Vancouver, B.C., November 19 th , 2021 – Solarvest BioEnergy Inc. (“Solarvest” or the “Company”) (TSXV:SVS) is pleased to announce that its audited financial statements for the year ended July 31, 2021, related management discussion and analysis and associated officer’s certifications (collectively, the “Annual Filings”) have been filed and are now available on www.sedar.com.
Gerri Greenham, CEO, said “we are pleased with the progress we have made since July 2020 to the financial year end of 2021. We have achieved several key milestones in a relatively short period of time.” The following are some highlights:
Organic Omega-3 Update
This past year Solarvest has made significant strides toward commercialization of its first line of organic Omega-3 DHA products. As a result of our R&D programs, we are now able to expand into production, licensing, sales and marketing.
Our efforts were focused on product development this past year. We have created three new product formulations resulting in 6 new retail packages, based on our proprietary foundation of organic certified Omega-3. This product line will substantially increase our attractiveness on e-commerce platforms and to white label customers.
The first completed product is a presentation of three 60ml shots — Stamina, Recover and Vision. The functional shots market is expected to grow at 16% per year to $1.4 billion in 2027 according to Research and Markets*. The Company’s convenient 60ml shots are formulated to supplement the essential daily Omega-3 requirement with added organic ingredients. For example, Stamina includes ingredients that are known to dilate blood vessels, an effect that may lower blood pressure and increase exercise time to task failure. Recover includes ingredients that, in addition to Omega-3, are known to reduce inflammation. The market goes beyond the professional athlete seeking a competitive boost to anyone wishing to enhance their workout and manage the resulting inflammation. The Vision customer is expected to be anyone
that experiences blue light toxicity and screen fatigue, common in our screen heavy work environments.
The second developed product is a line of four organic powder blends. The flagship in this range is a high dose Omega-3 powder providing 450mg of natural triglyceride DHA. The remaining powders are based on shot formulations with similar active ingredients and flavours.
The third completed product is the enhancement of our dried fruit gummy product for children. The Company employed a mother-oriented market research company to introduce and sample our Zing fruit gummy. We had very positive feedback and almost unanimous support for the formulation, tested ingredients and clean label. Taking this input into consideration, the Company decided to implement tooling for a more attractive shape while increasing the size of the gummy. The result is an attractive fruit section shape and a fruitier flavour. The Company has produced the Fruit Slice gummy and is in the process of producing inventory to be shipped to China for a launch with our distributor OrgHive.
Animal Health
The Company entered into an arrangement with the Scoular Company to explore opportunities in the animal health industry. Omega oils are being used in the aquaculture industry through the incorporation of fish oil and fishmeal into commercial fish feed. Scoular and Solarvest are exploring the possibilities of using Solarvest’s algae technology with Scoular’s ingredient expertise to produce an omega oil that could compete with the wild catch harvested for fish oil and meal.
Initial fermentation trials have determined the suitability of the Scoular by-product as a media component. The next steps are to optimize the production methodology and assess final product costing.
Protein Expression
Our protein expression program in algae has also made good progress with the short-term goal being to modify the algae strain to product targeted cannabinoid proteins.
The algae protein program was financed through a relationship with a pharma company interested in active pure cannabinoid proteins. We entered into a share exchange program with the intent of using the funds to further Solarvest activities and commence a cannabinoid expression research program. The collaboration did not deliver all the funds the partners had expected as the Company suffered a loss on the sale of common shares it received in the share exchange, as we report in the financials with the loss of $1,297,877 on the sale of their securities. We will continue discussions with our partner as we realize the commercial benefits from a successful result to our partner and others in the pharma cannabinoid industry.
For the fiscal year ended July 31 2021 the Company incurred a net loss of $3,460,003 for the year ended July 31, 2021 compared to $1,541,412 for the prior year. At July 31, 2021, the Company had $1,388,244 (July 31, 2020 – $ 547,471) in cash. Working capital at July 31, 2021 was $ 587,732 (July 31, 2020 working capital deficiency- $ 226,513). The Company completed a successful financing of $2,297,286 during the year which resulted in the increase in professional costs from $340,882 to $587,995 for 2021. Many of the investors from this placement were individual, qualified investors, so although the Company saved on financing fees, legal costs did increase.
“We look forward to the coming year as we begin to move toward a growth oriented company,” said Gerri Greenham, CEO.
This news release should be read in conjunction with the Annual Filings. The Annual Filings have been reviewed by both the audit committee and the board of directors.
About Solarvest
Solarvest BioEnergy Inc. is an algae biologics company whose production platform provides it with an extremely flexible system capable of producing numerous products from Omega 3 fatty acids to human therapeutic proteins. The Company has successfully developed, patented and produced the world’s only plant-based organic certified Omega-3 to satisfy the substantial demand for this essential nutrient. The Company has also initiated a program for the expression of CBD and THC to be produced in GMP fermentation facilities.
For further information contact:
Gerri Greenham, CEO
Tel.: (647) 204-4095
Email: invest@solarvest.ca
Forward-Looking Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management’s current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management’s current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
*https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/06/28/2253640/28124/en/1-4-Billion-Global-Functional-Shots-Market-2021-to-2027-by-Product-Distribution-Channel-and-Region.html