NewLeaf Brands Inc. (CSE: NLB) (OTC: NLBIF) (FSE: 0NF) (“NewLeaf Brands” or the “Company“) a parent company operating innovative product divisions in the Naturally Sourced Therapies (NST) space, is delighted to provide its shareholders with a review of the recent milestones the Company has reached.
On April 9th, NewLeaf Brands’ wholly-owned subsidiary, We Are Kured, LLC (“Kured”) had launched its new CBD flower pre-rolled joints. The response from consumers was swift and overwhelmingly positive, with the Company now expecting to expand its distribution footprint within the United States to keep up with the high consumer demand.
Subsequently, on April 23rd, NewLeaf Brands had signed a share swap agreement with Levee Street Holdings, LLC (“Levee Street”) to purchase 50% of Levee Street for CAD $450,000 in common shares. Greg Kassanoff founded Levee Street to infiltrate the “alternative” beverage space, which includes CBD products and is the founder of Levee Street Holdings, LLC, Pioneer Wine & Spirits, LLC, & CEO of Mexcor Pioneer Wine & Spirits (“MPWS”). The latter, MPWS, has thousands of existing retail and restaurant relationships throughout the state of Texas with infrastructure to support various distribution efforts. Overall, Mr. Kassanoff’s vast network of accounts and relationships have been instrumental in deploying NewLeaf Brands’ suite of products into accounts all over the state of Texas and the Company expects to provide shareholders with further exciting updates in the very near future.
As the Company continues to seek novel routes for growth, Joshua Bartch, CEO of NewLeaf Brands said, “The whole team has been working around the clock to become a market leader in the various sectors the Company operates in, including the mushroom, hemp and cannabis space, and with our recent successes, we believe it’s time to review these updates with our dedicated shareholders.”
On April 29th, NewLeaf Brands had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Mydecine Group (“Mydecine”), a Colorado headquartered company. Mydecine is a vertically integrated company engaged to utilize the vast medicinal, health and wellness capabilities of the plethora of compounds found in various varieties of mushrooms and the overall many uses of fungi. Founded by Damon Michaels and Rob Roscow, the Company, through its three wholly-owned divisions, “Mydecine Farms”, “Mydecine Wellness”, and “Mydecine Labs” aims to be an industry pioneer in the cultivation, processing, product development, and research and development of the many beneficial and exciting compounds and other uses that are found in various varieties of fungi from all around the world. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the entire team, NewLeaf Brands expects to announce earth shattering updates on the progress of Mydecine Group in the near future.
Not yet content with the stature of its cannabis and CBD business, NewLeaf Brands had signed a definitive agreement dated May 5th, 2020 with Trellis Holdings Oregon, LLC (“Trellis”) to acquire 37.5% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Trellis Holdings Oregon Op LLC (“Trellis”) from David Joshua Bartch and Benjamin Martch (the “Vendors”) by way of a share exchange (the “Transaction”), as was previously announced on February 6th, 2020. Trellis holds various licenses with the OLCC in the state of Oregon and operates in both the medical and recreational cannabis markets, maintaining an 11-acre recreational cultivation property in Southern Oregon and operating a medical and recreational cannabis dispensary in Portland, Oregon. Trellis has also recently applied for an additional license to increase its outdoor canopy cultivation capabilities by 40,000 sq. ft. while its greenhouse space was granted an additional 10,000 sq. ft. Overall, the Company expects to issue additional tantalizing updates on Trellis in the near future.
Subsequently, on May 11th and 12th, 2020, NewLeaf Brands appointed Damon Michaels to the position of Chief Operations Officer (COO) and Robert Roscow to the position of Chief Science Officer (CSO), respectively. Prior to Ebbu’s USD $429 MM acquisition by Canopy Growth, Mr. Michaels managed Ebbu’s day-to-day operations, including oversight of production, R&D, HR, compliance, supply chain, marketing and business development while also providing guidance for strategic business practices and strategy. Robert Roscow, on the other hand, was involved in running the world’s first cannabis genomic editing lab, focused on cannabinoid yield improvements, filing patents, establishing a cannabis tissue culture lab, and support of drug development team with statistical analysis and experimental design for Ebbu’s proprietary formulations. Since Mr. Michaels appointment, he has been incredibly active in the Company, utilizing his vast network of relationships and bringing his operational knowledge to the team while Mr. Roscow has spearheaded NewLeaf Brands’ biotech strategy through various partnerships and relationships that the Company expects to announce extremely soon, and which will put the Company drastically ahead of its competitors.
The Company then announced that Mydecine had begun work to build an ecosystem of resources targeted at unlocking the potential of fungi for human wellness as well as the build out of a specialty mycology lab in Denver, Colorado. The lab will serve Mydecine’s needs for the study, selection and cultivation of valuable and rare fungal products and will incorporate state of the art analytical chemistry, molecular biology, next-gen sequencing, and tissue culture. However, since the May 19th announcement, the scope of the project has increased drastically, and the Company intends to announce further updates on its progress in the near future.
Then, on May 21st, NewLeaf Brands signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (“LOI”) with MindLeap Health Inc. (“MindLeap”) pursuant to which NewLeaf Brands will acquire, by way of share exchange, 100% of all of the issued and outstanding securities of MindLeap, an arm’s length company. MindLeap is an advanced telemedicine digital health platform that helps people connect with mental health specialists that can empower them to thrive and develop habits for a healthy mind. While the NewLeaf Brands team has already made it through the due diligence phase, it is currently working on definitive negotiations, with the transaction expected to close soon.
The next day, May 22nd, a broker private placement led by Canaccord Genuity saw great success, as the offering closed and was heavily oversubscribed on the same day that it was opened. NewLeaf Brands is proud to have the full support of the Canaccord team and expects a long and fruitful relationship to develop between the two entities.
Lastly, on May 26th, the Company had appointed Dr. Aubrey Oliver ND, RBT to be its newest advisor. Dr. Oliver is a Jamaican registered Functional Holistic doctor and a graduate of Ashford University in Complementary and Alternative Medicine. In recent years, Dr. Oliver was the Coordinating Physician with Caribbean Clinical Research Associates on the first clinical research of its kind which dealt with CBD oil, nano liposome, and alcohol-based forms to find out the absorbency efficacy on healthy cells. Now, Mr. Oliver is spearheading the Company’s efforts to establish various resorts in the Caribbean country to house its unique and advanced psilocybin retreats. Partnering with industry’s top minds and authorities to bring project to fruition, NewLeaf Brands expects to issue numerous updates on the progress of these efforts soon.
Overall, NewLeaf Brands continues to position itself with an eye on the future, adding key personnel and business entities to its ever-growing cache of capabilities. And, in addition to thanking its loyal shareholders, the Company intends to share its crucial developments in the near term.