In mid-September, the innovator of ethnobotanical and cannabis science products recorded a preliminary unaudited provincial wholesale sell-through in August 2021 of nearly $1.7 million.

This represents a 27% increase over the prior three-month average and puts year-to-date brand sales for the first eight months of 2021 at approximately $8.7 million compared to $6.7 million for all of 2020.

Driven by product line extension, new market expansion, and effective consumer marketing, the company noted that the wholesale sales for its retail brand, Phyto Extractions brand had reflected a strong affinity f or its products by Canadian consumers and retailers across the country.

Adastra’s Chief Operations Officer Donald Dinsmore commented that the Phyto brand is resonating with consumer, retailers, and provincial wholesalers across Canada, which is being reflected in this strong August and year-to-date wholesale sales.

“These positive trends are coming as part of our broader strategy to raise brand awareness and aggressively capture market share. Increased penetration in Ontario and new product releases are only in their infancy. We expect that these efforts will continue to drive growth for many more months to come.”

Adastra followed this news up the next day that it had entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Phyto Extractions. The company had agreed to issue 20 million shares to the Vendors at a deemed price of $0.96 per share for total purchase price of $19.2 million.

Adastra’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael Forbes stated that the prospect of bringing this prominent legacy brand into Adastra is an exciting one.

“We believe the proposed acquisition of Phyto Extractions will add tremendous shareholder value. Phyto Extractions currently holds a preeminent place in the regulated cannabis concentrates market owing to unparalleled brand recognition, quality products, market penetration, and exceptional sales team. As licensing agreements expire, Adastra intends to produce all Phyto Extractions products in-house and recognize full revenues resulting from branded sales.”

Phyto Extractions has proven to be a verity valuable asset, having received a product listing from the Ontario Cannabis Store for its submitted innovative new product – the Santa Cruz Haze Shatter Vape Cartridge – earlier this month. The product is expected to be available in Ontario by November 2021.

The Santa Cruz Haze Shatter Vape Cartridge is a new format of a full spectrum product. The company believes that this will stand out against the competition and appeal to new consumers looking to embark on their concentrate journey and experienced consumers looking for a portable, full-spectrum hydrocarbon-derived extract option.

COO Dinsmore pointed out that the OCS is the largest retailer of cannabis products in Canada and set the stage for rapid expansion.

“It's a significant milestone for both the Phyto Extractions brand and Adastra Labs. Further, this product, along with other similar products that will be available soon, will also hedge against regulatory risk as to the terpenes that flavour the product is 100% cannabis-derived, which is a key differentiator.”

With complete control of the popular Phyto Extractions brand asset, Adastra intends to:
 

• Leverage Phyto Extractions’ proven product development expertise
• Work with its skilled coast-to-coast sales force
• As well as existing relationships with more than 1,400 retail stores across Canada to drive accelerated growth and profitability for an expanded portfolio of Phyto Extractions branded cannabis products

As of July 2021, there are more than 2,100 cannabis retail stores across Canada according to Leafly, and Adastra is out to penetrate this market and expand its retail footprint by leveraging the strength of the Phyto Extractions brand and its coast-to-coast sales force across seven provinces and territories.

In a news release dated September 20th for investors, CEO Forbes said that, as a cannabis retail operator, he recognizes the tremendous value that Phyto Extractions will bring to Adastra,

“Phyto Extractions has already gained the trust of over 1,400 retailers and consumers across Canada, representing over 70% of all regulated Cannabis retail stores. I am confident that Adastra will leverage this position in the Canadian cannabis market to accelerate overall growth over the coming quarters as we enter new product categories. Adding flower and other SKUs, we expect to achieve $5 million in monthly sales by July 2022.”

In a corporate update released to shareholders in September, CEO Forbes explained that the restructuring of Adastra’s operations to be leaner and more cost-efficient, saw the company reduce its monthly expenses by $70,000 in Q2 2021 compared to Q4 2020 whilst simultaneously increasing production output.

Adastra intends to pursue opportunities aggressively over the next few months leading into 2022, with carefully selected partners in strategic locations around the globe. We currently have several ongoing discussions, and I look forward to announcing upon entry into binding agreements.

As Adastra Holdings works to become a significant player in the cannabis and psychedelic space, the month of September alone has proven that this operation is out to return maximum value to stakeholders and shareholders.

To get where it wants to be, the company continues to evolve and as CEO Forbes explained, the team has been onboarding experienced senior management and directors to manage growth properly and who are passionate about taking the company to the next phase of its growth.