Naturally Splendid Enterprises secures more distribution for its Natera plant-based brand; well placed to benefit from growing market

Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd (CVE:NSP) (OTCQB:NSPDF) (FRA:50N) announced Monday a boost for its NATERA plant-based food brand as it revealed it has secured sales of its products via a leading Canadian foodservice distributor.  The three products in question are entrees - the NATERA Plant Based Schnitzel, Seasoned Tenders and Sweet Chili Tenders - which will be carried in the distributor's BC-based centres in Vancouver, Kelowna, and Victoria.  READ: Naturally Splendid Enterprises adds online marketing and SEO specialist, Kris Tarr to its advisory board "Our range of plant-based entrees provides a broad variety of selections to meet growing consumer demand," said Naturally Splendid CEO Craig Goodwin in a statement. Orders have been processed and product has been shipped to the distributor, while the company expects a second container of NATERA Plant Based Foods to arrive in port the first week of December. "Currently we have six items in stock at our facilities which will be extended to ten SKUs when the second container arrives. As more and more consumers adopt plant-based alternatives into their diets, we believe the range of offerings will need to expand as well," said Goodwin. "By continuing to develop and offer a range of plant-based alternatives to beef, chicken, pork and fish in a variety of entrees, we will meet consumer demand by providing a wide range of plant-based options for their dietary needs," he added. The company cited retail sales data released in March this year, which showed that grocery sales of plant-based foods directly replacing animal products, have grown 29% in the past two years to $5 billion. On Friday, the company reported reduced revenue in its latest nine month results due to coronavirus (COVID-19) challenges, but narrowed its net loss and said it was well placed to benefit from the growing plant-based food market. In a statement, the company, which operates a Safe Quality Food (SQF) manufacturing facility in BC, said revenues were hit from reduced sales of both company branded products, along with lesser than expected volumes from contract manufacturing clients. For the nine months to September 30, revenue came in at C$1.34 million, compared to C$2,36 million for the same period in 2019, while the net loss from continuing operations was C$3.3 million versus a loss of C$$3.6 million in the year-ago period. The group put the reduced loss down to continued improvements in operational efficiencies over the same period last year, and added that increased facility costs related to strict new standard operating procedures (SOPs) meant it could not reduce the loss still further. "Although we find ourselves operating in historically challenging times, Naturally Splendid is positioned to participate in the rapidly growing plant-based market, which is growing at rates greater than traditional grocery even in this time of COVID-19," CEO Goodwin had said. "As important, the move to more plant-based products in people's diets is anticipated to continue to gain traction long after the disruptions caused by the pandemic. The foundation in the world of plant-based products has been set and we look forward to building on these opportunities." Goodwin added: "Ironically, the very real challenges we are experiencing during this time of COVID-19, are actually driving more attention than ever from consumers interested in plant-based nutrition. "Additionally, the efforts we have expended establishing new e-commerce strategies to support multiple online marketing initiates, is in direct response to the shift in consumers buying more products than ever online." The firm is also advancing Cavaltinib, a plant-based target drug that has been approved by Health Canada for a phase 2 clinical trial as a potential COVID-19 treatment, and Goodwin said the group was looking forward to the next phase of commercialization. Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors.com