Phivida
Announces
Q4
2018
Corporate
Business Update
Key
updates include U.S. expansion plans for Oki beverage line;
expected timing of product placement with retailer distribution
partners; and upcoming PR and marketing
initiatives
VANCOUVER and SAN
DIEGO, CA -- November
15,
2018 --
InvestorsHub NewsWire -- Phivida Holdings Inc.
(CSE: VIDA OTCQX: PHVAF)
("Phivida"), which offers premium
beverages and clinical products infused with active hemp
extract, today announced its
Q4
2018 corporate
business update on milestones achieved and strategic initiatives
underway.
Oki
Product
Distribution Phase
1
Phivida's
Oki lifestyle brand of
beverages,
tinctures and capsules are currently in the process of
being
presented
to U.S. retailers
across the country and are expected to be on
shelves by
the end of 2018. Working with
NSS/Acosta, the Company has
begun to
target retailers in the Natural Specialty channel and has completed
multiple key account
meetings. The Phivida team is working
to build out its distribution plan at a faster pace in a number of
key U.S. markets California, Washington and Oregon to gain
distribution with well-known retailers in each of the identified
regions. Additional partners
are expected to
be added in the near future to support the
NSS/Acosta distribution efforts and to
broaden Phivida's ability to penetrate the functional beverage
market.
Ongoing
Sales
with NSS/Acosta
-
Over the
quarter, the Company's
focus has been on
working with NSS/Acosta to begin sales of the Oki product by
meeting with potential retailers. Phivida is
currently
focusing
attention on targeting the
Natural Specialty Channel within
Acosta's network which includes
retailers such as Whole Foods, Sprouts
Market, Natural Grocers, and other natural product
stores.
-
After the first
production run, the Company
launched the Oki Beverage
line
to NS
Sales Beverage Account Managers at Expo East in Baltimore
on October
5th, 2019. Samples of the Oki
beverage
line
have been
provided to all NS Sales Key Account
Managers to help drive their sales
activity. The feedback from the Acosta
team was overwhelmingly positive and just fueled their excitement
around the launch of the Oki brand.
-
Working closely
with NS
Sales Key
Account Managers, responsible for the overall
business development of brands, the company has created an immediate
list of accounts
to target with interest in the
functional
beverage category.
-
Key account
presentations are currently underway to gain new retail
listings for Oki. The Company
has completed promising
presentations and provided initial product
samples to two significant regional
retailers.
Developing
Alternative Sales Channels
-
Phivida is
currently building and adding
an Oki
e-commerce store to provide direct-to-consumer ordering online. The
site is expected to go live in early 2019. This will support the
Oki sales effort in driving direct revenue for the business
in
2019.
-
In addition
to the
Company's focus on the Natural
Specialty
retail
channel,
key influential accounts have been identified
as targets for product points of sales
(including a variety of hotels, cafes, gyms, etc.). The Company plans to
work directly
with these accounts to secure additional
retail
locations.
-
The Company will
be completing a Product Market Blitz in the San Diego area in early
December 2018. Over the course of a few days, the internal Phivida team
will be travelling to pre-identified strategic retailers to
provide samples and sell product. The
team will be focusing on driving new distribution to key grocery and
on premise accounts in the San Diego
metro area, to gain local attention on the Oki product.
Distribution to Japan
After
completing an initial shipment of product to Japan,
Management has decided, given
the regulatory and logistic burden of serving the Japanese market,
to focus solely on building strong distribution networks in the
United States and
eventually in Canada once the sale of beverages and edibles become
legal.
Vida+
Product
Distribution
The Vida+
health products continue to be distributed to the Integrated Health
Care professionals segment as well as sold direct to consumers
through the Company's online channels. Attention
is being placed on driving Vida+ business via online channels over
the coming months, with changes and updates planned to the website
to improve the overall experience and increase traffic.
New
Vida+
brand
packaging and a full website refresh is planned for
early
2019.
Phivida's Capital Structure
The current cash
and equivalents is approximately $13.0M million CAD with no debt or
loans. Total shares issued and outstanding is 61,729,963 and the total
shares on a fully diluted basis is 74,517,426. The company is well
capitalized to transition to major mainstream distribution with a
solid structure poised for long term
growth.
Product Quality
Phivida
strives
to lead the industry in product quality through high
quality ingredients and best in
class testing. The Company has partnered with Flora Labs to test
and ensure consistency and potency of all products. Flora Labs is a
world
class testing lab, with
stringent
QA and
QC
quality assessment
protocols
and will provide Phivida with ongoing impartial quality
testing.
Expanded
Marketing and PR Strategy
"Over the last
three months, Phivida has met with a number of top US-based
consumer lifestyle PR firms to select a partner to support the
launch of Oki into the US market," said Jim Bailey, President and
CEO of Phivida. "PR will play a pivotal role in building
awareness through positive word of mouth, buzz
and credibility. Currently, we have narrowed down on three firms
who are currently working with leading consumer brands in their
categories and will announce the decision by the end of
2018. We also expect the
imminent passing of the U.S. Farm Bill
to ease restrictions on advertising channels and platforms
available to us to promote all Phivida brands and
products."
Phivida is
excited to bring on board new talent with the addition of a
Marketing Communications Manager. In the newly created
role,
Laura Barnard, who has an extensive
background in the food and beverage sector having previously worked
at Jackson Family Wines for over four years, will work closely with
Chief Marketing Officer, Mike Cornwell to manage the company's
Marketing and Communications efforts across all Phivida brands and
business lines covering advertising, sponsorship, experiential
marketing, sampling, trade and influencer marketing, and public
relations.
As the company
prepares to broaden its U.S. footprint, Phivida has
been
working with leading L.A.-based
creative agency, Sid Lee, to develop a launch campaign for the Oki
lifestyle brand of line of functional beverages and supplements
infused with active hemp extract. The campaign, which will convey
the essence of what it means to "feel Oki", is expected to be
launched in early 2019. It aims to build brand awareness
and includes a multi media campaign across
multiple consumer channels.
Partnering with
global influencers who embody the Oki look and feel and key
messaging is a priority. Phivida has already signed on with top World Surf
League (WSL) Hawaii-based surfer, Malia Manuel. As an
important ambassador for Oki,
Malia
is working
closely with the company to produce a campaign that integrates the
Oki launch activities with coverage and social media content around
her experience with the line of lifestyle
beverages. In addition, Phivida
continues to work with the team at Superheros
Management Talent
agency to identify new brand ambassadors to support the US launch
in raising the brand's awareness among its target audience. Phivida
expects to announce the addition of pending partnerships in early
2019.
Other Key
Marketing and PR highlights
-
Sampling
activities are expected to commence in Q1 2019 in select U.S. west coast
metro markets to support distribution and drive
awareness for the Oki brand of products.
-
Jim Bailey,
President and CEO of Phivida, recently attended the Canaccord
Genuity U.S. Cannabis Symposium in Toronto where he presented
Phivida's latest business update to North American and global
investors.
ABOUT
Phivida Holdings Inc.
Phivida Holdings
Inc. is
headquartered in Vancouver, BC with
operations in San Diego CA. Phivida is a premium functional food
and beverage company focused on whole plant nutrition and natural
ingredients that help best maintain overall health and balance in
the human body. The company infuses organic active hemp
extract
into a variety of premium beverages and clinical
products for everyday health. Phivida embraces and celebrates a
return to organic, natural, plant-based foods and
beverages, and a focus on holistic
health and wellness. The mission is to help reduce the world's
dependence on pharmaceuticals and provide food and beverage choices
that allow customers to live a balanced, healthy lifestyle. For more
information, visit phivida.com
For further
information:
Website
www.phivida.com,
Toll free +1 (844) 744-6646 (ext. #2),
Email
IR@phivida.com
Investor
Relations:
Craig MacPhail,
NATIONAL Capital
Markets,
416-586-1938,
cmacphail@national.ca
Media
Relations:
Amie Lauder,
NATIONAL Public Relations,
416-586-1943,
alauder@national.ca
SOURCE Phivida
Holdings Inc.