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IMI Global and Where Food Comes From Announce Full Activities Schedule for Cattle Industry Convention
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7:00 AM ET 1/14/19 | GlobeNewswire
IMI Global and Where Food Comes From Announce Full Activities Schedule for Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in New Orleans January 30 -- February 1, 2019
CASTLE ROCK, Colo., Jan. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IMI Global and Where Food Comes From, Inc. (WFCF) (OTCQB: WFCF), the most trusted resource for independent, third-party verification of food production practices in North America, today announced a full schedule of Company events at the upcoming Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show in New Orleans, LA, on January 30 through February 1, 2019.
The Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA (National Cattlemen's Beef Association) Trade Show is agriculture's premier event where the industry comes together to get down to business for the cattle industry. The 2019 event will be one of the largest on record, with more than 9,000 cattlemen and women gathering for two and a half days of education, networking, and business.
The IMI Global division of Where Food Comes From is the largest provider of verifications and traceability solutions for the cattle industry with more than 10,000 ranch, feed yard and processor customers nationwide. IMI Global and WFCF personnel will be speaking and holding educational panels and presentations throughout the event covering a wide range of topics impacting players at all levels of the cattle industry. Some of these events will include and be co-sponsored by Company partners such as Tyson and Creekstone Farms. In addition, IMI Global and WFCF will be hosting coffee, lunch and happy hour events over the course of the event. To view a detailed schedule of events, go to http://imiglobal.com/index.html.
"We have an outstanding lineup of speakers and presentations covering the latest programs and technologies impacting the beef supply chain," said John Saunders, CEO of Where Food Comes From, Inc. "We encourage attendees to stop by the IMI Global / Where Food Comes From booth to interact with our team members and to sit in on some of the many educational events we have planned."
Following is a list of presenters:
44 Farms
ABS Global Infocus Program
Allflex
Alltech
American International Charolais
Colton Atkins, CSU Ph.D candidate on Traceability
Country Natural Beef
Creekstone Farms
Diamond V
Gelbvieh Association Balancer(R) Edge Program
IMI Global
International Genetic Solutions (IGS) Feeder Profit Calculator
MFA Powercalf
MS Biotec -- Feed Verified
Producer/Feedlot Panel
Red Angus
Tyson
Zinpro
About Where Food Comes From, Inc.
Where Food Comes From, Inc. is America's trusted resource for third party verification of food production practices. Through proprietary technology and patented business processes, the Company supports more than 15,000 farmers, ranchers, vineyards, wineries, processors, retailers, distributors, trade associations, consumer brands and restaurants with a wide variety of value-added services. Through its IMI Global, International Certification Services, Validus Verification Services, SureHarvest, A Bee Organic and Sterling Solutions units, Where Food Comes From solutions are used to verify food claims, optimize production practices and enable food supply chains with analytics and data driven insights. In addition, the Company's Where Food Comes From(R) retail and restaurant labeling program uses web-based customer education tools to connect consumers to the sources of the food they purchase, increasing meaningful consumer engagement for our clients.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, based on current expectations, estimates and projections that are subject to risk. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and actual events could differ materially from the Company's predictions. Important factors that could cause actual events to vary from predictions include those discussed in our SEC filings. Specifically, statements in this news release about industry leadership and demand for, and impact and efficacy of, the Company's products and services on the marketplace, are forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of factors, including availability of capital, personnel and other resources; competition; governmental regulation of the agricultural industry; the market for beef and other commodities; and other factors. Readers should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect new information or developments. For a more extensive discussion of the Company's business, please refer to the Company's SEC filings at www.sec.gov.
Company Contact:
Jennifer Moore
Marketing Coordinator
jmoore@wherefoodcomesfrom.com
Mr Fox
6 years ago
WFCF: now exclusive certification body in the U.S.
Wednesday, 02. January 2019
Raw Materials + Commodities
Castle Rock / CO. (wfcf) Where Food Comes From Inc. (WFCF), the most trusted resource for independent, third-party verification of food production practices in North America, announced it has been named Program Administrator for the new U.S. Hemp Authority™ Certified verification standard. Under the agreement, WFCF’s Validus Verification Services unit was named as exclusive certification body for hemp growers and processors seeking to comply with the standard and earn the right to display the U.S. Hemp Authority™ Certified seal in their product labelling, advertising and marketing.
Participating hemp growers and processors will be educated in FDA best practices designed to reassure consumers and law enforcement that hemp-based products displaying the certification seal are both safe and legal. Specifically, the certification process evaluates quality management systems, master manufacturing records, ISO quality standards, current good manufacturing practices and employee training for best practices.
The U.S. Hemp Authority™ Certified program was developed with the support of the US Hemp Roundtable in anticipation of passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which was recently overwhelmingly approved by the U.S. House and Senate and is expected to be signed into law this month. The bill legalized hemp farming in the US following years of prohibition due to misconceptions about the product. Although a member of the cannabis family, hemp does not have the psychotropic effects of THC, which is found in marijuana, which is also a member of the cannabis family. For more information on the U.S. Hemp Authority™ Certified, go to http://www.ushempauthority.org/
Hemp has thousands of applications and is used in the production of products ranging from textiles and construction materials to biofuels and plastics. A key driver in passage of the legislation was the medicinal quality of cannabidiol, or CBD, which is finding broad market acceptance in the treatment of pain, anxiety and other medical issues. The most notable medicinal benefit to date involves treatment of Epileptic seizures, which in clinical trials were greatly reduced in severity with CBD-based drug therapy that has since been approved by the FDA.
Hemp is a highly sustainable, eco-friendly crop that requires less water to grow, is naturally pest resistant and is effective in restoring polluted soil and reducing erosion. Hemp was an USD 820 million industry in 2017, with more than two-thirds of that total comprised of food, supplements, personal care and CBD oil. With passage of the 2018 Farm bill, the total market for hemp-based products is expected by some analysts to grow to nearly USD 2.0 billion by 2022.
«Our selection to administer this program puts Where Food Comes From at the forefront of a major new health and wellness movement in the US today,» said John Saunders, CEO of Where Food Comes From. «The growing popularity of food, beverage and medicinal products containing CBD oil creates a challenge for consumers who are concerned about the origin, quality and quantity of CBD in the products they consume. The creation of the U.S. Hemp Authority™ Certified program demonstrates the hemp industry’s commitment to establishing and enforcing quality standards for growers and processors who believe consumers deserve high levels of transparency.»
Michael Mona III, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of CV Sciences, a founding member of the US Hemp Roundtable, said, «We are pleased to welcome Where Food Comes From as Program Administrator for the new U.S. Hemp Authority™ Certified program. Consumer interest and demand for industrial hemp products is growing exponentially and we believe those consumers are entitled to full transparency with respect to product quality, safety and consistency. Where Food Comes From is a nationally recognized, trusted provider of independent third party verification to some of the largest food companies in America and is ideally suited to manage this important new program.»
About Where Food Comes From Inc.
Where Food Comes From Inc. is America’s trusted resource for third party verification of food production practices. The Company supports more than 15,000 farmers, ranchers, vineyards, wineries, processors, retailers, distributors, trade associations, consumer brands and restaurants with a wide variety of value-added services through its IMI Global, International Certification Services, Validus Verification Services, SureHarvest, A Bee Organic and Sterling Solutions units. In addition, the Company’s Where Food Comes From® retail and restaurant labelling program utilizes the verification of product attributes to connect consumers to the sources of the food they purchase through product labeling and web-based information sharing and education.
Cooperpee
11 years ago
Ian Cassel's article on WFCF is a good read
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1707182-the-best-food-stock-you-never-heard-of?source=yahoo
Where Food Comes From (WFCF.PK) is the US leader in food auditing, verification, and traceability solutions in beef, pork, and poultry. The company's largest customers include Whole Foods Market (WFM), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Tyson Foods (TSN), Cargill, Sysco (SYY), Smithfield Foods (SFD), Hormel Foods (HRL), Perdue, and other well-known food companies. For example, Where Food Comes From audits and verifies a majority of the beef and pork supply sold into Whole Foods. Industry and food trends combined with political legislation will likely make the company's core audit and verification services mandatory over the next few years. Given Where Food Comes From's near monopoly status in the industry this could create the perfect storm for shareholders over the coming years.
Demand for Where Food Comes From's services have been driven from consumers wanting to know more about their food. Where Food Comes From's auditing and third party verification services verify that producers are producing to the standard they display on the label: Organic, Gluten-Free, Hormone Free, non-GMO, Grass-Fed, Humane Handling, Source & Age etc. The hard truth is that only a fraction of producers marketing claims are third party verified, and that is the opportunity. With food issues hitting the news outlets everyday like mad cow, pink slime, salmonella, animal welfare, and many more, consumers unfortunately don't trust food producers. All trends point to third party auditing and verification of the food supply, and Where Food Comes From is the market leader through its subsidiaries: IMI Global, ICS International, and recently acquired Validus.
Where Food Comes From isn't a VC funded startup, but a 18 year old company based out of Castle Rock, CO. Like a lot of microcap companies, WFCF went public way too soon, likely bamboozled by some shell guy or investment banker, which forced John Saunders (CEO) to bootstrap the operation and get it to profitability as quickly as possible. I'm most impressed with the fact that during the turn around the company didn't dilute shareholders and kept a tight share structure. The company has 21.5m shares outstanding, and the management and board own 11.5m. The company is profitable which limits the dilution risk that is inherent in most microcap growth stories. The company is small by revenue but huge by footprint and by the amount of food the company touches.
I expect the "small revenue" to change over the next few years as several major food trends, initiatives, and legislation push the companies services to the mainstream:
WFCF annually verifies marketing claims for more than 1 million head of cattle, or about half of all US beef exports. This seems like a big number, but currently only 5% of the beef produced in the United States is third party audited-verified to ensure marketing claims and food labels are accurate. WFCF is also the leader in source and age verification (USVerified certification) in the beef industry, which in most cases is mandatory for exportation markets. The company currently works with 6,000 beef producers out of a total 800,000 beef producers that exist in the United States. Earlier this year, the Food & Disease Traceability Act was passed that stipulated that source-age verification become mandatory not only in beef but across all hooved animals for interstate commerce purposes. No hard dates were set in the Act, but it's thought that it would be phased in over a period of 3-5 years thus forcing all of the 800,000 beef producers to comply. Since WFCF owns this market, if/when just 10% of the beef market complies, this could increase the companies revenue by 13x based on current pricing.
Last week, Where Food Comes From acquired Validus Ventures which audits-verifies approximately 50% of the pork produced here in the United States in the areas of animal welfare. Food safety and animal welfare as it relates to pork has been a real hot button issue lately with Chinese meat processor Shuanghui International Holdings likely buying Smithfield Foods , the worlds largest pork producer. One of the reasons the Chinese want to make the acquisition is to not only directly source the best quality pork, but my guess is they also want to replicate Smithfield's food safety procedures across their domestic producers. Further tailwinds driving pork verification includes verification for Ractopamine-Free, Gestation Free, and other standards that are now just hitting the mainstream. This will be a big catalyst for WFCF.
A year ago Tyson Foods announced a new auditing program called FarmCheck to ensure humane treatment of animals across all of their 12,000+ livestock and poultry producers. With the acquisition of Validus, the only company that could do this is Where Food Comes From. This will likely be phased in over the next few years.
Whole Foods Market , which is already a big customer of WFCF, announced in March that they will require suppliers to be non-GMO compliant by 2018. Whole Foods cites that the US and Canada still don't have non-GMO labeling laws in place but they believe it is coming. To stay ahead of expected legislation the company is moving forward with its own GMO transparency plan. This is a large undertaking and Whole Foods will likely be relying heavily on WFCF.
Further Blue Sky: Where Food Comes From Food Labeling Initiative
Where Food Comes From now verifies over 50% of the verified beef, audits-verifies over 50% of all pork production, and a similar percentage of poultry produced in the US. Similarly to how a social network tries to figure out how to best monetize its millions of users, how can WFCF further monetize it's positioning? WFCF can take the information it collects on a daily basis and take it directly to the consumer with its own food label that allows the consumer to see exactly where their food comes from.
(click to enlarge)
The beauty of the food label is two fold. First, if a grocery store, restaurant, brand, or distributor wants the label they have to first have their producers be audited and verified effectively cross selling WFCF core business. Second, WFCF gets paid a Per Pound Royalty for everything the label is on, so this is an additional high margin recurring revenue stream to the company. The per pound royalty is varies based on whether its on beef, pork, poultry, lamb, etc. Over a year ago the company announced its first customer, a high-end regional grocery store chain, Heinen's Fine Foods. If you walk into one of Heinen's 18 stores today you will see the Where Food Comes From logo on all the beef and pork and soon to be other products. WFCF also launched the label in Delmonico's Steak House in New York City.
Labeling revenues to date have been small, but I believe it's only a matter of time until a major brand, grocery story, restaurant chain, or distributor announces the roll out of the WFCF labeling program. Also, the company verifies a bulk of exported beef, so international markets like Japan and EU are also low hanging fruit for the labeling program. Any mid-large tier labeling win would likely mean seven figure recurring, 90%+ margin revenues to WFCF. The company's goal is to really show true and verified source of origin on multiple food categories. A few VC backed companies claim to do this already, but it's not third party verified, it's more like an honor system. I think this could be a huge opportunity for the company over the next few years.
In conclusion, I believe Where Food Comes From is not only the most unique food safety, traceability, organic, gluten free, etc, type microcap that exists, but I think it's the most unique across all market cap classes. The great thing about Where Food Comes From is no one knows about it, and WFCF isn't owned by institutions yet. On any fundamental metric the stock isn't cheap, but these types of stories are never "cheap" and don't trade on hindsight trailing twelve months multiples but on scarcity value and potential of which WFCF has a high amount of both. The catalysts and tailwinds around the company are as big as any microcap I've seen, and the company is perfectly positioned. Another food safety microcap with a $10m revenue base, Park City Group (PCYG), has gone from $2.70 to $10 over the last year as institutions have started to pile into the name. I expect this same institutional type rally to occur in Where Food Comes From sometime over the next 18 months.
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