Naturally Splendid Enterprises (CVE:NSP) shares were rising Thursday, up as much as 22% with bigger than normal trading volume, after the natural foods company announced yesterday that Summit Specialty Foods --- one of Western Canada's largest distributors of organic gourmet foods --- is now carrying its Natera hemp superfood line.
Summit placed its first order for the Natera line Wednesday, and will replace the products from the previously carried Naturally Splendid line in its grocery stores in B.C. and Alberta. Naturally Splendid last year relaunched and rebranded its main product line with new flavours, sizes and more customer-focused packaging.
The relaunch has so far been a success for the company, which has managed to secure new customers and convinced existing clients like Summit Specialty, London Drugs and Marketplace IGA to replace its prior hemp line with the new NATERA merchandise.
Shares of Naturally Splendid were trading at 20 cents in Toronto on Thursday, up 11%, rising to as high as 22 cents earlier in the session. During the session, 336,400 shares of the company changed hands, compared to an average of 22,084 over a 30-day period.
The company's distribution network for Natera has increased from servicing 350 stores in Western Canada to now almost 8,000 potential retail clients nationwide since the beginning of the year. These efforts came a long way in January, when Naturally Splendid signed a deal with Purity Life Health Products --- the biggest natural food distributor in Canada, giving it access to 7,000 stores across the country.
The company's Natera superfoods includes a premium-shelled hemp seed, flavoured hemp protein powder and a first to market, single serve flavoured shelled hemp seed.
"The natural food market continues to grow at a significant pace and we couldn't be more pleased to represent the NATERA product line to our client base of almost 900 grocery retailers in Western Canada," said Summit Specialty Foods president, Dave Baker, in a statement Wednesday.
The full service natural foods distributor markets to all major grocery banners, independent grocery and health food stores within Western Canada. The company participated in the test marketing of Naturally Splendid's original hemp line, supplying such stores as Sobeys and Marketplace IGA.
"Our NATERA superfood line is now carried through both regional and national distributors with a reach approaching 8,000 retail stores and is quickly becoming a recognized name in the Canadian functional food market," said Naturally Splendid CEO Craig Goodwin on Wednesday.
"With an expanded product offering, new branding and continued demand by consumers for healthier food choices, the NATERA line continues to gain traction in 2014."
No shortage of demand is seen for the company's hemp based products anytime soon. Hemp has the power to lower blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure and improve organ function, as well as immunity and energy levels. It offers the most digestible protein of any plant source on earth, and is high in fibre and rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, which are widely known to improve immune system health and metabolism.
Demand is also driven by the fact that it is still illegal to grow industrial hemp in the U.S., creating a massive opportunity for Canadian companies operating in the industry.
Earlier this week, Naturally Splendid said it received permits for the construction of its new packaging facility for its Natera line, as it works to improve operations as demand for its core products picks up. The announcement came as the company also said it has completed warehouse upgrades at its head office location in Burnaby, British Columbia.
With a total footprint of more than 6,000 square feet, the Natera warehouse upgrades have increased storage capacity by 200%, according to the company's statement Monday, with the building of new storage and shelving units. The in-house packaging facility is also expected to save on costs, and allow for customized order prep, increasing efficiency overall for its packaging operations. Reported by Proactive Investors 5 hours ago.
Summit placed its first order for the Natera line Wednesday, and will replace the products from the previously carried Naturally Splendid line in its grocery stores in B.C. and Alberta. Naturally Splendid last year relaunched and rebranded its main product line with new flavours, sizes and more customer-focused packaging.
The relaunch has so far been a success for the company, which has managed to secure new customers and convinced existing clients like Summit Specialty, London Drugs and Marketplace IGA to replace its prior hemp line with the new NATERA merchandise.
Shares of Naturally Splendid were trading at 20 cents in Toronto on Thursday, up 11%, rising to as high as 22 cents earlier in the session. During the session, 336,400 shares of the company changed hands, compared to an average of 22,084 over a 30-day period.
The company's distribution network for Natera has increased from servicing 350 stores in Western Canada to now almost 8,000 potential retail clients nationwide since the beginning of the year. These efforts came a long way in January, when Naturally Splendid signed a deal with Purity Life Health Products --- the biggest natural food distributor in Canada, giving it access to 7,000 stores across the country.
The company's Natera superfoods includes a premium-shelled hemp seed, flavoured hemp protein powder and a first to market, single serve flavoured shelled hemp seed.
"The natural food market continues to grow at a significant pace and we couldn't be more pleased to represent the NATERA product line to our client base of almost 900 grocery retailers in Western Canada," said Summit Specialty Foods president, Dave Baker, in a statement Wednesday.
The full service natural foods distributor markets to all major grocery banners, independent grocery and health food stores within Western Canada. The company participated in the test marketing of Naturally Splendid's original hemp line, supplying such stores as Sobeys and Marketplace IGA.
"Our NATERA superfood line is now carried through both regional and national distributors with a reach approaching 8,000 retail stores and is quickly becoming a recognized name in the Canadian functional food market," said Naturally Splendid CEO Craig Goodwin on Wednesday.
"With an expanded product offering, new branding and continued demand by consumers for healthier food choices, the NATERA line continues to gain traction in 2014."
No shortage of demand is seen for the company's hemp based products anytime soon. Hemp has the power to lower blood cholesterol levels, blood pressure and improve organ function, as well as immunity and energy levels. It offers the most digestible protein of any plant source on earth, and is high in fibre and rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, which are widely known to improve immune system health and metabolism.
Demand is also driven by the fact that it is still illegal to grow industrial hemp in the U.S., creating a massive opportunity for Canadian companies operating in the industry.
Earlier this week, Naturally Splendid said it received permits for the construction of its new packaging facility for its Natera line, as it works to improve operations as demand for its core products picks up. The announcement came as the company also said it has completed warehouse upgrades at its head office location in Burnaby, British Columbia.
With a total footprint of more than 6,000 square feet, the Natera warehouse upgrades have increased storage capacity by 200%, according to the company's statement Monday, with the building of new storage and shelving units. The in-house packaging facility is also expected to save on costs, and allow for customized order prep, increasing efficiency overall for its packaging operations. Reported by Proactive Investors 5 hours ago.