Miami, Florida, July 11, 2019 – PRESS RELEASE – Bhang Corporation, a cannabis house of brands with an extensive, award-winning portfolio of products, has announced that, further to its news release on July 9, 2019, it will begin trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) as Bhang Inc. under the stock symbol “BHNG” on July 11, 2019.
“We’re proud to announce this major milestone for Bhang and the industry, as we see a national cannabis brand begin trading on the CSE. This public listing fuels our strategy to meet the growing demand for today's most innovative cannabis products,” Scott Van Rixel, CEO of Bhang, said. “While our model is not reliant upon accessing the capital markets, our going public transaction will allow us to evaluate new opportunities to accelerate our growth, build our industry-leading house of brands and increase shareholder value.”
Bhang Expanding as a “House of Brands”
Founded in 2010, Bhang has continued to build on its award-winning edibles product line and today has an expansive portfolio of over 100 cannabis, hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) and terpene products (which are sold through its licensees and/or by Bhang directly). International distribution and expansion to more geographies is anticipated in 2019. Bhang also has a robust pipeline of new products ready to be launched in the next 12 months as it builds a powerful “House of Brands.”
Bhang Corporation Highlights:
- Bhang has won over 30 awards, including one of the most awarded cannabis chocolate bars in the world.
- The existing Bhang brand will serve as the foundation for the company’s “House of Brands” vertical expansion program, which includes a full suite of THC, hemp-derived CBD and terpene products, and a CBD brokerage.
- Bhang’s expansive product portfolio combined with its well-established distribution and licensing network position Bhang to capture significant market share across multiple target demographics. Some of the large target markets currently addressed with the company’s eight active brands and 100-plus products include: the cannabis and hemp-derived CBD market, the performance-athletics market and the nicotine-cessation market. The company will be launching eight more brands with new products over the coming months that will address several larger and underserved end-markets as well.
- Bhang’s soon-to-be introduced terpene products will enable Bhang to gain valuable, retail shelf space and leverage the sales pipeline for other products when regulations permit.
- Bhang has top-tier manufacturing/distribution partnerships with Trulieve in Florida, Origin House/Cresco in California and a 50/50 joint-venture with Indiva for Canadian and select worldwide distribution. Vertically-integrated operators’ decisions to partner with Bhang is yet another indication of the strength of the Bhang brand and the quality of the products. In total, there are currently over 1,000 stores selling Bhang’s brands and this number is expected to exceed 2,000 by the end of the year.
- Bhang’s unique low CAPEX/OPEX business model provides multiple revenue stream opportunities including license revenues, wholesale revenues, direct to consumer revenues through bhangcbd.com, and revenues from its CBD brokerage business.
- Bhang leverages its long-term cannabis industry relationships via its CBD brokerage business, helps satisfy some of the tremendous demand for CBD that currently exists and, in the process, reduces its input costs via the large volume purchase discounts it receives.
- Bhang is opportunistically evaluating M&A growth opportunities and joint ventures with top manufacturers and leaders in their respective consumer segments.
- Bhang has carefully assembled a management team that can carry out the company’s strategy. The team possesses a combination of experience in the CPG/alcohol/retail sector as well as deep cannabis expertise, making the senior team uniquely positioned to execute on this growing opportunity.
Bhang Senior Management Team
Scott J. Van Rixel, Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
A High Times Top 100 in cannabis recipient, Rixel has a proven track record in innovative product and brand design from over two decades with major retailers. He is a founding member of the National Cannabis Industry Association and a European certified Chef de Cuisine and Master Chocolatier.
Tom Stein, President
Stein is an experienced adult beverage industry leader and executive with focus in execution, distribution, finance, marketing and M&A. He is a seasoned entrepreneur with a successful management and operational track record. Prior to Bhang, he served in the role of vice president at Edrington (brands including The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes and The Famous Grouse), director of sales at Palm Bay and distributor manager at Diageo.
Jamie Pearson, Chief Operating Officer and Corporate Secretary
Pearson is a second-generation cannabis executive with decades of experience in global operations, deal structuring and negotiation as a former real-estate executive. She was voted one of the High Times most influential women in cannabis. She is fluent in German and English, responsible for European RTM and global operational roll-out across market sectors.
Samantha Collins, Chief Marketing Officer
Collins is an award-winning brand marketer who held leadership positions at Diageo and Treasury Wine Estates. She has a proven track record of success growing global brands across multiple demographics and geographies. She is responsible for Bhang’s global brand strategy, brand positioning, innovation and expansion.
Jeremy Applen, Chief Science and Procedures Officer
Applen is a quality management and cannabis system implementation design expert. He served on advisory panels to Association of Public Health Laboratories and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Applen is the vice chairman ASTM Committee D37 on cannabis.
Stephen Gledhill, Chief Financial Officer
Gledhill has over 25 years of financial-control experience and acts as CFO and corporate secretary for multiple publicly-traded companies, several of which he was instrumental in scaling-up and taking public. Gledhill has served as the senior vice president and CFO of Borealis Capital Corporation, a Toronto-based merchant bank as well as vice president of finance of OMERS Realty Corporation (ORC), the real estate entity of the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System.
