On the heels of their recent IPO, Planting Hope launches new refrigerated sesamemilk line and non-GMO snacks with sustainable packaging at booth #506

CHICAGO, IL and VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / December 7, 2021 / The Planting Hope Company Inc. (TSXV:MYLK) ("Planting Hope" or the "Company"), a plant-based food and beverage company focused on producing the world's most nutritious and planet-friendly products, is pleased to unveil innovative and rebranded packaging for Hope and Sesame^® Sesamemilk and Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips at Plant Based World Conference & Expo, booth #506.

"We are thrilled to debut these two new product lines at Plant Based World Expo, each of which showcases Planting Hope's growth and category breakthroughs," said Julia Stamberger, CEO and Co-Founder of Planting Hope. "Over the past 18 months, we spoke with and listened to our customers in depth, in order to best drive our product evolutions to meet their desires. We continue to focus strongly on sustainability, nutrition and representation, and we are excited about offering more delicious snacks and beverages that provide the nutrition and sustainability our bodies and our planet need."

Hope and Sesame^® has unlocked the dense nutrition in tiny sesame seeds to create a delicious plant milk that is both ultra-nutritious and highly sustainable. This new non-GMO refrigerated sesamemilk line showcases new rebranding with bold and whimsical packaging.

Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips feature veggies as the #1 ingredient, delivering plant protein and dietary fiber in a tasty popped chip and will showcase its new non-GMO product range that uses a one-of-a-kind degradable packaging film that produces clean, renewable energy.

The new Hope and Sesame^® non-GMO refrigerated lineup joins the brand's flagship organic varieties and will be available in stores beginning in January 2022. The refrigerated line comes in three flavors, Unsweetened Original, Unsweetened Vanilla, and Chocolate Hazelnut, and delivers eight grams of complete protein per serving (including all nine essential amino acids). Sesame is very sustainable, requiring very little water to cultivate; as a result sesamemilk likely has the lowest water usage among plant-based milks. Sesame is also naturally pest-resistant, it can self-pollinate (making sesame very bee-friendly), and the production of sesamemilk includes upcycling: after sesame is pressed for oil, Hope and Sesame^® upcycles the rest of the seed (previously considered a byproduct). Hope and Sesame^® sesamemilk is vegan, a good source of protein, an excellent source of vitamin D and calcium, is Certified Gluten-Free and Certified Kosher, and is free from soy and dairy. All Hope and Sesame® products are Non-GMO Project Verified and Certified by the Plant Based Foods Association.

At Plant Based World Expo, Hope and Sesame^® will debut a new refrigerated product line with refreshed branding that will be incorporated on all SKUs and future innovations in 2022. The new branding infuses our sesame seeds with personalities, magic and whimsy.

Hope and Sesame^® is a finalist in three categories for the 2021 World Plant-Based Awards: Best Milk Alternative, Best Plant-Based Beverage and Best Plant-Based Sustainability. The winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony during the Plant Based World Expo on December 9^th at 3:15 p.m. EST at the Javits Center, New York. The judging panel selected finalists from 110 entries spanning across 20 countries and 15 categories.

Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips will unveil the use of a first-of-its-kind sustainable packaging that transforms into clean, renewable energy through the decomposition process. With this revolutionary new packaging material from NEO Plastics™, Mozaics™ is making it easier than ever for consumers to "do better" by reducing landfill waste while contributing to a better planet. Unlike other snack bags that are either non-degradable or require commercial composting, the new Mozaics™ packaging does not require separate recycling or disposal and breaks down in any landfill once disposed of in the normal waste stream.

Mozaics™ will also debut a new look in its planet-friendly packaging across all three of the brand's non-GMO flavors (Sea Salt, BBQ, and Salsa). Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips feature real veggies as the number one ingredient, including green peas, yellow peas, and black beans. In fact, 40% of every chip is real peas and beans. Each serving delivers 3g to 4g of plant protein and 2g to 3g of dietary fiber. Our customers call Mozaics™ ‘guilt-free' - popped like air-popped popcorn (not fried like potato chips!), no oil is used in the popping process, just a light spritz of extra virgin olive oil after popping to aid with seasoning.

Visually, the rebranded Mozaics™ packaging is bold and attention-grabbing with hyper-focused messaging and imagery thoughtfully placed throughout that emphasizes the qualities that matter most - nutrition and sustainability. The new packaging showcases key certifications, including Non-GMO Project Verified, Certified Gluten Free, and Certified Kosher. The bags also showcase the use of NEO Plastics™ that are made from a degradable material that converts to clean energy in landfills without requiring separate recycling.

"We are proud that our new Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips deliver on two strong desires from consumers, who told us they were frustrated with snacking alternatives that do not truly provide real veggie content or practical sustainability," said Julia Stamberger. "We have prioritized accordingly, with both real veggies as the number one ingredient in Mozaics™ and with truly actionable sustainable packaging that does not require consumers to change their behavior to impact its sustainability."

For more information about Hope and Sesame^® and Mozaics™, please visit each brand's respective website at www.hopeandsesame.com and www.mozaicschips.com.

About Hope and Sesame^®

Hope and Sesame^® has cracked the code on unlocking the dense nutrition in tiny sesame seeds to create an important new trend in plant milk: sesamemilk, both ultra-nutritious and highly planet-friendly. Sesame requires very little water to cultivate, is naturally pest-resistant, and can self-pollinate. Sesamemilk is comparable nutritionally to dairy milk, delivering 8g of complete protein per serving (including all 9 essential amino acids) - that's 8x the protein in most nut milks and 3x the protein in most oat milks.

Hope and Sesame^® sesamemilk can be purchased online at www.hopeandsesame.com and ecommerce retailers including Amazon, Hive Brands, Deliciousness, QVC, and AAFES Exchange and is available on the shelf-stable and refrigerated aisles at select retailers including Kroger and Sprouts stores. Store locator available at https://www.hopeandsesame.com/store-locator.

About Mozaics™

Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips deliver tasty crunch that you can feel great about with 3g to 4g of plant protein per serving and 2-3g of dietary fiber. Our #1 ingredients are veggies you can see in each popped chip with flavors including Sea Salt, BBQ, and Salsa. Big taste, big nutrition, guilt-free - now that's a REAL veggie chip Mozaics™ come in 0.75oz. and 3.5oz. sizes and can be purchased individually at www.mozaicschips.com and Amazon. Subscription options also available.

Mozaics™ have been recognized as NEXTY 2020 Finalist, Best New Salty/Savory Snack; as Mindful Food Awards/Best Veggie Chip; and as a Snaxpo Finalist.

About The Planting Hope Company Inc.

Planting Hope develops, launches and scales uniquely innovative plant-based and planet-friendly food and beverage brands. Planting Hope's cutting-edge products fill key unmet needs in the skyrocketing plant-based food and beverage space. Founded by experienced food industry entrepreneurs, Planting Hope is a women-managed and woman-led company with a focus on nutrition, sustainability and diversity. For more information visit: www.plantinghopecompany.com.

Contacts

Company Contact:
Julia Stamberger
CEO and Co-founder
(773) 492-2243
julia@plantinghopecompany.com

Media Contact:
Rachel Kay Public Relations
Becca Stonebraker
(818) 383-3929
becca@rkpr.net

Investor Relations Contact:
Caroline Sawamoto
Investor Relations
(773) 492-2243
ir@plantinghopecompany.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statement

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to hereafter as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements that address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will, or may, occur in the future, including statements about the Company's ability to execute on its goals, the timing pertaining to these goals and receipt of applicable consents and approvals, the timing and success of anticipated product launches, and the Company's business prospects, future trends, plans and strategies. In some cases, forward looking statements are preceded by, followed by, or include words such as "may", "will," "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "intends", "proposes", "anticipates", "targeted", "continues", "forecasts", "designed", "goal", "anticipate" or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. Although the management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, as well as trends identified by the Company affecting its industry can be found in the Company's prospectus dated October 29, 2021 and the Company's continuous disclosure record available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements made in this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE: The Planting Hope Company Inc.