Some GOOD news for FLWR shareholders KELOWNA, British Columbia, July 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Flowr Corporation (TSXV: FLWR; OTC: FLWPF) (“Flowr” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce receipt of a second site cultivation license from Health Canada for its Flowr Forest project. The Company has begun transplanting select cultivars and is on track for a first harvest in the fourth quarter of 2019. Flowr expects to produce approximately 10,000 kilograms per annum from Flowr Forest once fully optimized and operational.
Flowr Forest, which is located on the Company’s Kelowna campus, has 42 greenhouses totaling 189,000 square feet situated within a total licensed outdoor grow area of more than 530,000 square feet. The outdoor cultivation area planted is expected to be 150,000 square feet and can be expanded to include an incremental 160,000 square feet. The Company in total has over 750,000 square feet dedicated to Flowr Forest’s current and future operations and has a right of first refusal on an additional 850,000 square feet located immediately to the north and contiguous with the currently licensed area.
“We are extremely pleased to have a cultivation license for Flowr Forest in time to deliver production in 2019. Getting a second site license required a tremendous effort from our whole team as well as working collaboratively with Health Canada to get to this stage in a timely manner. All site work was already complete, so we are in the process of transplanting cultivars and expect an additional 10,000 kilograms of production on top of what we will produce at our Kelowna 1 indoor facility,” said Vinay Tolia, Flowr’s Chief Executive Officer. “By having our outdoor and greenhouse areas on the same campus as our indoor facilities, our cultivation team works from a single location and this is a key to driving efficiency and optimization in our Canadian operations.”
Once fully optimized and operational, the 10,000 kilograms per annum doubles the expected capacity of grow areas currently operating and/or under development at Flowr’s Kelowna campus. The Company’s Kelowna 1 indoor facility (“K1 Facility”) is expected to produce 10,000 kilograms per annum once construction is complete and the operation is fully optimized. Construction of the K1 Facility is on track for completion by the end of the third quarter of 2019.
Product Line Expansion Plans
Flowr remains committed to producing differentiated products and its dried flower products are expected to continue to be sourced exclusively from the purpose-built indoor facilities in Kelowna, whereas cannabis cultivated within Flowr Forest is expected to support Flowr’s forthcoming extract business. Furthermore, with the recently announced changes to the regulatory framework and proposed timing for additional form factors to reach consumers in late 2019 or early 2020, the licensing of Flowr Forest positions the Company for a timely launch of its expanded adult-use recreational product line.
The Company expects its first new product launch from Flowr Forest to be a live resin vape offering. The Company believes its deep expertise in cultivating superior plants positions it to produce exceptional flower for use in extraction. Building on Flowr’s existing expertise, the Company is investing in the people, processes, and infrastructure to deliver a live resin vape product that will meet the expectations of cannabis consumers in Canada.
Live resins are generated through specific and proprietary harvest, processing and extraction systems which together optimally preserve the full range of cannabinoids and aromatic characteristics of the source cannabis plant. The result is a cannabis concentrate with richly aromatic terpene profiles that are true to plant without the need for additional diluents, preservatives or flavouring.
The Company, therefore, believes that its live resin vape offering will represent an ideal product to showcase Flowr's superior cultivation expertise and that is expected to deliver consumers a similar experience, including taste and aroma, associated with Flowr’s dried flower products.
About The Flowr Corporation
Flowr, through its subsidiaries, holds cannabis production and sales licenses granted by Health Canada. With a head office in Toronto and a production facility in Kelowna, BC, Flowr builds and operates large-scale, GMP-designed cultivation facilities utilizing its own growing systems. Flowr’s investment in research and development along with its sense of craftsmanship and a spirit of innovation is expected to enable it to provide premium-quality cannabis that appeals to the adult-use recreational market and addresses specific patient needs in the medicinal market.