Arcadia Biosciences Shares 2020 Highlights
Arcadia Biosciences, Inc., a leader in science-based approaches to enhancing the quality and nutritional value of crops and food ingredients, has released a report highlighting its achievements in 2020. See a recap of its successes in the hemp industry below.
“2020 was a remarkable year for Arcadia, as we achieved record revenues and greatly strengthened our financial wherewithal,” said Matt Plavan, CEO of Arcadia. “We also established new direct-to-consumer sales channels, introduced new consumer products, enhanced our IP portfolio and fundamentally evolved to a viable commercial enterprise.
“All of this progress in 2020, despite the pandemic, underscores our agility, fortitude and commitment to advancing the transformation of our proprietary innovations into good-for-you foods and wellness products that both fulfill our mission – Healthy people. Healthy planet. – and bring superior returns to our shareholders,” Plavan said. “We enter 2021 well-funded, well-equipped and highly enthusiastic.”
GoodHemp Portfolio of Genetically Superior Hemp Seeds
Despite the opaque regulatory framework for CBD in 2020, industry expectations for hemp-derived products remains exceptional. Significant fundamentals were established to enable the company to serve the CBD hemp seed and extract markets as expected regulations governing commerce are implemented.
Acquisition of Innovative Hemp Seed Breeding Company. Arcadia closed a transaction with Industrial Seed Innovations (ISI), an Oregon-based industrial hemp breeding and seed company, to acquire its commercial and genetic assets, including seed varieties, germplasm library and intellectual property. ISI’s popular Rogue and Umpqua seed varieties became part of Arcadia’s GoodHemp portfolio of genetically superior hemp seeds, transplants and extracts. The acquisition significantly broadens and accelerates commercialization of Arcadia’s hemp-related breeding platform and established a breeding research and development facility in the Pacific Northwest, a key hemp production area.
Tritium 3H to Distribute GoodHemp in Canada. In the fourth quarter of 2020, Arcadia signed a distribution agreement with Tritium 3H, Inc. (T3H), a Canadian hemp seed company that specializes in hemp field testing, certified seed production, commercialization and distribution of industrial hemp varieties for the Canadian market. T3H will distribute Arcadia’s GoodHemp seed varieties and genetics in Canada once they have been certified by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) and Health Canada. This agreement solidifies Arcadia’s plans to accelerate the commercialization of its hemp genetics internationally and affirms market demand for the GoodHemp portfolio of superior hemp varieties.
Archipelago Ventures Partnered with Vivion Specialties, Inc. to Distribute Hawaiian Hemp Products in North America. Archipelago Ventures, a joint venture between Arcadia and Legacy Ventures Hawaii, announced a new partnership with Vivion Specialties, Inc. (VSI), a North American specialty ingredient supplier in the first quarter of 2020. VSI will serve as Archipelago’s North American distributor, managing the stateside marketing and sales of sun-grown Hawaiian hemp ingredients in key markets like food and beverage, human and pet nutrition and personal care. VSI has a network of 18 sales regions in the U.S. and Canada and is known for its proprietary VivAssure purity validation process, which tests every ingredient and provides a detailed Certificate of Analysis of its contents. The collaboration will deliver rigorously tested and lab-certified CBD ingredients, providing high quality and transparency for discerning retailers and shoppers throughout North America.
Several achievements in the first quarter have positioned Arcadia well for shareholder value creation in 2021, including GoodHemp seed varieties earning AOSCA Certification. Arcadia announced in February that four of its GoodHemp varieties – Rogue, Umpqua, Santiam and Potomac – have all passed the rigorous standards of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) variety review board. The variety review is conducted by representatives of seed certifying agencies, academia, the seed industry and USDA to make certain new varieties are distinct, uniform and stable. AOSCA certification signifies to the industry that GoodHemp seed is produced to the highest standards for genetic purity, uniformity, high germination and feminization rates and varietal identity. It also enables sales in states such as Florida, that require AOSCA certified hemp seed for planting.
For more information, visit www.arcadiabio.com.
