AgriFORCE CEO Provides Letter to Shareholders
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd. (“the Company”) (NASDAQ: AGRI; AGRIW), an intellectual property (IP) focused AgTech company, today provided the following update from the Company’s interim CEO and CFO, Richard Wong:
Dear AgriFORCE Shareholders,
We continue to make meaningful progress in terms of technological enhancements, market penetration, and investments. Improved food security, reduced food spoilage, and more nutritious food all belong in the same conversation in terms of what the world needs and is looking for. In turn, we strive to provide this for businesses and consumers through our ESG solutions. We are laser-focused on this objective and our team has worked tirelessly to advance these initiatives over the past months.
At the same time, we hear and share your disappointment with our recent share price weakness. This year there has been a massive erosion of the macro business environment, which has certainly contributed to this weakness. Inflation, high interest rates, and geopolitical issues dominate the news and create investment uncertainty in the capital markets. Sometimes, in an environment like this, it is difficult to see the underlying progress being made in our Company. For this reason, it is important that we provide an update on ongoing activities inside the company.
Businesses are continually looking for ways to reduce food spoilage, a multi-billion-dollar waste problem, while maximizing efficiency in the growing and processing of foods. Our solutions can aid in bringing more and better food to humans by improving food security through our GrowHouse technology, reducing food waste up and down the food supply chain through our RCS Hydroxyl pathogen and VOC killing machines, thereby reducing food costs to consumers. At the same time, we are helping reshape how the world looks at the food supply chain and how consumers can end up saving money on more nutritious food through our patented un(THINK) food processing technology.
Our technologies are innovative and highly differentiated, providing key competitive advantages for the industry within the following three areas:
1. un(THINK) food processing technology for wheat: our patented process to improve food nutrition.
2. RCS Hydroxyl chemical free & human safe pathogen eliminating equipment: reduces food spoilage and provides safer food processing and delivery.
3. AgriFORCE ForceGH+ and new GrowHouse design: better food security in every geography and climate.
un(THINK) Flour
We have finalized the first phase of our product development and qualified 3 types of wheat-based flours – Awakened Flours – that have the distinct advantage of being the only flours on the market that are processed (LIGHTLY GERMINATED) from the entire kernel, resulting in a wheat flour that:
- Contains all the nutrients of the wheat kernel, but with a taste and functionality that is better than whole wheat and sprouted flours.
- Contains more protein, fibers and up to 25% less carbohydrates.
- It makes for incredibly tasting breads and pastries.
We are now introducing these 3 SKUs to bakeries in Canada and the US, as well as some sizeable bread manufacturers, cookie manufacturers, and large pancake/mixes manufacturers. Early impressions are favourable, but we often need to wait for these customers' R&D and procurement timelines. We expect to start shipping in the coming weeks.
RCS Hydroxyl Bacteria Killer Devices
With these pathogens and VOC killer devices, we are pleased to report that our Mexican distributor has made significant progress in promoting our devices to some of the largest companies in the food manufacturing industry, including the poultry sector. These companies are currently testing these devices and we are optimistic about the results.
In addition, we have received significant interest from within the produce industry, with several berries, lettuce, and tomato producers expressing interest in our Hydroxyl Radical devices. These devices have the ability to eliminate bacteria, viruses, and mold, making them an ideal solution for the produce industry. Moreover, there is a strong interest for our devices as a solution for the transportation of produce and food products.
At the latest AgTech Expo in Latin America, we also met with the top five greenhouse builders in Mexico. All five were interested in an integrated solution within their greenhouses and we are excited to explore this opportunity further. We are also pleased that two of the top agricultural universities have shown interest in testing and publishing research on the topic with our devices.
We have already received our first orders with revenues and expect substantial growth in the total number of units our distributor will order in the coming quarter.
GrowHouse Licensing & AgriFORCE Agtech Consulting
We are currently in discussions with industry segment equipment providers to license our technology. These discussions are progressing well, and we are optimistic about the outcome.
Additionally, we are continuing to work on AgTech consulting solutions and are excited to announce that we will be launching new initiatives in the coming quarter. We believe that these initiatives will help us better serve our customers and achieve our long-term goals.
We continue to execute our strategy of looking to monetize our IP assets while managing our cash runway.
M&A
As you know, the current market conditions have made M&A more challenging than ever before. With the increases in interest rates and capital market raises difficult, it has become much harder to meet both sellers’ expectations and financing requirements. However, we remain committed to our acquisition pipeline and are working patiently to find the right financing structures for them.
We are confident that our team’s expertise and experience will enable us to navigate these challenges and emerge stronger. We will keep you updated on our progress and look forward to sharing more news with you soon.
Outlook
Challenges continue; however, we remain focused on building shareholder value through our current strategy of commercializing our more nutritious un(THINK) flour, reducing contamination and food spoilage in food supply chains through our RCS Hydroxyl devices, bringing our GrowHouse IP into the marketplace through equipment partnerships, and executing M&A.
Our goal is to build sustainable solutions that help improve food nutrition and enhance food security; to ultimately drive broad commercial uptake and maximize value for shareholders. We have the right technology and leadership to deliver. We are in the market building phase and are positioned to generate revenue in 2024 and beyond. We are actively marketing the AgriFORCE story to new investors in the US and Europe, and we're looking forward to participating in investor conferences during 2024.
Overall, we are working on our 2024 strategic objectives, and while a few items are still progressing, we are determined to finish the year strong! Thank you for your ongoing support.
Sincerely,
Richard Wong, CFO and interim CEO of AgriFORCE
ABOUT AGRIFORCE
AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ: AGRI; AGRIW) is an AgTech company focused on building an integrated AgTech platform that combines the best technology, intellectual property, and knowledge to solve an urgent problem – providing the best solutions to help drive sustainable crops and nutritious food for people around the world. The AgriFORCE vision is to be a global leader in delivering plant-based foods and products through an advanced and sustainable AgTech platform that makes positive change in the world—from seed to table. Additional information about AgriFORCE is available at: .
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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance, condition or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including those described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and elsewhere. The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement made herein. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities of the issuer. Any offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities of the issuer may only be made pursuant to a valid prospectus pursuant to an effective registration statement or pursuant to a valid exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
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