BevCanna Enterprises acquires Naturo Group
The two companies partnered in November to launch all-natural hemp energy drink Beyond Energy in Canada
By Murielle Gonzalez
Infused cannabis drinks company BevCanna Enterprises has announced the planned acquisition of beverage manufacturer Naturo Group. Based in British Columbia, Canada, Naturo specialises in consumer products for in-house brands and white label clients.
BevCanna intends to purchase all of the issued and outstanding securities of Naturo. Upon completion of the transaction, Naturo will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of BevCanna and the company will carry on the combined business of BevCanna and Naturo.
Marcello Leone, founder of Naturo and chief executive of BevCanna said that joining the companies will be an “unbeatable combination”.
“BevCanna is evolving into a comprehensive health and wellness company, and this combination accelerates that evolution,” he said. Leone explained that the company now offer one of the most unique and diverse portfolios of beverage and wellness products within both the cannabis and the fulvic and humic mineral plant-based categories.
“The merger creates significant value to both organisations and brings together two exceptionally experienced teams, forming one of the most innovative beverage and natural health products companies in our industry,” he added.
The deal comes one month after BevCanna announced the launch of Beyond Energy, an all-natural hemp energy drink developed in partnership with Naturo. The energy drink is the latest addition to the company’s Anarchist Mountain product line.
Beyond Energy is formulated with natural mineral spring water and all-natural vegan-friendly ingredients, including natural yuzu and lime flavours. The formula includes caffeine from natural tea, as well as ginseng, B and D vitamins, and hemp seed extract. The latter is a functional source of omegas and promotes brain function and overall wellbeing.
BevCanna said its fortified hemp seed extract formulation does not require Health Canada cannabis licensing and will allow the beverage to be sold in traditional mass retail points of distribution and through direct-to-consumer online channels.
Naturo in Canada
Naturo owns and operates nationally distributed house brands across Canada, which are currently sold in more than 30,000 retailers, including 7-Eleven, Loblaws, London Drugs, Metro and Farm Boy, as well as online direct-to-consumers, via Amazon.
The deal is also aligned with Naturo’s expansion to the US market next year.
Naturo Group owns a pristine alkaline spring water aquifer and a world-class 40,000–square–foot HACCP-certified manufacturing facility, with a current bottling capacity of up to 210 million bottles a year.
A new business
The combination of BevCanna and Naturo will create the only fully licensed, in-house and white-label beverage manufacturing company that distributes both conventional and cannabis-based beverage and wellness products.
The newly formed company will now have access to global, multi-channel distribution networks of traditional and cannabis sales channels.
BevCanna will take ownership of Naturo’s facility and 315-acres of outdoor cultivatable land valued at $10.4 million. The deal also includes beverage manufacturing equipment valued at $3.4 million (as of year-end), and a proprietary Health Canada-approved fulvic and humic plant-based mineral formulation.
The company will also take possession of one of Naturo’s most valuable assets – its onsite alkaline spring water source, independently valued at $18 million.
As water resources become increasingly more scarce, BevCanna expects that the proprietary resource will contribute to a strengthened balance sheet and to BevCanna’s unique positioning within the exploding plant-based and cannabis sectors.
BevCanna will also own Naturo’s flagship brand Trace, which the company claims to have a leadership position in the Canadian plant-based fulvic and humic mineral category.
Trace is sold in more than 3,000 Canadian retailers, with select international agreements and partnerships under review.
Naturo is expanding Trace’s product selection to nutraceuticals with additional herbal compounds, including cannabinoids, adaptogens, and nootropics. The company seeks to sell these products in domestic and international markets.
According to Naturo’s latest independent estimate pricing report of February, the business is valued between C$38-C$42 million.