Planting Hope’s Hope and Sesame(R) Sesamemilk has Lowest Water Usage Across Dairy and Plant Milks, per Life Cycle Assessment with Planet FWD

• Planting Hope conducted a cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment study (LCA) of its Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk in conjunction with Planet FWD, the leading decarbonization platform for consumer companies.
• The study determined that Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk uses 76% less water than oat milk, 87% less water than almond milk, and 92% less water than whole dairy milk.
• Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk also has the lowest greenhouse gas emissions per gram of protein delivered within its comparative set (including dairy, oat, and almond).
• Planting Hope will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, November 15 ^th to discuss the results of the Planet FWD LCA.

CHICAGO, IL and VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 1, 2023 - The Planting Hope Company Inc. (TSXV:MYLK)(OTCQB:MYLKF), a dynamic Foodtech innovation company dedicated to creating delicious, sustainable food and beverage solutions through advanced ingredient, formulation, and packaging technology, proudly announces the results of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study conducted by Planet FWD for Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk in comparison to milk and milk alternatives. The study demonstrated that Hope and Sesame® Unsweetened Original Sesamemilk uses 76% less water than generic oat milk, 87% less water than generic almond milk, and 92% less water than whole dairy milk cradle-to-grave benchmarks, based on average water use data for the US.

Water Use of Different Milks (Cradle-to-Grave, L/kg), calculated by Planet FWD July 2023

"The Planting Hope Company is focusing not just on feeding people today but using our planet's resources efficiently enough to feed the growing population of tomorrow. Hope and Sesame's commitment to developing a more sustainable milk alternative is clear and we're honored to partner with the team to deliver high-fidelity data that validates and narrates their lower impact on the planet," said Julia Collins, Founder and CEO of Planet FWD.

Water usage is a top area of sustainability focus for consumers, retailers, and foodservice, with Whole Foods Market calling out water stewardship as a top food trend in their recent Whole Foods Market's Top 10 Food Trend Predictions for 2024 report.

Additionally, Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk was found to have the lowest level of CO2 emissions per one gram of protein delivered within its comparative set. Hope and Sesame® emits 0.13Kg/Liter of C02 per gram of protein, while oat milk and dairy milk each emit 0.18Kg/Liter and almond milk emits 0.48Kg/liter.

"When we embarked on developing the world's first commercialized sesame milk, our goal was to create a dairy alternative that delivered comparable nutrition to dairy milk but with a greatly improved environmental footprint over existing plant milk alternatives," said Julia Stamberger, Planting Hope co-founder and CEO. "Sesame is an amazing crop that's been right there under our noses for 4,000 years: naturally pest resistant and self-pollinating, sesame thrives in hot, dry environments with little water, and functionally is a fantastic cover crop, often its primary agricultural use. But sesame has been underutilized as a source of human nutrition: those little seeds are packed with dense nutrition, including protein, calcium, magnesium, and other minerals. In addition to needing little water to grow our core crop, the base for sesamemilk is the ultra-nutritious pulp remaining after sesame seeds are pressed for oil - a dry extraction process that doesn't require added water, unlike the water-intensive processing required for the base ingredients of many other alternative milks."

Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk is also certified upcycled by the Upcycled Food Association, as the ultra nutrition-dense sesame pulp remaining from sesame oil extraction that is the base of sesame milk has traditionally been discarded or used for animal feed.

Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk contains 8g of complete protein per serving (Barista Blend contains 4g per serving), including all nine essential amino acids, comparable to dairy milk and 8x the protein in most almond milks and 2-3x the protein in most oat milk.

"More than 75% of the planet is intolerant of dairy [1] , which is why the plant-based milk category has been consistently scaling at a remarkable 15% CAGR for more than 15 years, with no signs of slowing down. What was a $7B global market in 2010 and $35B in 2022 is projected to exceed $120B worldwide by 2030 [2] . Consumers who are buying plant-based milk tell us that they are doing so for health and wellness reasons as well as environmental concerns. Yet many of the most broadly distributed current milk alternatives do not deliver comparable nutrition to dairy," continued Ms. Stamberger. "It took Planting Hope than 5 years of focused R&D and a multi-million dollar financial investment to create Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk, and we're proud to have achieved our goal: resetting the standard for what's possible in plant-based milk with a delicious, sustainable, functional plant milk that froths, foams, steams and performs like a dream in hot and iced beverages, is globally relevant and scalable, delivers comparable nutrition to dairy milk and uses 76%+ less water than the top alternatives. This is the future of plant milk."

Since its launch in 2022, Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk has won more than a dozen industry and consumer awards for taste and performance, and distribution is expanding rapidly across trend-setting independent cafés and retailers in the United States and Canada.

Packaged exclusively in recyclable Tetra Pak® aseptic cartons, Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk has a 14-month shelf life with no refrigeration required across its supply chain and distribution.

Webinar

The Company will be hosting a webinar on Wednesday, November 15 ^th to discuss the results of the Planet FWD LCA, which will also cover its RightRice® High Protein Veggie Rice. To register for this webinar and receive final details on scheduling, please email webinar@plantinghopecompany.com.

Private Placement of Convertible Note Units

Accredited investors in the United States and internationally (outside of Canada) can find out more about the Company's private placement opportunity and make an investment (via the Issuance platform) at this direct link: invest.plantinghopecompany.com

About The Planting Hope Company Inc.

Planting Hope is reimagining today's food so that our planet can feed 10 billion people tomorrow. A Foodtech-driven company at the forefront of sustainable consumer food and beverage evolution, Planting Hope transforms nutrient-dense, widely cultivated crops into innovative, nutrient-rich products that reimagine pantry staples in the largest, fastest growing global food categories.

Our award-winning breakthrough brands, including Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk, RightRice® High-Protein Veggie Rice, and Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips, are not only disrupting global markets but also significantly reducing environmental footprints. Available across the US and Canada in grocery retailers (Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Markets), through foodservice operators (CAVA Mediterranean restaurants - NYSE: CAVA), and e-commerce and alternative retail channels (Amazon, QVC), our products blend culinary innovation with advanced technology, offering breakthrough products with wide moats. Our products are poised to disrupt global food and beverage categories, make a positive impact on the world , and provide investors with valuable opportunities in the growing sustainable food market.

This is the food that Gen Z is demanding and that Gen Alpha will grow up with: this is the future of food.

Explore more at plantinghopecompany.com , sign up for Planting Hope news emails HERE and follow us on LinkedIn .

Contacts

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

Investor Relations + Media Contact:
Elyssia Patterson
VP of Investor Relations
(312) 675-4996
Elyssia@plantinghopecompany.com

Media Contact:
Corinn Williams
(773) 492-2243
Corinn@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 news release.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain disclosure in this news release, including disclosure regarding the terms, amount to be raised, closing(s), TSXV approval and other matters related to the Offering, the expected use of proceeds therefrom, and the goals, and strategy of the Company constitutes forward-looking statements that are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors outside of the Company's control that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. In preparing the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, the assumption that all conditions precedent (including TSXV approval) of the Offering will be satisfied in a timely manner; investor interest in the Offering; that general economic and business conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner; customer appeal of the Company's products; the effectiveness of the Company's proposed strategies; and that the Company will be able to raise additional funds on reasonable terms. 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 any forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

[1] Source: Examine Research Database, October 2022
[2] Source: Strategic Market Research, December 21, 2022

SOURCE: The Planting Hope Company Inc.