Geyser Brands Appoints London-Based Agency Brandeavour for Geyser and Subsidiaries' Brand Development
Also provides an update on proposed acquisition of Solace Management Group Inc. and expected branding and distribution initiatives to follow.
VANCOUVER, April 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Geyser Brands Inc. (TSXV:GYSR) ("Geyser Brands" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has engaged Anthony Webb - brand expert and strategist, Founder and CEO of Brandeavour - as the Company's consultant of record for strategic branding and creative counsel. The services to be provided by Brandeavour will include overall brand direction for Geyser Brands and its subsidiaries, and commercializing new brands. Brandeavour will work alongside GetFresh Ventures, Geyser Brands' strategic partner providing data-driven digital growth services, on developing new channels to market for Geyser Brands.
In addition to his work with some of the world's leading brands across luxury products, sports, music, entertainment, and business, Anthony Webb has consulted for international bodies, such as the Danish Embassy, the Barbados High Commission, Jamaican High Commission, and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
"The Geyser Brands team is thrilled to have Anthony on board and working to support our business and brand growth," comments Andreas Thatcher, CEO at Geyser Brands. "Anthony is an old friend and confidant, and his global experience with consumers across all industries - from luxury products and retail to sports and entertainment - gives him a perspective into consumer needs and preferences that are rivaled by few in the industry. Combined with the data-driven digital strategy frameworks supported by GetFresh Ventures, we are perfectly positioned to develop a compelling, highly differentiated, and consumer-focused approach to brand growth and development."
The Company is planning to establish legal North American, European Union, and Asian retail and direct-to-consumer distribution for its health, pet, cosmetics, and beverages brands. It will start with hemp-derived products in jurisdictions where CBD remains under scrutiny, and will seek to acquire consumer health and wellness brands that wish to move into the hemp and CBD markets at home and abroad. The Company is negotiating non-binding letters of intent with a number of U.S. brands seeking Canadian distribution, and is also negotiating joint ventures with entities in China and Japan for the commercialization of its hemp products. All agreements are subject to TSX approval.
Update on Branding Initiatives Planned for Solace Related Products
As previously announced by the Company on February 11, 2019, the Company has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire Solace Management Group Inc. ("Solace") for an aggregate purchase price of $3.9 million, comprised of $400,000 cash and 5,833,333 common shares at a deemed price of $0.60. Solace is a hemp product company incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia focused on the pet, cosmeceutical, and nutraceutical markets. The proposed acquisition of Solace will not be an "arm's length transaction" as defined under the rules and policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. Closing of the Solace acquisition remains subject to the entry by the parties into a binding definitive agreement, completion of the Company's due diligence investigations, and the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.
Brad Kersch, Solace's co-founder, and a member of the Company's Board of Directors. Mr Kersch is and a marketing and business development veteran with over 20 years of experience in successful startups and working with Fortune 500 companies. . In addition, Solace has two other co-founders: Tami Kersch, a serial entrepreneur and CEO of its subsidiary brand Apawthecary Pets, and Gabriele Jerousek, an advocate for the benefits of medical cannabis and the CEO of the subsidiary brand Apothecary Naturals. It is expected that Ms. Kersch and Ms. Jerousek will stay on with the Company upon completion of the acquisition to help manage and operate Solace's brands.
Solace's business consists of leveraging its brands, intellectual property, and proprietary formulations in the hemp and cannabis markets by licensing distribution and production agreements. Inspired by Ms. Jerousek's background helping her grandmother heal people with custom formulated tinctures, healing herbs, and topicals in her Viennese apothecary, Solace's brands include:
- Apothecary Labs – a research and development arm of Solace engaged in technology and formulation development for beverages, topicals, cosmetics, and other cannabis and hemp-infused nutraceutical products.
- Apawthecary Pets – a leading hemp-based pet treat brand with formulations for human grade, all-natural pet treats, salves and oral drops. Apawthecary Pets products are currently sold in over 400 pet stores and 100 veterinary clinics across Canada.
- Apothecary Naturals – a line of hemp-based cosmetics, topical products, pain creams, organic soaps, lip balms, and men's self-care and grooming products.
- Apothecary Ink – a line of all-natural hemp-based tattoo aftercare products.
- WildTail Pets – a line of single-ingredient freeze-dried pet products, including hemp-infused pet treats, kibble and freeze-dried pet foods for dogs and cats.
The Solace acquisition, which remains subject to TSX approval, is expected to usher in the foundation of a diverse cannabis-powered consumer healthcare brand portfolio with brand equity in medical, pet, cosmeceutical, and nutraceutical markets both domestically and internationally.
Net revenue for Solace's fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 was just under $2 million, reflecting a 120% increase over net revenue for the previous year according to Solace's unaudited management prepared financial accounts. This increase was due in large part to the increase of distribution agreements established in 2018. Gross margins during fiscal 2018 were approximately $1 million, with an EBITDA of approximately $660,000.
Upon completing the proposed Solace acquisition, Geyser Brands intends to launch into the execution phase of its plan -- to take its brands global through retail and digital direct-to-consumer experiences, launching its hemp-infused cannabis brands and products in the U.S., European Union, and Asia, and its CBD-infused line of products in jurisdictions where the therapeutic ingredient is legal.
With deeply rooted relationships with investors and partners in Asia and Europe, an MA in Economics, and over 15 years in the worlds of finance and film production and distribution, Geyser Brands' CEO, Andreas Thatcher, is utilizing his extensive global strategy, business management expertise to lead the company with a comprehensive brand and distribution strategy.
ABOUT GEYSER BRANDS
Geyser Brands Inc builds health-based hemp CBD consumer products in the Nutraceutical, Cosmetics, Food & Beverage and Pet sectors world-wide. R&D investment in NanoFusion - a proprietary all-natural nanotechnology - delivers topical, cream, beverages and baked goods, oil, and tincture formulations with superior bio-availability and water-solubility. Geyser Brands is a Health Canada approved Licensed Producer in Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Geyser Brands is a Health Canada approved Licensed Producer (LP) that holds a cultivation license and is anticipating its processing and sales licenses. The Company is exclusively focusing on leveraging these assets to provide the regulatory infrastructure for its global brands and distribution strategy, acquiring hemp- and plant-based brands and infusing them with new CBD product lines in jurisdictions where the therapeutic ingredient is legal. The Company's proprietary NanoFusion technology surrounds oils and solves for the insolubility of CBD. Geyer will utilize its 7,000 sq ft. licensed facility in British Columbia for the manufacturing and distribution of it hemp and CBD-based products internationally.
ABOUT GEYSER BRANDS
Geyser Brands Inc builds health-based hemp CBD consumer products in the Nutraceutical, Cosmetics, Food & Beverage and Pet sectors world-wide. R&D investment in NanoFusion - a proprietary all-natural nanotechnology - delivers topical, cream, beverages and baked goods, oil, and tincture formulations with superior bio-availability and water-solubility. Geyser Brands is a Health Canada approved Licensed Producer in Port Coquitlam, B.C.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Andreas Thatcher"
___________________________________
Andreas Thatcher
Director and CEO
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SOURCE Geyser Brands Inc.
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