VANCOUVER, BC – TheNewswire - August 14th, 2023 - Candyverse Brands Inc. ("Candyverse" or the "Company"), owner and operator of the plant-based, natural gummy candy brand Better Bears, announced today several strategic initiatives and the hiring of Mike McGregor as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

McGregor, an industry veteran with significant experience in leading sales operations and revenue generating teams, will lead the charge on driving incremental quarterly revenues in North America and increasing in-store penetration through secondary placements.

In a move to broaden its product portfolio, Candyverse has also finalized the commercial-ready formulations for two all-new products. Peachy Fuzzy Bears and Sour Cherry Bears are now in commercial production and will be launched online in September. Consumers can expect to see them in retail stores by October 2023. These are the first Better Bears products to include a ‘dusted’ coating, a variety that has been highly requested by our customers.

Further demonstrating its commitment to product innovation, Candyverse has completed the final design for its new 25g single-serve SKUs that come in lunch-box-sized packaging. This exciting addition will be available online from September 2023 and in select retailers in Q4 2023. These new ‘snack size’ products bring new opportunities to get Better Bears into the hands of a variety of consumers in different environments and bring new ways to further commercialize the brand.

The brand has also recently commercialized additional secondary placement displays including on-floor shippers and clip strips to increase the average number of retail-facing consumer displays in various retail locations.

Moreover, Candyverse is pleased to announce that it has expanded its sales capabilities in Canada through a partnership with LeBeau Excel, an industry-leading food broker. LeBeau Excel's extensive customer base includes major grocery chains, natural food chains, drug stores, and more.

To ensure optimum brand visibility and customer engagement, the Company has also partnered with Hive Naturals, a Canadian retail merchandiser. Hive Naturals will be responsible for creating secondary displays, placing Point of Purchase (POP) marketing materials at shelf, ensuring promo compliance, tag management, and offering store-level brand and education training.

Candyverse is also making significant headway in the United States market. The Company has partnered with two distributors serving the East Coast and Central US regions and, following successful initial regional store tests, is pleased to announce that it has secured an anchor lead retailer for a planned Q4 2023 launch within approximately 200 store locations. Candyverse anticipates a robust growth in sales and store count in the US, which, along with the Canadian market, will be a key area of focus for the Company in 2024. The strategic expansion into the US market underscores Candyverse's commitment to providing its better-for-you confectionary products to an ever-growing customer base.

Candyverse remains committed to financial sustainability and operational efficiency. Since February, the Company has managed to reduce its monthly staff burn by nearly 60%, through salary reductions and cutting non-strategic spending while focusing its efforts on two key areas: superior product offerings and measured sales results. The corporate culture has shifted to align more with sales performance and the metrics important to our stakeholders.

Garrett Downes, Chief Executive Officer, commented "Through these strategic initiatives, we are positioning Candyverse to better serve our customers and stakeholders. We look forward to growing our footprint in North America, offering new innovative products, and driving incremental revenues while maintaining a lean and efficient operation. With the addition of LeBeau Excel, Hive Naturals, and Mike McGregor to lead the sales charge, I am confident that we can continue to trend positively and bring the Better Bears brand into more and more happy hands that have been dying to Say Yes to Candy™!"

About Candyverse Brands Inc.

Candyverse Brands Inc. is a Vancouver-based company that seeks to incubate brands and products that fill unmet consumer needs in the revolution in modern nutrition sees a larger focus on healthier options and better ingredients. Candyverse owns and operates Better Bears, a plant-based, natural gummy candy brand committed to offering better-for-you confectionary products that remind you of your favorite childhood candy. For more information, please visit www.candyversebrands.com.

For further information, please contact:

Morgan Knowles
Vice President, Investor Relations

647-202-3904
morgan.knowles@candyversebrands.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements or information are provided for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "proposed", "expects", "intends", "may", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking information contained or referred to in this news release includes but is not limited to the Company’s expectations concerning the launch of additional brands and the timing thereof, its expectations consumer snacking habits, expectations of launching a branded portfolio business, its intent to seek a public listing and the timeframe within which such listing may be achieved, as well as all other statements that are not historical in nature.

Forward-looking statements or information are based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such statements and information, but which may prove to be incorrect. Certain assumptions in respect of continued demand for the Company’s products; that future added production capacity will enable us to increase our sales volume, that we do not experience material interruptions or supply chain failures as a result of COVID-19, our ability to retain key personnel, the availability of labour, and changes and trends in our industry or the global economy are material assumptions made in preparing forward-looking statements or information and management's expectations. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements or information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: negative cash flow and future financing requirements to sustain operations; dilution; limited history of operations and revenues and no history of earnings or dividends; competition; economic changes; regulatory changes in the Company’s primary markets and the impact of and risks associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the risk of disruption at the Company's contracted production facilities or in its supply and distribution channels. The forward-looking information in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company.

Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.