Joint venture partners Aphria's cannabis
expertise with Perennial's international brand strategy
experience
LEAMINGTON, ON and BRAMPTON, ON, Nov. 7,
2018 /PRNewswire/ - Aphria Inc. ("Aphria" or the
"Company") (TSX: APHA and NYSE: APHA) and
Perennial Inc. ("Perennial"), a subsidiary of DATA
Communications Management Corp. ("DCM") (TSX: DCM)
are excited to announce they have closed the transaction announced
on August 14 to establish a joint
venture (the "JV") devoted to creating original,
consumer-driven brands and products for the adult-use cannabis
market.
The JV will leverage Aphria's expertise as a leading global
cannabis producer and Perennial's experience with international
brand development and strategy to introduce new, cannabis-infused
products to the Canadian and legal international markets. The JV
will look beyond just edibles and beverages to a range of products
designed to meet consumer demand in the cannabis and wellness
space. Perennial has a successful track record of creating
go-to-market strategies for major CPG and retail clients throughout
North America and around the
world.
"The brands that stand the test of time are the ones created
with an understanding of the marketplace, an original and effective
answer to a consumer need, and a message that's relevant to
people's lives," said Chris Lund,
Chief Innovation Officer of Perennial. "We've been the thought
leaders behind our clients' brand strategies, creative development
and execution for over 25 years – and now we relish the opportunity
to create our own brands from scratch with Aphria, an
industry-leading partner. We look forward to working with Aphria to
bring innovative consumer-centric products and brands to life in
the bourgeoning cannabis market."
Through the JV, Aphria and Perennial will focus on developing
new products, product categories and consumer-driven brands, with
an initial focus on cannabis-infused products for the wellness,
medical and adult-use markets.
"With this partnership, Aphria is advancing its
industry-defining approach to developing the cannabis-based
products of tomorrow," said Jakob Ripshtein, President of Aphria.
"The long-term future of this industry will be driven by
consumer-centric R&D, innovation-led product and brand
development and the ability to execute. Aphria is setting this
standard today, and we will continue to pursue the most strategic
opportunities and partnerships to bring consumer-focused
innovations that define the future of this global industry."
About Aphria
Aphria is a leading global cannabis company driven by an
unrelenting commitment to our people, product quality and
innovation. Headquartered in Leamington,
Ontario – the greenhouse capital of Canada – Aphria has been
setting the standard for the low-cost production of safe, clean and
pure pharmaceutical-grade cannabis at scale, grown in the most
natural conditions possible. Focusing on untapped opportunities and
backed by the latest technologies, Aphria is committed to bringing
breakthrough innovation to the global cannabis market. The
Company's portfolio of brands is grounded in expertly-researched
consumer insights designed to meet the needs of every consumer
segment. Rooted in our founders' multi-generational expertise in
commercial agriculture, Aphria drives sustainable long-term
shareholder value through a diversified approach to innovation,
strategic partnerships and global expansion, with a presence in
more than 10 countries across 5 continents.
For more information, visit: aphria.ca
About Perennial Inc., a DCM Company
For more than 25 years, Perennial has been the trusted partner
for many of North America's top
brands in retail, financial services, and consumer packaged goods.
Perennial has provided business strategy, brand strategy, consumer
insights, and design to leading brands like Royal Bank of Canada,
Loblaw Companies Limited, McKesson
Canada, Coca-Cola, and The Home Depot Canada. Through
innovative thinking, clever storytelling, and strategic solutions,
Perennial drives clients' sales today while building their brands
for tomorrow.
About DATA Communications Management Corp.
DCM is a communication solutions partner that adds value for
major companies across North
America by creating more meaningful connections with their
customers. We pair customer insights and thought leadership with
cutting-edge products, modular enabling technology, and services to
power our clients' go-to-market strategies. We help our clients
manage how their brands come to life, determine which channels are
right for them, manage multimedia campaigns, deploy
location-specific and 1:1 marketing, execute custom loyalty
programs, and fulfill their commercial printing needs all in one
place.
Our extensive experience has positioned us as experts at
providing communication solutions across many verticals, including
the financial, retail, healthcare, consumer health, energy, and
not-for-profit sectors. Thanks to our locations throughout Canada
and in the United States, we are
able to meet our clients' varying needs with scale, speed, and
efficiency – no matter how large or complex the ask. And we can do
it all with advanced data security, regulatory compliance, and
bilingual communications, in print or digital.
Additional information relating to DATA Communications
Management Corp. is available on www.datacm.com, and in the
disclosure documents filed by DATA Communications Management Corp.
on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval
(SEDAR) at www.sedar.com.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: Certain
information in this news release constitutes forward-looking
statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that
are contained in this news 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", "expect", "potential", "believe",
"intend" or the negative of these terms and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are
not limited to, statements with respect to internal expectations,
estimated margins, expectations with respect to actual production
volumes, expectations for future growing capacity and costs, the
completion of any capital project or expansions, and expectations
with respect to future production costs. Forward-looking statements
necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including, without
limitation, risks associated with general economic conditions;
adverse industry events; marketing costs; loss of markets; future
legislative and regulatory developments involving the wellness,
medical and adult-use marijuana markets; inability to access
sufficient capital from internal and external sources, and/or
inability to access sufficient capital on favourable terms; the
wellness, medical and adult-use marijuana industry in Canada and internationally generally; income
tax and regulatory matters; the ability of Aphria, DCM and the JV
to implement their respective business strategies; expectations
regarding the anticipated benefits and synergies of the JV;
competition; crop failure; currency and interest rate
fluctuations and other risks.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive.
Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the
plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will
occur. 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.
The forward-looking statements included in this news release are
made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not
undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking
statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or
otherwise unless required by applicable securities laws.
Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are
expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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SOURCE Aphria Inc.