Oragin Foods Inc has provided a business update on key initiatives as it advances operations.
The company said it is in advanced stages related to the onboarding of a highly reputable and skilled individual(s) with significant food and beverage industry experience working with some of the most well-known Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) brands in North America to advance the company's US operations, including its Future of Cheese brand, as well as identifying possible target acquisitions to expand the portfolio of plant-based brands under the company's CPG division.
Oragin said plans are underway to allocate resources, capital, and additional expertise to rapidly grow its CPG business with a significant focus on the US plant-based and retail markets, as well as the continued planned expansion of the company's retailer, Organic Garage.
READ: Organic Garage rebrands as Oragin Food Inc; plans expansion in retail and plant-based CPG business divisions
The company noted that it has a healthy cash balance of over $2 million that will help further its short-term business goals and lay the foundation for its long-term business goals.
Meanwhile, the company said its commercial real estate team from Savills is currently in negotiations on numerous sites for the planned expansion of its retailer, Organic Garage, with plans to expand locations across Ontario.
Also, the renovation of the Organic Garage Thornhill location is proceeding as planned and is anticipated to be fully completed by the end of April, reflecting the new Organic Garage branding and amenities. Once complete, the Thornhill location will have all the same amenities as the company's newer retail locations, including the successful 'Hand-Picked Partners': Cali-Rolls Sushi, Cheese Boutique, Village Juicery, and Rival House. The location will also include the company's 'Expanding Zero Waste' stations for self-serve RO Water, Spices, Olive Oil, Vinegar, and Teas.
Due to numerous customer requests, Organic Garage will launch its e-gift card program, which will be available for purchase online following the company's upcoming new website update. It anticipates the e-gift card will generate an additional stream of revenue for Organic Garage, and will complement the further expansion of the online customer base via the partnership with online grocery delivery and pick-up giant, Instacart.
Future of Cheese operations
The development of the e-commerce platform is underway and the company said it plans an accelerated second-quarter launch due to significant customer demand, primarily from customers outside of the southern Ontario market, where the products are currently sold in retail locations.
Advanced discussions are underway to grow the Future of Cheese senior management team as the brand plans its near-term expansion into the US market. These individual(s) have significant industry-leading experience in the brand development and sales and marketing areas for well-established North American CPG brands both in the general, and plant-based, spaces.
Oragin said advanced discussions are currently underway with established Canadian and US-based co-packers to produce the Future of Cheese line of plant-based cheeses and to ensure the company can service the potential large-scale demand from national retailers and distributors without interruption or production bottlenecks.
Sales for the Future of Cheese have increased approximately 230% quarter-over-quarter (Q4 2021 - Q1 2022). The retail expansion has increased approximately 50% in the same period.
"As we remain very aware of the global focus on the tragic events taking place in Europe, and the attention on news related to these events, we want to assure our shareholders that progress and advancements are underway as planned. We will follow up with news of material milestones as we complete current negotiations and agreements while remaining respectful of the news flow related to the events overseas," said Matt Lurie, president of Oragin, in a statement.
"This continues to be a very exciting time for our company, and we look forward to sharing further developments in the near future."
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