legal status of our Joint Venture; risks
relating to obtaining additional financing, including our
dependence upon credit facilities; potential difficulties in
achieving and/or maintaining profitability; variability of product
pricing; risks inherent in the cannabis, hemp and agricultural
businesses; the ability of our Joint Venture to cultivate and
distribute cannabis in Canada;
existing and new governmental regulations, including risks related
to regulatory compliance and licenses (e.g., our Joint Venture's
ability to obtain licenses for its Delta 2 greenhouse facility as
well as additional licenses under the Canadian Act Respecting
Cannabis To Amend to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the
Criminal Code and other Acts, S.C. 2018, c. 16 (Canada) for its Delta 3 greenhouse facility),
and changes in our regulatory requirements; risks relating to
conversion of our greenhouses to cannabis production for our Joint
Venture; risks related to rules and regulations at the U.S. federal
(Food and Drug Administration and United States Department of
Agriculture), state and municipal levels with respect to produce
and hemp; retail consolidation, technological advances and other
forms of competition; transportation disruptions; product liability
and other potential litigation; retention of key executives; labor
issues; uninsured and underinsured losses; vulnerability to rising
energy costs; environmental, health and safety risks, foreign
exchange exposure, risks associated with cross-border trade;
difficulties in managing our growth; restrictive covenants under
our credit facilities; natural catastrophes; the ongoing and
developing COVID-19 pandemic; and tax risks.
The Company has based these forward-looking statements on
factors and assumptions about future events and financial trends
that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of
operations, business strategy and financial needs. Although the
forward-looking statements contained in this press release are
based upon assumptions that management believes are reasonable
based on information currently available to management, there can
be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements necessarily
involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which
are beyond the Company's control, that may cause the Company's or
the industry's actual results, performance, achievements, prospects
and opportunities in future periods to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These
risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the factors
contained in the Company's filings with securities regulators,
including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our
subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on
Form 8-K, each of which is available at www.sec.gov, as well as our
filings on SEDAR, available at www.sedar.com. In particular, we
caution you that our forward-looking statements are subject to the
ongoing and developing circumstances related to the COVID-19
pandemic, which may have a material adverse effect on our business,
operations and future financial results.
When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions,
the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these
statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks
and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future
results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities.
The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate
only to events or information as of the date on which the
statements are made in this press release. Except as required by
law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise
publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which
the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events.
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SOURCE Village Farms International, Inc.