-- Sales to Israel via Pure Sunfarms Further Expand
Village Farms' International Cannabis Presence --
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 3, 2023
/CNW/ - Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or
the "Company") (NASDAQ: VFF) today announced further progress on
its international cannabis strategy, and commented that the lack of
cannabis legislative action by the United
States Senate (in direct contrast to the 39 States / the
District of Columbia with legally
sanctioned medical-use and/or adult-use THC, as well as the vast
majority of United States'
citizens) while disappointing, does not impact Village Farms' plans
to leverage its considerable success in Canada into other cannabis markets with
greater regulatory support. Recently, the Company's Canadian
Cannabis business, through its subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, commenced
shipping cannabis products for the Israeli medical market under an
exclusive three-year supply agreement with Israel-based Dr. Samuelov Importing and
Marketing Ltd., doing business as Better Pharma.
Founded in the early 1990s, Better Pharma is a highly respected
importer of pharmaceuticals and related products for the Israeli
market with longstanding relationships with Israel's retail pharmacies and
an extensive sales force and distribution capabilities,
covering over 95% of Israeli independent pharmacies, as well as
retail drug stores.
"Commencing shipments to Israel
is another milestone in our global cannabis strategy, building on
our successes in Canada and
Australia," said Michael DeGiglio, Chief Executive Officer,
Village Farms. "We are proud and privileged to partner exclusively
with Better Pharma for the significant medical cannabis opportunity
in Israel and are confident that Pure Sunfarms unique
"Everyday Premium" positioning, which has proven so successful in
Canada and Australia, will be differentiated in the
Israeli market, and well-received by patients."
"Our agreement with Better Pharma marks the first time Pure
Sunfarms branded flower, inclusive of Canada's top-selling Pink Kush, makes its way
to consumers internationally," said Mandesh Dosanjh, President and
CEO, Pure Sunfarms. "We're confident that Better Pharma, an
organization that shares our belief in a brand-led consumer
approach, will help patients in Israel come to know and appreciate Pure
Sunfarms high-quality, BC grown strains as much as Canadians
have."
"We are proud and honoured to exclusively partner with Pure
Sunfarms, Canada's No.1 flower
brand and market leader, for medical cannabis products," said Ran
Samuelov, Chief Executive Officer, Better Pharma. "We are confident
we will be able to leverage our knowledge and expertise in
international brand management for Pure Sunfarms to become one of
the leading medical cannabis brands in Israel. We are looking forward to delivering
Pure Sunfarms unique and differentiated "Everyday Premium" brand
proposition to Israeli medical patients and pharmacists."
Sales of Pure Sunfarms product to patients in Israel are expected to commence later this
month. Initial strains offered will include Pink Kush, Jet Fuel
Gelato, and Sakura Punch (sold as
Black Cherry Punch in Canada).
Village Farms continues to execute on its global cannabis
strategy, which includes accelerated sales to the Australian
medical market and plans to launch in the German medical
market.
About Better Pharma
Dr. Samuelov Importing & Marketing Ltd, doing business as
Better Pharma, was founded in the early 1990's. The company
imports, markets and distributes international brands to the
Israeli pharmaceutical market.
Better Pharma stands for the company's quest and vision of
providing better, highest quality, and safer product alternatives
to the Israeli consumers.
Better Pharma is the exclusive Israeli distributor of Weleda,
the world's leading manufacturer of natural-organic cosmetics, Dr.
Wolff group, known for the brands Alpecin, Plantur, and Vagisan,
and Dr. Reckeweg homeopathic products from Bensheim, Germany.
In 2014, the company established the pharma unit specializing in
herbal medicinal products and is the Israeli exclusive distributor
of the world's leading manufacturers in the industry: Dr. Willmar
Schwabe GmbH & Co. KG and Bionorica SE.
In 2020, the company established the Cannabinoids unit,
specializing in importing and distribution and marketing of medical
grade cannabis product to the Israeli medical market.
About Village Farms International,
Inc.
Village Farms leverages decades of experience as a large-scale,
Controlled Environment Agriculture-based, vertically integrated
supplier for high-value, high-growth plant-based Consumer Packaged
Goods opportunities, with a strong foundation as a leading fresh
produce supplier to grocery and large-format retailers throughout
the US and Canada, and new
high-growth opportunities in the cannabis and CBD categories in
North America and selected markets
internationally.
In Canada, the Company's
wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, Pure Sunfarms, is one of the
single largest cannabis operations in the world, the lowest-cost
greenhouse producer and one of Canada's best-selling brands. The Company also
owns 70% of Québec-based, Rose LifeScience, a leading third-party
cannabis products commercialization expert in the Province of
Québec.
In the US, wholly-owned Balanced Health Botanicals is one of the
leading CBD brands and e-commerce platforms in the country. Subject
to compliance with all applicable US federal and state laws and
stock exchange rules, Village Farms plans to enter the US high-THC
cannabis market via multiple strategies, leveraging one of the
largest greenhouse operations in the country (more than 5.5 million
square feet in West Texas), as
well as the operational and product expertise gained through Pure
Sunfarms' cannabis success in Canada.
Internationally, Village Farms is targeting selected, nascent,
legal cannabis and CBD opportunities with significant medium- and
long-term potential, with an initial focus on the Asia-Pacific region, Israel and Europe.
Cautionary Statement Regarding
Forward-Looking Information
As used in this Press Release, the terms "Village Farms",
"Village Farms International", the "Company", "we", "us", "our" and
similar references refer to Village Farms International, Inc. and
our consolidated subsidiaries, and the term "Common Shares" refers
to our common shares, no par value. Our financial information is
presented in U.S. dollars and all references in this Press Release
to "$" means U.S. dollars and all references to "C$" means Canadian
dollars.
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 U.S. 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 laws. 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 or produce industry or the cannabis industry are
forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking
information can be identified by such terms as "can", "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 in the cannabis and cannabinoids
industry, including that of Pure Sunfarms, Inc. ("Pure Sunfarms"),
Rose LifeScience Inc. ("Rose" or "Rose LifeScience") and Balanced
Health Botanicals, LLC ("Balanced Health"); the legal status of the
cannabis business of Pure Sunfarms and Rose and the hemp business
of Balanced Health; risks relating to the integration of Balanced
Health and Rose into our consolidated business; 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, CBD, cannabinoids, and agricultural
businesses; market position; ability to leverage current business
relationships for future business involving hemp and cannabinoids;
the ability of Pure Sunfarms and Rose to cultivate and distribute
cannabis in Canada; existing and
new governmental regulations, including risks related to regulatory
compliance and regarding obtaining and maintaining licenses; legal
and operational risks relating to expected conversion of our
greenhouses to cannabis production in Canada and in the
United States; risks related to rules and regulations at the
US federal (Food and Drug Administration and United States
Department of Agriculture), state and municipal rules and
regulations with respect to produce and hemp, cannabidiol-based
products commercialization; 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;
inflationary effects on costs of cultivation and transportation;
recessionary effects on demand of our products; 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 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, which 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 this Press Release. 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.