Hope and Sesame(R) Sesamemilk Launches Across 382 Loblaw Stores in Canadian Dual-Language Packaging

• Planting Hope's first major product launch in Canadian-compliant dual-language packaging is flagship Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk, now rolling out at multiple divisions of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest national grocery retailer
• Loblaw is placing three flavors of Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk in 382 stores, adding 1,146 Total Distribution Points

CHICAGO, IL and VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / November 8, 2022 / The Planting Hope Company Inc. (TSXV:MYLK)(OTCQB:MYLKF)(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, is pleased to announce its Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk line is launching in Canada with Loblaw Companies Limited ("Loblaw"), Canada's top grocery retailer. Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk will launch in Canadian-compliant dual-language packaging in 382 Loblaw stores across Canada in November 2022 under multiple banners, including Loblaws, Fortinos, and Provigo. Packaged in shelf-stable 946ml (32oz) cartons in three flavors (Barista Blend Sesamemilk, Original Sesamemilk, and Unsweetened Original Sesamemilk), Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk is being added to the plant milk section in the grocery aisle at Loblaw stores.

"As a plant-based food and beverage company headquartered in Canada and listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, entering Loblaw stores with our flagship Hope and Sesame® brand is an important milestone for Planting Hope," said Julia Stamberger, CEO and Co-founder of Planting Hope. "Loblaw has always taken an innovative approach to the grocery experience and expects the same from its brand partners. Hope and Sesame® has brought important breakthrough innovation to plant-based milk, opening a whole new category, sesame milk, that unlocks the dense nutrition of the extremely sustainable and planet-friendly sesame seed. We're very excited to bring our innovative Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk line, in our eye-grabbing, colorful new dual-language packaging, to Canadian consumers with Loblaw."

In Q2 2022, Planting Hope made a commitment to launch the top items in its Hope and Sesame®, Mozaics™, and RightRice® brands in Canadian-compliant dual-language packaging. In Q3 2022, the Company produced the first production runs of these products in Canadian-compliant packaging. Now in Q4 2022, the Company is launching three shelf-stable Hope and Sesame® SKUs (Barista Blend Sesamemilk, Original Sesamemilk, and Unsweetened Original Sesamemilk) in Canadian-compliant packaging across 382 stores representing 1,146 new Total Distribution Points in Loblaw locations under the following banners:

• Loblaws (Ontario)
• Zehrs (Ontario)
• Real Atlantic Superstore (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island)
• Dominion (Newfoundland)
• YIG Atlantic (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland)
• YIG Ontario
• Provigo (Quebec)
• Real Canadian Superstore RCSS (Ontario)
• Maxi (Quebec)
• Fortinos (Ontario)

Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk offers Canadian shoppers a delicious plant-based milk that is nutritionally comparable to dairy milk in terms of vitamin, mineral, and protein content. Sesamemilk features 9g of complete protein per serving (containing all nine essential amino acids) which is 9x more protein than most almond milks and 3x more protein than most oat milks; Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk contains 4x the protein in almond milks.

Packaged in recyclable Tetra Pak® cartons, Hope and Sesame® shelf-stable Sesamemilk is made from ultra-sustainable sesame seeds, which thrive in arid climates with very little water or other inputs required to produce a healthy crop. Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk upcycles the nutritious pulp produced from sesame oil extraction as a primary ingredient. In addition to sesame, Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk also includes peas grown in Canada, which assist with completing the amino acid profile of its high-quality complete protein.

"We're excited to bring Hope and Sesame® to Loblaw, in keeping with their mission to deliver plant-based, sustainable products to their customers," said Matt LeBeau, founder and CEO of LeBeau Excel Ltd., the Company's retail broker of record in Canada. "Loblaw has a very strong pulse on their customers' needs and their selection of Planting Hope's products is a strong indicator that these products resonate with Canadian values."

About Hope and Sesame®
Hope and Sesame® has cracked the code on unlocking the dense nutrition in tiny sesame seeds to create a plant milk that's good-for-you, planet-friendly, and delicious! Sesame is highly sustainable, thriving with little water in arid climates, is naturally drought- and pest-resistant, and can self-pollinate. Nutritionally comparable to dairy milk, Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk delivers 9g of complete protein per serving (including all nine essential amino acids) - that's 9x the protein in most almond and nut milks and 3x the protein in most oat milks! Developed for and approved by top baristas, Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk froths, steams, and foams like a dream, is great for latte art, and delivers 4g of complete protein per serving. Sesamemilk's core ingredient is the ultra-nutritious pulp upcycled from sesame oil extraction. All Hope and Sesame® products are vegan, Certified Gluten-Free and Certified Kosher, free from soy and dairy, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Certified by the Plant Based Foods Association.

Hope and Sesame®'s products have received myriad industry and consumer awards, and they keep coming: Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk was awarded Best Novel Creamer by Good Housekeeping in their 2022 Best Coffee Awards, won Best Product at Coffee Fest Chicago 2022, received the international GAMA 2022 Innovation Award for Best Hospitality Product, and was a finalist for Best Product of the Year at the 2022 Specialty Coffee Awards; Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk was awarded Best Milk Alternative and Best Plant-Based Sustainability in FoodBev's 2021 World Plant-Based Food Awards; signature Chocolate Hazelnut Sesamemilk flavor received the 2020 Sofi Award for Best New Product, Plant-Based Milk from the Specialty Food Association.

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, Barista Blend 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 about Planting Hope and where to find its award-winning plant-based brands please visit plantinghopecompany.com, sign up for Planting Hope news emails HERE and follow on LinkedIn. An informational webinar on The Planting Hope Company from CEO and Cofounder Julia Stamberger is available HERE. To follow the brands on Instagram and Facebook, please visit: @hopeandsesameco, @veggicopia, @rightrice, @mozaicschips.

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

Investor Relations Contacts:
Glen Akselrod, Bristol Capital
(905) 326-1888 ext. 1
glen@bristolir.com

Caroline Sawamoto, IR Labs
(773) 492-2243
ir@plantinghopecompany.com

Media Contact:
Alex Jessup, Jessup PR
(323) 529-3541
alex.jessup@jessuppr.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 ability to execute on its goals, the timing pertaining to these goals the potential demand for the Company's products, the timing and success of anticipated product launches and distribution of the Company's products, 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", "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 product will be sustained or increase in accordance with management's projections, that the Company's internal research and analysis is indicative of broader market trends and the Company's anticipated future demand for its products, that changes in consumer preferences in the plant-based food industry will continue in accordance with the Company's expectations, 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.