There is growing evidence from scientific studies that our food is less nutritious than it used to be, with many common fruits, vegetables, and grains containing less calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin, vitamin C, and protein than they did in previous decades.
Alberta-based agriculture bioscience firm Replenish Nutrients Holding Corp (CSE:ERTH, OTC:VVIVF) delivers regenerative fertilizer solutions that improve soil health and, in turn, increase crop yield for farmers while also making our food more nutritious and flavorful.
CEO Neil Weins told Proactive that he started the company to drive innovation in the fertilizer space, a sector that hasn’t seen significant advancements in about 70 years.
“We want to create a balanced diet for the soil and bring back real, dense foods versus the stuff you get in the store right now that doesn’t taste like anything more than water,” Weins said.
Replenish Nutrients products are made of a proprietary blend of elemental sulphur, pure rock phosphate, Canadian-sourced potash, and micronized organic matter. Its product lineup consists of phosphorus builder Rebuilder, potassium builder Super KS, and its HESO balanced maintenance mix.
Weins, whose background is in animal nutrition, explains that what makes its fertilizers unique: they are inert and microbial-activated fertilizers, meaning they release nutrients when the plant needs them the most to enhance soil health and crop yield.
“There’s the main differences: the right place, right timing, and the right source so it creates that overall balanced diet versus meat and potatoes, which is what the typical commercial fertilizer does,” he said.
The company's fertilizer solutions are created using its own zero-waste, chemical-free, patent-pending manufacturing process. This is an environmentally friendly alternative to the process used to manufacture synthetic fertilizers, which is energy-intensive, requires chemicals and significant water usage, and produces more waste.
Per a third-party analysis by BrightSpot Climate, Replenish Nutrients’ Rebuilder formula reduces carbon emissions by 0.4517 tons of Co2 equivalent per ton of fertilizer when compared to synthetic fertilizers.
Additionally, it’s not a niche or limited-use product: Replenish Nutrients’ fertilizers work on any crops and have been demonstrated to be particularly effective for hay, grassland, and turf.
A proven AgTech player
What sets Replenish Nutrients apart from other AgTech firms is its proven ability to deliver a product that works, with farmers seeing positive results after deploying its solutions.
“We’ve done five years of research and development, and created cashflow while doing research and development,” Weins told Proactive. “We’re not just an AgTech company that hopes to do something, we are doing something, we’re commercializing.”
“We’re moving away from pre-commercialization into full commercialization which moves from our existing margins to substantially higher margins.”
Replenish Nutrients brought in $17.3 million in revenue for the full year 2022 and is on track to achieve positive earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and operating cash flows by the year-end, Weins said.
The company is currently focused on distributing its products in Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest: a large addressable market. Spending on farm fertilizers in Canada in 2022 was $11.9 billion with a five-year compound annual growth rate of 22%.
Replenish Nutrients leverages existing distribution channels to get its products into farmers’ hands, resulting in cost savings from not having physical retail locations or a direct sales team.
It also generates revenues through partnerships, such as its recently announced collaboration with Dark Horse Ag Ventures, an AgTech company that specializes in providing data around farm inputs such as water and fertilizer.
Weins explained that through this partnership, Replenish Nutrients’ expertise in fertility is combined with Dark Horse’s use of yield data to provide insights to farmers.
“What’s great about it is that it shows the effect of our product on the overall soil health and increased return on investment (ROI) that the farmer is getting,” the CEO said. “It also gives the farmer the ability to focus their nutrient package into areas they weren’t thinking of. We help the farmer get better ROI which gives us more sales.”
Expansion plans
Replenish's growth is only limited by its production capacity which it is ramping up, Weins told Proactive.
It aims to grow from its current production rate of 30,000 tonnes per year to 300,000 tonnes per year by 2027.
At its Beiseker, Alberta pilot plant, the company is currently scaling up to eventually manufacture about 20,000 tonnes of its products per year.
“We’re going to maximize our existing Beiseker plant northeast of Calgary,” Weins told Proactive. “It has all the permits. We have the capacity to increase it from our existing levels up to a 2,000-tonne-per-month level.”
On top of this, it is bringing online its Debolt, Alberta, facility which will add 50,000 tonnes per year capacity, and a site in Bethune, Saskatchewan, which will add 200,000 tonnes per year capacity.
As it scales up production, the company may expand into Ontario. It has also seen interest from African nations such as Egypt and Nigeria which Weins described as “very promising.”
Further, Replenish intends to license out its patent-pending production process to other companies, boosting cash flow without capital investment.
Support from government, consumers, and business
Commenting on the outlook for the regenerative agriculture sector more broadly, Weins is optimistic.
The sector, and Replenish Nutrients specifically, are receiving government support in Canada as lawmakers seek to boost domestic production of key items amid unstable foreign supply chains and geopolitical tensions.
The company in July 2023 was granted $7 million from Emissions Reduction Alberta to build its Debolt facility on the basis that its manufacturing process has about half the carbon intensity of manufacturing a conventional chemical fertilizer, Weins said. In addition, the company has received multiple grants to support the research and development of its products and technology.
Weins also cited support for the sector from consumers and large companies. He pointed to the fact that companies like PepsiCo Inc (NASDAQ:PEP, ETR:PEP), General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS, ETR:GRM), and Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT, ETR:WMT) through COP28 have pledged $2.5 billion for regenerative agriculture, on top of $2.5 billion already committed.
“They understand that this is the way to go for carbon capture and better food,” Weins said. “Food manufacturers are starting to realize that the best way to get ahead is to start promoting regenerative agriculture.”
“They want to make it better where we don’t always have to take a vitamin supplement because we’ve been eating bread that doesn’t have enough vitamins in it.”