PureK Holdings Corp. ‘TRUBAR’ Plant-Based Nutrition Brand to Expand Into Canada
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 25, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PureK Holdings Corp. (the “Company” or “PureK“) (TSX Venture: PKAN) is pleased to announce that TRU Brands Inc. (“TRU Brands“), the leading health and wellness brand and the makers of TRUBAR plant-based, clean-label snacks for women, will continue to expand its retail and online presence in Canada.
TRU Brands products are already available at Costco Canada East locations in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Over the next six months, TruBar’s Canadian momentum includes expansion commitments into approximately 800 Shoppers Drug Mart locations, as well as Rexall, Metro, and Loblaws locations. Additionally, TRU Brands expects to launch TRUWOMEN.CA, its own consumer-facing online store in Canada, in April.
Founded in 2018 under the female-led parent company TRUWOMEN, TRU Brands has grown into a nationally recognized brand and is sold online and through major U.S. retailers, including Target, Walgreens, and Whole Foods. The company’s line of dessert-inspired protein bars is made with plant-based ingredients such as cassava, cacao, and brown rice protein, and are certified vegan, gluten-free and kosher, as well as dairy and soy-free, non-GMO verified, and free of sugar alcohols.
“I am so excited about our growth velocity and momentum as a company,” said Erica Groussman, co-founder and CEO of TRU Brands. “There is something so special about taking a brand from incubation to expansion, and the thrill really never goes away. Even as we set to enter another 800 Canadian storefronts and open up international DTC, our success feels surreal. We can’t wait to bring our innovative products to even more customers throughout North America.”
The global personalized retail nutrition and wellness market size was valued at $1.6 billion USD in 2019 and is expected to register a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.5% from 2020 to 2027, according to Grand View Research1. With PureK’s strategic footprint in the plant-based wellness industries, including its acquisitions this year of the beauty brand No B.S. Skincare and the pet care brand BudaPets, the Company’s planned acquisition of TRU Brands is a natural fit for PureK Holdings Corp.
As previously announced on March 3, 2021, PureK has executed a binding term sheet (“LOI“) to acquire TRU Brands Inc. The parties entered into the LOI effective March 2, 2021 and have begun due diligence. The parties intend to complete the transaction as soon as is practicable and, subject to satisfactory completion of customary closing conditions and due diligence, will use commercially reasonable efforts to enter into a definitive agreement as soon as possible.
For more information regarding PureK’s execution of a binding term sheet to acquire TRU Brands, Inc., please see the Company’s news release dated March 3, 2021.
About PureK Holdings Corp.
PureK Holdings Corp. leads an international omni-channel platform with diversified assets in the emerging plant-based and holistic wellness consumer product categories. The Company’s mission is focused on leading innovation for the informed Millennial and Generation Z generations in the rapidly growing plant-based, natural, and clean ingredient space. The Company continues to focus on expansion into high-growth consumer product categories including CBD products, plant-based food and beverage, and the global pet care and skin care industries. For more information on PureK Holdings Corp., please visit https://purekana.com/investor-relations/. (Daniel, change font size to match release).
For further information:
Brian Meadows
Chief Financial Officer
Ph: +1 (855) 553-7441
Email: ir@purekana.com
Daniel Nussbaum
Media and Investor Relations
Ph: +1 (917) 232-8960
Email: Daniel@amwpr.com
Forward-Looking Information
Certain statements contained in this news release constitute “forward-looking information” and “forward-looking statements” as such terms are used in applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information are based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and are subject to certain factors and assumptions, including, that the Company’s financial condition and development plans do not change as a result of unforeseen events and that the Company obtains regulatory approval. Forward-looking statements and information are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause plans, estimates and actual results to vary materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements and information. Factors that could cause the forward-looking statements and information in this news release to change or to be inaccurate include, but are not limited to, the risk that any of the assumptions referred to prove not to be valid or reliable, that occurrences such as those referred to above are realized and result in delays, or cessation in planned work, that the Company’s financial condition and development plans change, and delays in regulatory approval, as well as the other risks and uncertainties applicable to the CBD or broader wellness industries and to the Company, and as set forth in the Company’s Filing Statement in respect of its qualifying transaction filed under the Company’s profile at www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements and information, other than as required by applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
