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CHFA NOW Vancouver: Back and Better Than Ever

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Last month, CHFA NOW (Natural, Organic, Wellness) Vancouver brought the health and wellness community back together with its iconic tradeshow at the Vancouver Convention Centre (VCC), and it’s safe to say it was back and better than ever. After two years of hosting virtual tradeshows, CHFA proved its commitment to delivering a best-in-class live experience. CHFA’s new brand, CHFA NOW, formerly known as CHFA West, delivered a new Member Lounge, new activations, and an overall, fresh, and exciting vibe.

The theme of the event was Rise Together, to generate a sense of excitement for our community finally having the opportunity to get back together after two long years of restrictions. The conference brought engaging speakers such as the keynote, Shane Feldman, who filled us in on how we can harness the power of community to help our businesses succeed.

We were grateful for a beautiful sunny day in Vancouver, which attendees got to enjoy for a lunch break and bike ride along the seawall to Stanley Park. The much-anticipated LaunchPad event capped off the conference day with competitive pitches of recently launched and innovative products – shout out to the winner, Aeryon Wellness for launching Canada’s first 100% boric acid female health product.

On Saturday, the VCC was filled with over 6,000 industry professionals ranging from health and wellness retailers to investors and over 750+ exhibitors. The industry was itching to get back together, network with the best in the business, and get a taste of what’s trending in natural, organic, and wellness. The energy was palpable.

One of the highlights of attending the CHFA NOW tradeshow is spotting these trends and discovering brands pushing the boundaries with new innovative products. Some are more obvious than others, for example, you couldn’t walk past an aisle without seeing a new brand in the non-alcoholic space. From sugar-free mocktails to alcohol-free wine, this booming industry is on its way to dominating the retail space in the near future.

Others take a bit more sleuthing to discover, such as the from the sea category and the upcycled food trend. From food to beauty products, brands have begun to harness life under the sea to create sustainable products we can feel good about consuming. And companies like Susgrainable and Loop are finding creative ways to upcycle foods to reduce waste in the landfill. For a full list of the top trends at CHFA NOW, head to CHFA’s curated list of trends: Our Top Trends We Saw at CHFA NOW 2022 – CHFA NOW.

The CHFA NOW conference and tradeshow are back in Toronto on September 15-18, 2022, with the new theme, Pop of Wonder! We can’t wait to see the exciting events that take place in their new location, the Enercare Centre! Head to chafnow.ca/Toronto to find out more info.

Kaiser Permanente study finds culturally tailored program leads to long-term benefits in adults with hypertension

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Culturally tailored lifestyle coaching can help Black adults with hypertension improve their blood pressure control, new Kaiser Permanente research shows. Improving blood pressure control is key to reducing the risk for stroke, heart attack, and other hypertension-related health problems.

“Black adults have the highest rates of high blood pressure in the United States, and, for reasons we don’t fully understand, it starts at a younger age and results in strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and other serious hypertension-related health problems occurring at an earlier age as well,” said the study’s senior author, Stephen Sidney, MD, MPH, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research. “We know how to treat high blood pressure with medication, but there is also a huge role that behaviour change can play in prevention and treatment. This study was a tremendous opportunity to see if we had an intervention that could change behaviours and get blood pressure under control.”

The study, published May 18 in JAMA Network Open, included 1,761 Black adults with high blood pressure who were members of Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. The patients joined 1 of 3 groups: usual care; usual care and 12-month enhanced medication management; or usual care and a 12-month coaching program of 16 phone sessions with a registered dietitian who talked to them about their diet choices and helped them lower their salt intake by adhering to the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) eating plan. Then, the researchers analyzed the impact the programs had on blood pressure control at 12, 24, and 48 months post-enrollment.

Statistical analyses showed no significant difference in blood pressure control among the 3 groups after 12 months. However, at both the 24-month and the 48-month mark, blood pressure control was significantly better among the patients who had received the lifestyle coaching than it was among patients in the enhanced medication management program or the usual care only group. At 24 months post-enrollment, 72.4% of the patients who received lifestyle coaching had controlled blood pressure, compared with 67.6% of the patients in the enhanced medication management program and 61.2% of patients receiving usual care. At 48 months the differences were sustained, with 73.1% of the patients in the lifestyle coaching group showing controlled blood pressure compared with 66.5% of the patients in the enhanced medication management program and 64.5% of the patients receiving usual care.

“We had hoped that a 12-month coaching program could help people learn how to start a healthy, low-salt eating plan,” said lead author Mai N. Nguyen-Huynh, MD, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and the Kaiser Permanente Northern California regional medical director for primary stroke for The Permanente Medical Group. “But what was really eye-opening was learning that after the 1-year program ended these patients continued to have better blood pressure control, perhaps by sticking with the lifestyle changes they had learned — even though we had no contact with them.”

Black adults have significantly higher rates of high blood pressure than white, Latino, and Asian adults, and lower rates of blood pressure control. High blood pressure can cause damage to the arteries throughout the body, increasing the risk of a heart attack, stroke, dementia, or heart failure. The new study was funded through a national effort aimed at developing programs to reduce stroke disparities in racial/ethnic, rural, or lower socioeconomic populations.

The researchers said they believe their findings could lead to the introduction of similar programs that can help Black adults learn about dietary changes that improve blood pressure control. “This research opens up the door for the creation of programs that could be offered on a larger scale that implement the principles of coaching for behavioural change that we have shown can be effective,” said Dr. Sidney.

Added Dr. Nguyen-Huynh: “This is the only trial that has shown that a lifestyle coaching intervention can bring about changes that lead to better blood pressure control long after the intervention has ended. We’ve learned from the participants’ feedback what they felt were the most helpful aspects of the program, and we can use them to guide our next steps.”

Freshlocal Solutions Inc the parent company of SPUD files for creditor protection

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Pursuant to the Initial Order, Ernst & Young Inc. was appointed as monitor in the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) proceeding and will assist the Company in creating a restructuring plan, which is anticipated to include, among other things, immediately commencing a sale and investment solicitation process that would seek to monetize the Company’s core and non-core assets.
Ernst and Young is also set to finalize interim financing arrangements in order to obtain short term liquidity and continue with initiatives that will help streamline and focus the operations of the company — and its subsidiaries.

It has been a tumultuous few months for Freshlocal. Earlier this month, the company announced the resignation of a member of its board. In April, the company said it had entered into a “loan and security” agreement with a group of strategic lenders, which advanced Freshlocal $7 million to “support the company’s ongoing financial and operational transformation, and to ultimately replace Silicon Valley Bank as the company’s senior lender.

Meantime, trading of the company’s common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange has been halted. It’s expected that the common shares may be delisted since the company has filed for protection under the CCAA.

Walmart Q1 Sales Up, Inflation Dents Bottom Line

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Walmart delivered strong top-line growth globally, reported total revenue of $141.6 billion, up 2.4%, or 2.6%. Although, growth was negatively affected by $5.0 billion caused by divestitures, and $0.4 billion from currency, according to the Bentonville, Ark.-based company. Walmart U.S. comp sales grew 3.0% and 9.0% on a two-year stack, gaining market share in grocery, while e-commerce growth was 1%, or 38% on a two-year stack.
Sam’s Club’s sales were a particular bright spot, with comps increasing 10.2%, and 17.4% on a two-year stack, while membership income increased 10.5%. On the other hand, Walmart International net sales were $23.8 billion, a decrease of $3.5 billion, or 13.0%, which Walmart said were negatively affected by $5.0 billion because of divestitures, and $0.4 billion from currency fluctuations. There were positive comps across all markets, however, and the company’s global advertising business grew more than 30%.

Walmart’s consolidated gross profit rate declined 87 basis points, primarily because of Sam’s Club, and 38 basis points in Walmart U.S. on elevated supply chain costs and product mix. Consolidated operating expenses as a percentage of net sales rose 45 basis points, mainly due to increased wage costs in Walmart U.S. Consolidated operating income was $5.3 billion, a decline of 23.0%, which Walmart said was negatively affected by $0.3 billion from divestitures.

Source: Wammart & progressive grocer

New Report Estimates the Metaverse Could Contribute 2.8% to Global GDP in Its First Decade

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Economic experts at Analysis Group, one of the largest international economics consulting firms, released a report suggesting that if metaverse adoption and impact evolve similarly to mobile technology, it could contribute 2.8% to global gross domestic product (GDP) in the 10th year after the adoption begins. If started in 2022, adoption of the metaverse over the next 10 years could lead to a $3-trillion contribution to global GDP in 2031. Like mobile technology, the metaverse is expected to have far-reaching applications, with the potential to transform a wide range of economic sectors such as education, health care, manufacturing, job training, communications, entertainment, and retail.

Najah Sampson Is Appointed President of Pfizer Canada

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Najah Sampson has been named President of Pfizer Canada ULC, effective May 16, 2022.

Ms. Sampson will be succeeding Cole Pinnow, who has held the position since January 2020.

Mr. Pinnow has been appointed to a position within Pfizer’s global Oncology organization. We sincerely thank him for his contribution to the Canadian pharmaceutical industry and for his commitment to patients. During his time in Canada, Mr. Pinnow made a very big impact as he led the Canadian organization from the beginning of the pandemic and helped bring Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and oral treatment to Canadians. He was very involved in several life science sector organizations, including as Chair, Innovative Medicines Canada.

Prior to this role, Ms. Sampson was Vice President, Global Genitourinary Franchise Lead for Pfizer Oncology. She was responsible for ensuring global strategy development and implementation for an industry-leading portfolio of innovative brands and pipeline medicines in prostate, bladder and kidney cancers and the Oncology biosimilar portfolio.

In her 20+ year career at Pfizer, Ms. Sampson has held commercial leadership positions at all levels in the organization. Ms. Sampson served as Vice President and Chief of Staff to Pfizer’s Chairman and CEO, overseeing operations to advance enterprise priorities, supporting the Executive Leadership Team and Board of Directors, and coordinating with leaders across the organization to enable a strong corporate culture. Ms. Sampson began her career with Pfizer in the US organization managing a portfolio of quality improvement programs and enabling engagement strategies for managed care and institutional customers.

Notably, Ms. Sampson is the first woman to be appointed as President of Pfizer Canada.

Ms. Sampson holds a BS and an MBA from Florida A&M University. Outside of work, Ms. Sampson an active supporter of healthcare charities and organizations. She is an avid traveller and enjoys time outdoors with her husband and young daughter. She will be relocating with her family to Canada, where she will be based at Pfizer Canada’s head office in Kirkland, Quebec.

The Well Told Company enters into debt conversion agreement

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The company announced the execution of an agreement with an arm’s length service provider to convert $1.44 Million of debt into 4,520,000 common shares of the Company (“Shares”), currently equal to $180,800 based on the current market price of the Shares. 4,000,000 Shares are being issued at a price of ‎$0.355 per Share and 520,000 Shares are being issued at a price of $0.04 per Share. The Company, with the service provider’s consent, is determined to satisfy the indebtedness of these one-time go-public related fees with Shares in order to ‎‎preserve the ‎Company’s cash for working ‎capital.
Monica Ruffo, founder and CEO of Well Told, stated, “We are pleased to have come to an agreement that will serve to lighten our balance sheet and preserve our cash and enable us to move on from these one-time go-public fees without putting pressure on our cash flow”.

The transaction is subject to the approval of the directors of the Company and regulatory approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the “Exchange”). In addition, all of the Shares issuable pursuant to the transaction will be subject to a four-month hold period following which 4,000,000 Shares will be released from lock-up every four months for a one-year period.

Loblaw Companies Limited has confirmed it has closed the deal

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The Brampton grocery giant has confirmed the closing of the previously announced acquisition of Lifemark Health Group (“Lifemark”) from Audax Private Equity.
Lifemark is a leading provider of outpatient physiotherapy, massage therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic, mental health and other ancillary rehabilitation services in Canada. With this acquisition, Loblaw through its wholly-owned subsidiary Shoppers Drug Mart Inc., adds to its growing role as a healthcare service provider, with a network of health and wellness solutions, accessible in-person and digitally.

About Loblaw Companies Limited
Loblaw Companies Limited is Canada’s food and pharmacy leader, with a network of more than 2,400 corporate, franchised and Associate-owned locations in communities across the country. Loblaw’s purpose – Live Life Well® – supports the needs and well-being of Canadians who make one billion visits each year to the company’s stores.

Led by Shoppers Drug Mart, the leader in Canada’s retail drug store marketplace and the number one provider of pharmacy products and services, Loblaw offers full-service pharmacies and a range of services like prescriptions, med checks, vaccinations, minor-ailment diagnoses, and nutrition consultations in more than 1,800 locations in 10 provinces and 2 territories, including in Shoppers Drug Mart, PharmaPrix, Loblaw pharmacy, DRUGStore Pharmacy and CENTRESante locations.

About Lifemark Health Group
Lifemark Health Group is a Canadian leader in community rehabilitation, workplace health and wellness and medical assessment services. With over 20 years of service excellence, Lifemark Health Group is a comprehensive and trusted health provider with 3 million patient visits annually and employs over 5,000 highly trained clinicians, medical experts and team members.

As Canada’s largest physiotherapy company, Lifemark is passionate about enriching the health of Canadians through movement. Lifemark’s commitment to health and wellness extends beyond patient care, to the entire team, as evidenced by an award-winning culture.

About Audax Private Equity
Audax Group is a leading alternative investment manager with offices in Boston, New York, and San Francisco. Since its founding in 1999, the firm has raised over $30 billion in capital across its Private Equity and Private Debt businesses. Audax Private Equity has invested over $9 billion in more than 150 platforms and over 1050 add-on companies and is currently investing out of its $3.5 billion, sixth private equity fund. Through its disciplined Buy & Build approach, Audax seeks to help platform companies execute add-on acquisitions that fuel revenue growth, optimize operations, and significantly increase equity value. With more than 30 employees and over 100 investment professionals, the firm is a leading capital partner for North American middle market companies.

Natural Alternatives International, Inc. Announces 2022 Q3 and YTD Results

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The company announced a net income of $2.5 million, or $0.41 per diluted share, on net sales of $42.4 million for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022 compared to a net income of $1.9 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, in the third quarter of the prior fiscal year.
Net sales during the three months ended March 31, 2022, decreased $3.9 million, or 8.5%, to $42.4 million as compared to $46.3 million recorded in the comparable prior year period. During the same period, private-label contract manufacturing sales decreased 10.8% to $37.6 million. Private-label contract manufacturing sales decreased primarily due to a 40% reduction in sales to our largest customer partially offset by sales to other existing customers and a new customer. Sales backlog for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, totalled approximately $10.0 million primarily related to supply chain issues, labour shortages, and logistical constraints.

CarnoSyn® beta-alanine royalty, licensing and raw material sales revenue increased 15.2% to $4.8 million during the third quarter of the fiscal year 2022, as compared to $4.1 million for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2021. The increase in patent and trademark licensing revenue during the third quarter of fiscal 2022 was primarily due to increased shipments to existing customers related in part to athletic activities and gyms reopening in accordance with easing COVID-19 restrictions across the USA as compared to significant restrictions in athletic activities primarily impacting the first nine months of fiscal 2021.

Net income for the nine months ended March 31, 2022, was $7.6 million, or $1.22 per diluted share, compared to net income of $7.8 million, also $1.22 per diluted share, for the nine months ended March 31, 2021. Net income for the first nine months of fiscal 2021 included a $0.9 million discrete tax benefit while the first nine months of fiscal 2022 did not have a corresponding discrete item.

Net sales during the nine months ended March 31, 2022, decreased $15.7 million, or 11.7%, from $134.1 million recorded in the comparable prior year period. For the nine months ended March 31, 2022, private-label contract manufacturing sales decreased by $19.7 million, or 15.8%, from the comparable period last year. CarnoSyn® beta-alanine royalty, licensing and raw material sales revenue increased 41.7% to $13.5 million during the first nine months of fiscal 2022, as compared to $9.6 million for the first nine months of fiscal 2021.

Based on our current sales order volumes and forecasts we have received from our customers, and despite the continued challenges with supply chain and staffing shortages, including challenges from COVID-19 employee absences, we now anticipate our consolidated net sales during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 will increase between 18.0% to 21.0% as compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. We also anticipate operating income as a percent of net sales will increase to between 9.0% and 12.0% for our fourth quarter ending June 30, 2022. The improvement in net sales and operating profitability is expected to be generated from continued growth from one of our newest customers, improved sales demand from our largest customer, improved sales mix and improved staffing levels which will increase our production capacities.

As of March 31, 2022, we had cash of $18.6 million and working capital of $53.8 million, compared to $32.1 million and $58.3 million respectively, as of June 30, 2021. As of March 31, 2022, we had $20.0 million available under our line of credit agreement.

Mark A. Le Doux, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NAI stated, “Considering our ongoing staffing and supply chain challenges combined with a decline in sales from our largest customer, we are pleased with the results of our third quarter and first nine months of fiscal 2022. We successfully increased the capacity of our Vista California facility with the installation of a new high-capacity blender, which increased our throughput potential and enabled us to better meet the demands of our customers while we continue construction on our new powder facility. While we were able to partially reduce our backlog going into the fourth quarter, demand remains strong, and we are continuing to add staff and navigate supply chain challenges. We expect to make significant strides to further reduce our backlog during our fourth quarter.”

“We will continue to utilize our robust balance sheet and free cash flow to drive shareholder value through both share buybacks and investments in our business. We continue to believe our stock is trading well below the true value of our Company.”

“I am proud of the efforts of our team as they have diligently navigated the mercurial landscapes of staffing and supply chain combined with the evolving needs of our clients. We still see significant opportunity for growth in both the near and long term and I believe the foundation we have laid over the past couple of years will pave the way for future growth opportunities.”

Agora Brands Announces Transformational $83.5-Million Investment to Drive Aggressive Acquisition, Technology and Growth Strategy

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Agora Brands, a leading E-commerce aggregator specializing in the Shopify ecosystem, is thrilled to announce an $83.5-million growth-capital investment led by Toronto-based Maverix Private Equity, with participation from Palo Alto-based Foundation Capital and Victory Park Capital. Maverix Managing Partner Michael Wasserman has joined Agora’s board of directors, along with Jonathan Ehrlich, a partner at Foundation Capital.

The company’s business model is to acquire small-to-medium sized direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses with $1–20 million in annual revenues, primarily within the Shopify ecosystem. The founders of those businesses benefit by continuing to build their brands, strengthened by the power of the shared services and operational efficiencies delivered by Agora’s aggregated model.

Company founders Jesse Horwitz, Ben Cogan and Ray Cao have extensive track records in building and growing digitally native e-commerce brands. With experience that includes Harry’s, Clearco and Hubble, among others, Agora’s founders understand the value that shared knowledge and a vast network can drive. Its mission is to build a collective whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts, allowing the brands they acquire to not only leverage the centralized buying power and services available through an aggregated model but also take advantage of one another’s expertise.

“We’re creating an environment that truly facilitates the right connections for the founders of the brands we acquire,” says Ray Cao, one of Agora’s founders. “They are constantly advising each other, allowing each of them to tap into expertise they might otherwise never have access to. One person might have experience with optimizing Google ad words, while another knows a lot about reducing shipping costs. Together they become this really powerful vault of institutional knowledge that helps them scale up and grow their businesses faster and more successfully than they could ever do on their own.”  

Investors see strength in Agora’s aggressively high-growth, disruptive business strategy
“Agora is a perfect representation of our growth investment thesis,” says Wasserman. “We invest in outstanding people and high-growth businesses that are using technology to disrupt a traditional industry, in this case, retail and E-commerce. We’re thrilled to partner with this team to allow them to grow even faster and help more brands become part of the Agora family.”

Ecommerce sales skyrocketed during the pandemic, and despite some acute macroeconomic challenges, U.S. retail E-commerce sales are projected to continue growing rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5%, becoming a $1.65-trillion market by 2026. Wasserman says Agora’s focus on businesses that use the Shopify ecosystem allows it many degrees of freedom to add value to its partner brands.

To date, Agora has acquired brands and businesses across a wide range of D2C categories, including automotive, apparel, personal wellness products and home goods. “This investment is a tremendous vote of confidence in our leadership and our vision,” added Ray. “We’ve been pursuing an aggressively high-growth strategy, and this will help us grow even faster. It will also help us strengthen our operational infrastructure, including growing our centralized support functions such as finance and HR, and a portion of this capital will go toward developing technology that will drive automation and institutionalize processes under the Agora banner.”

“There is a tremendous amount of promise in this team’s vision,” adds Ehrlich. “That combined with their expertise and their rock-solid execution make their future incredibly bright, and we’re very proud to be a part of it.”