Planting Hope Announces Partnership with Leading Prepared Meal Subscription Service Freshly, Featuring Spanish-Style RightRice(R) Meal

CHICAGO, IL and VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 26, 2022 / The Planting Hope Company Inc. (TSXV:MYLK) (FRA:J94) ("Planting Hope" or the "Company"), a plant-based food and beverage company focused on producing the world's most nutritious and planet-friendly products, has partnered with Freshly, the leading subscription service providing prepared nutritionist-approved meals that are delivered fresh to your door and ready-to-eat in three minutes. RightRice® Veggie Rice will be featured in Freshly's newest chef-cooked meal, "Spanish-Style RightRice® with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds."

"We are thrilled to be Freshly's first branded ingredient partner and to have RightRice® highlighted in this plant-powered twist on Spanish paella," said Julia Stamberger, CEO and Co-founder of Planting Hope. "Since the acquisition of the RightRice® brand, we are continuing to capitalize on its growth potential to breakthrough channels outside of traditional brick and mortar retailers. Working with Freshly's direct-to-consumer model that delivers over one million meals every week will help RightRice® gain greater exposure and entry into households and businesses across North America."

"At Freshly, we know our customers value foods that not only taste great, but also make eating well effortless," said Freshly's Vice President, Strategic Partnerships Jeannette Cornell. "RightRice® is one of our favorite products that aligns with this nutritious-meets-convenient philosophy. It also fits perfectly within Freshly's Purely Plant menu which helps customers incorporate minimally processed plant-based meals into their routines."

Caption: Freshly's Spanish-Style RightRice® with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds.

Photo credit: Freshly

Spanish-Style RightRice® with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds is now part of Freshly's rotating weekly menu of 50+ items that are centered on less sugar, less processed ingredients, and more nutrients. This colorful, plant-powered twist on Spanish paella includes the following flavor and nutritional elements:

• Seasoned with 15 fragrant herbs and spices, including paprika, turmeric, annatto, and fennel
• Features RightRice®, a blend of 90% vegetables (lentils, chickpeas, peas) and rice, providing complete plant-based protein with all nine essential amino acids
• Packed with extra veggies, including tomatoes, bell peppers, asparagus, cauliflower, fennel, green olives, and more
• Topped with sea salt & paprika-roasted almonds

For more information on Freshly's meal plans and the new Spanish-Style RightRice® with Green Olives, Fennel & Roasted Almonds, please visit: https://www.freshly.com/plans-and-menu.

About Freshly Inc.
Freshly is a weekly subscription service delivering fresh, chef-cooked meals directly to customers' doors that can be heated and served in three minutes. All that is needed is a microwave and fork to get a satisfying lunch or dinner on the table. With a corporate mission to break down the barriers to healthy eating, Freshly believes that taste and health don't need to be compromised for convenience. Freshly's food philosophy is centered on less sugar, less processed ingredients, and more nutrients. Developed by chefs and nutritionists, the menu features better-for-you versions of classic comfort foods with smart ingredient swaps. Freshly makes eating better easier than ever, one box at a time. Headquartered in New York, Freshly has operations in Phoenix, Arizona; Savage, Maryland; Linden, New Jersey; Commerce, California; and Austell, Georgia. To learn more about Freshly, visit: www.freshly.com.

About RightRice®
RightRice® redefines a household staple with a delicious vegetable-based rice grain that's packed with the power of vegetables and complete plant-based protein. RightRice® is the first-of-its-kind: a shelf-stable vegetable grain that's a blend of over 90 percent vegetables, including lentils, chickpeas, green peas, and rice, and delivers on both taste and nutrition. With 10g of complete protein and 5g of fiber per serving, RightRice® delivers more than double the protein, five times the fiber and around 40 percent fewer net carbohydrates than traditional white rice, plus it can be prepared in 10 minutes. RightRice® is now available in a range of pre-seasoned flavors, plus multiple flavors of RightRice® Medley and RightRice® Risotto. RightRice® products are currently sold in more than 7,000 doors in leading retailers across North America, including Whole Foods Market, Wegman's, Kroger, Sprouts, Albertsons/Safeway, HEB, Ahold, Meijer, as well as online through Amazon, Thrive Market, Hive, and RightRice.com. All RightRice® products are made using real herbs and spices, and are plant-based, non-GMO verified, gluten-free certified, and kosher certified. RightRice® Risotto was awarded Best Sauce/Store Cupboard Product in FoodBev's 2021 World Plant-Based Taste Awards and received the 2021 Eco Excellence Award for Best Gluten Free Product, in addition to being chosen as a 2021 Editors' Pick for Best New Product by Progressive Grocer. For more information visit: www.rightrice.com.

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 award-winning and cutting-edge products fill key unmet needs in the skyrocketing plant-based food and beverage space. The Planting Hope brand family includes Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk and Sesamilk™ creamers, RightRice® Veggie Rice, Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips, and Veggicopia® Veggie Snacks. Founded by experienced food industry entrepreneurs, Planting Hope is a women-managed and woman-led company focused 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 Statements
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 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", "anticipates", "continues", or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. 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 demand for the Company's products will be sustained or increase in accordance with management's projections, that overall growth in consumer demand for plant-based foods will lead to increased demand for the Company's products, that the Company's current business objectives can be achieved and that its other corporate activities will proceed as expected, and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. 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. 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 annual information form dated January 6, 2022, 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.