Planting Hope Accelerates Foodservice Strategy with the Acquisition of Managed Foodservice Master Agreements and University Café Licenses and Up to $1M USD ($1.35M CAD) in Financing

• Planting Hope has acquired a substantial assets package from the acquisition of certain Argo Tea® assets from Golden Fleece Beverages, Inc. through a non-dilutive, non-cash transaction.
• The Argo Tea® assets acquired include:
  • Transferable master contracts with managed Foodservice partners including Sodexo and Aramark
  • Licenses for eight branded Argo Tea® cafés managed by contract Foodservice providers at major US universities, collectively serving upwards of 170,000 students and 10,000 faculty and staff members
• In conjunction with this transaction, the Company is receiving a loan of up to $1,000,000 USD (approx. $1,350,000 CAD), of which $400,000 USD (approx. $541,700 CAD) has been advanced.

CHICAGO, IL and VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2023 / The Planting Hope Company Inc. (TSXV:MYLK)(OTCQB:MYLKF)(FRA:J94) ("Planting Hope" or the "Company"), a Foodtech innovation company focused on leveraging cutting-edge ingredient, formulation, and packaging technology to develop breakthrough sustainable food and beverage solutions, is proud to announce that it has acquired the assets of Argo Tea®, a renowned leader and innovator in the tea café space with international reach, formerly headquartered in Chicago, IL.

Argo Tea® assets acquired by The Planting Hope Company include:

• Master supplier agreements with Sodexo, Aramark, and other managed Foodservice operators
• Licenses for 8 cafés with ongoing operations at major colleges and universities, unlocking additional access to young, influential core consumers
• Finished goods inventory valued at more than $600,000 USD (approx. $812,500 CAD) (cost of goods)
• A food product with significant café industry applications that will be transitioned to the Hope and Sesame® brand

"We're extremely excited about the partnership with Argo® and the ability to integrate the Argo® brand and relationships into Planting Hope's go-forward strategy," said Julia Stamberger. "We believe that the acquisition of master contacts and relationships with the largest managed foodservice operators in the United States will effectively accelerate Planting Hope's contract foodservice strategy by up to two years and adds to our revenue and profitability expectations in 2024 and beyond. The Argo university cafés will provide us with direct access to our core Gen Z demographic at a pivotal point in their lives when they are trying new foods and beverages and adopting lifelong choices. In addition to other benefits, these cafés will provide both a test market for Planting Hope's products and an innovation lab to trial and receive feedback on new beverage recipes and Limited Time Offer ('LTO') concepts that we can subsequently roll out to our café partners."