Hill Street Wins Major New Retail Account and Gears for Growth by Strengthening Operationally
Toronto, Ontario–(Newsfile Corp. – November 5, 2020) – Hill Street Beverage Company Inc. (TSXV: BEER) (“Hill Street” or the “Company”) today announced it has secured listings for its alcohol-free beer with a major national retailer for the province of Quebec. This represents a strategic undertaking to have full representation of the Company’s full suite of brands available to consumers in the province with the most alcohol-free consumption. The Company also announces the appointment of Bryan Brissette to Controller of the Company, and Parviz Yousefian to the role of Quality Assurance Leader for its cannabis infused products line.
“Securing new retail listings during a very challenging economic climate poses a unique set of challenges as consumers’ purchasing habits are significantly different during the pandemic,” said June Nicholson, Chief Operating Officer of Hill Street. “That’s why this win is even sweeter for us, as it would seem our brands’ reputation as the category leader for alcohol free wine and beer precedes us, as consumers are requesting our products at their favourite local grocery stores. We will begin to see the financial impact of this new win in 2021 as distribution in Quebec begins to increase and the brands continue to be more widely available at even more major national grocery retailers.”
The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Bryan Brissette as Controller. Most recently, Bryan was a financial manager for Molson Coors, and prior to that, Constellation Brands. He brings a tremendous amount of industry knowledge in beverages to the Hill Street team. In addition, Parviz Yousefian has been appointed as Head of Quality Assurance for the Company, with a focus on the new cannabis infused product portfolio, including the joint manufacturing partnership with Lexaria. Parviz’s prior experiences include quality assurance and food safety in the food industry and professorships at Seneca College, Centennial College, and Academy of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences, where he created and ran food and cannabis edibles education programs, certifications and curriculum that have resulted in hundreds of graduates across the entire food and cannabis industry. Parviz’s expertise will ensure Hill Street’s Cannabis 2.0 products meet the highest standards for safety, quality, and taste.
The Company also announces they their intention to complete a non-brokered private placement of units (“Units“), at a price of $0.05 per Unit, with each Unit being comprised of one common share, and one whole warrant (“Warrant“), with each warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share at an exercise price of $0.13 for a period of two years from the date of closing, subject to acceleration. The issuance price of $0.05 was previously reserved with the TSX Venture Exchange, on or about September 30, 2020. Closing of the non-brokered private placement is scheduled for November 30, 2020, or such other date as the Company may determine.
About Hill Street Beverage Company Inc. (TSXV: BEER)
Hill Street Beverage Company is a leading and award-winning company focused on alcohol-free beer, wine, and adult-format beverages. Hill Street’s brands include Hill Street Craft Brewed Lager, Vin(Zero) and Vintense wines, and have won numerous medals and accolades around the world. Hill Avenue Cannabis, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, will produce and sell cannabis-infused adult beverages and other cannabis products with expected distribution at licensed outlets in 2020. Check out Hill Street’s award-winning line-up and order product to be delivered straight to your home at www.hillstreetbeverages.com.
The Company presently has one business segment, the marketing and distribution of alcohol-free beer and wine in Canada and, to a much lesser extent, the United States. Hill Street sells its products online and through roughly 8,000 points of distribution in grocery and drug stores in Canada.
Joint Manufacturing Partnership with Lexaria Bioscience.
Hill Street has a Joint Manufacturing Partnership with Lexaria Biosciences to produce ingredients for Cannabis 2.0 products using Lexaria’s patented DehydraTECH process. Lexaria’s process has over 60 patents either issued or pending. The process provides for rapid onset and offset of the effects of cannabis, as well as provides the potential to create shelf stable products made from cannabis extracts. Hill Street has begun development of a facility in Mississauga where the cannabis ingredients will be manufactured. The Company expects the facility to be operational in 2021.
Cannabis-infused Adult Beverages
In October 2020, the Company announced the launch of its (V)ia SPRIZA Cannabis Infused Beverages brand, to be manufactured in a partnership with Molecule Inc., a licensed producer of cannabis beverages. The Company anticipates that these beverages will be available through licensed cannabis retailers in Ontario in December 2020, with a planned roll out to major markets nationally in 2021. The Company continues to explore the development of additional Cannabis 2.0 products which would be accretive to its business.
For further information:
Terry Donnelly, Chairman and CEO, Hill Street Beverage Company Inc.,
terry@hillstreetbevco.com, (416) 543-4904;
Follow Hill Street on Twitter https://twitter.com/hillstreetbevco
and on Facebook http://facebook.com/hillstreetbevco
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Statements in this press release may contain forward-looking information. Any statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expects”, and similar expressions. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances, such as future availability of capital on favourable terms, may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by securities law.
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