Village Farms International’s Cannabis Joint Venture Pure Sunfarms Begins Shipping Branded Products to Saskatchewan and Approved to Begin Shipments to Manitoba

Village Farms International, Inc. (NASDAQ: VFF) (TSX: VFF) announces its majority-owned joint venture for large-scale, low-cost, high-quality cannabis production, Pure Sunfarms, has begun shipping branded, packaged dried flower products to Saskatchewan following approval from the Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority, the provincial regulator responsible for permitting and monitoring the operation of local cannabis wholesalers and retailers in the Province. Pure Sunfarms expects its products to be available to Saskatchewan consumers beginning next week.

Village Farms is one of the largest and longest-operating vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America. Village Farms produces is and distributes fresh, premium-quality produce with year-round to national grocers in the U.S. and Canada from more than nine million square feet of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) greenhouses in Canada and the U.S., as well as from its partner greenhouses in Canada and Mexico.  The Company is leveraging its 30 years of experience as a large-scale, low-cost vertically integrated grower for the rapidly emerging global cannabis and CBD opportunities.  In Canada, British-Columbia-based Pure Sunfarms (majority-owned by Village Farms) is one of the single largest cannabis operations in the world and one of the best-selling brands in the country.  In the U.S., subject to compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and state laws, the Company is pursuing a strategy become a leading developer and supplier of branded and white-labeled CBD products  targeting “big box” and other major retailers and consumer packaged goods companies, and with one the largest greenhouse operations in country, is well positioned for the potential federal legalization of high-THC cannabis.

Saskatchewan ranks as the fifth largest Canadian province by cannabis sales, comprising approximately 6% of the country’s total sales1 and has the second highest per capita spend on cannabis of the five largest provinces1 (behind Alberta).  Saskatchewan currently has 44 licensed retailers and with the SLGA’s announcement to move towards an open market cannabis model by September of this year, there will be no cap on the number of dispensaries permitted in municipalities provincewide which is expected to give more consumers access to product.

“Following Pure Sunfarms’ success in British Columbia, Ontario, and most recently, Alberta, we are pleased to supply another key market in Canada as we continue to expand our footprint across the country,” said Mandesh Dosanjh, President & CEO, Pure Sunfarms. “With Saskatchewan’s strong network of retailers, we are excited to offer even more Canadians our signature strains at a great price.”

Pure Sunfarms Approved to Begin Shipments to Manitoba

Village Farms also announces that Pure Sunfarms has been accepted by the Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries Corporation as an official supplier of non-medical adult-use cannabis to the Province’s licensed private sector retailers and will begin shipping branded, packaged products to Manitoba as soon as possible.

Manitoba ranks as the sixth largest Canadian province by cannabis sales, comprising approximately 4.5% of the country’s total sales and has a higher per capita spend on cannabis than the country average1.

“Expansion into additional provinces is one of a number of growth drivers for Pure Sunfarms this year as it continues to capitalize on its leading brand performance since entering the retail branded market last September,” said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village Farms.  “We expect further provincial launches in the coming months, along with the continued introduction of new cannabis products, including the launch of pre-rolls in Ontario this week, and the launch of its first bottled oil and Cannabis 2.0 products this summer.”

Following the imminent launch in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Pure Sunfarms’ products will be available in five of Canada’s six most populous provinces, which in aggregate represent more than 70% of the total Canadian population.  Pure Sunfarms continues to advance discussions with other provincial distributors for potential supply agreements to further expand its presence in the Canadian cannabis market.

Pure Sunfarms Continues to Launch New Dried Cannabis Products, Including First Pre-Rolls in Ontario

Pure Sunfarms’ continues to launch new product offerings, including pre-roll formats, new strains and new package sizes:

• Pre-rolled dried cannabis products (four different strains) in Ontario;
• Pre-rolls of Afghan Kush, one of Pure Sunfarms top-selling strains, as well as Headband, in British Columbia;
• Two new strains, D. Bubba and high-THC Pink Kush, two well-known British Columbia strains, which are Pure Sunfarms’ first new strains since the launch of its initial eight strains in September 2019;
• A Hybrid 28-gram (1-ounce) large-format package in British Columbia and Alberta, and in Ontario in the coming weeks; and,
• White Rhino 7-gram and Island Honey 7-gram packages in Alberta.

“Pre-rolls were the second largest-selling product category in Ontario in its fiscal 2020 year2,” said Mr. DeGiglio.  “The launch of its first pre-rolled products in Ontario builds on Pure Sunfarms’ leading dried cannabis market share performance in Canada’s largest provincial market, and comes at an opportune time as the opening of retail stores in Ontario is expected to accelerate throughout this year, driving continued growth.”

Pure Sunfarms continues to prepare for the roll out of its first bottled cannabis oils, as well as its first Cannabis 2.0 offerings this summer.  Pure Sunfarms’ Cannabis 2.0 roll out will begin with the launch of a selection of pre-filled 510 vape cartridges and bottled cannabis oil, available in the extract forms of its top-selling3 dried cannabis strains, under the highly regarded and well trusted Pure Sunfarms brand.

• 12 months ended April 30, 2020. Source: Statistics Canada.
• Source: Ontario Cannabis Store – A Year in Review 2019-2020.
• Market share performance is based on calculations by Pure Sunfarms from sales information provided by the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS).