Over the last several weeks, a who’s who of directors, advisors and captains of industry have joined the Naturally Splendid (
TSX:V.NSP,
Stock Forum) team as it has accelerated from $0.24 in late February to just shy of $1.00 last week.
US Army Major
David Racz came in as Director, following a stellar career at pharma giants Pfizer, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline, and as Senior VP at Mova Vie, one of North America’s fastest growing beverage companies, which accelerated to $1 billion in sales in the third year he was there. Mona Vie founder and COO
Charlie Brink is also aboard, by virtue of his chairmanship at Boreal Technologies, which is partnering with NSP on its
hemp omega processing technology. Brink steps into the NSP Chairman role.
Former Maple Leaf Foods President
Ted McKechnie has joined the company advisory board to assist in development and strategies to storm the global omega market, worth some $35b currently. He’s previously been President and CEO at MenuAtHome.com, Ethnic Food Group International, the Davies Group, and President, COO and owner of Humpty Dumpty Foods.
Douglas Mason joined the corporate advisory board officially last week; You may know him as the Chairman and CEO of Waterfront Capital Corporation, but he was also President, CFO and Director of Canadian beverage success story Clearly Canadian Beverage Corporation, which racked up $230m in sales in its third year in the business.
In a departure from our usual Q&A format, we thought it would be interesting to talk to these new additions to the Naturally Splendid story, and the CEO, about who they are, what they bring to the new company, what attracted to them to the company when they have so many opportunities to choose from, and how they see the coming year rolling out.
One thing is clear; these guys are chomping at the bit to get rolling.
Q: Obviously a lot of companies would kill puppies and do minor deals with the devil to get your kind of experience under their banner. How many did Naturally Splendid have to kill to get you? Alternately, what attracted you to the company?
David Racz: Hope they didn’t kill anyone! The opportunity really attracted me. I l liked the individuals I would be working with. They presented an opportunity to implement my ideas and strategy and the freedom to do so.
Doug Mason: I have followed this company since Chris Parry began writing it up. The applications are endless for the technology they have licenced.
Ted McKechnie: For me? The innovation focus.
Craig Goodwin: Initially co-founder Bryan Carson and myself saw an opportunity to provide superior nutrition through natural superfoods. This led us to hemp and all the nutritional and neutraceutical attributes inherent in the plant. Now we have secured exceptional technologies which further enhance the opportunity to provide superior products over multiple categories.
Q: Which of your particular skillsets do you think V.NSP will most benefit from?
Goodwin: Sales and marketing. Team building. Relentless pursuit of success.
McKechnie: Strategic focus. And my Canadian and international food network.
Racz: Organization strategy and operational implementation.
Mason: I was always at the forefront of innovative beverages. I was with the first energy drinks with Jolt Cola, marketing that in Western USA and Canada. I was involved in the first vitamin type water with Reebok fitness water, and Clearly Canadian spoke for itself. I think the trend for beverages using NSP’s technology is timely and we want to be the leading edge with something new.
Q: What is a personal career highlight that doesn’t show up your bio?
Mason: I was involved in the third company in Canada to discover diamonds in the Lac de Gras region. Commonwealth Gold then merged with Aber, and I became the largest shareholder post consolidation.
Racz: Rowing. I’ve won multiple National championships in the US and Canada and participated as a member of the US National Rowing Team. I competed worldwide in competition and the 1988 Olympic Trials.
McKechnie: My time in the resource business. Key Learning: There’s too much gray thinking out there. A lack of innovation, ethics and integrity...
Q: You all have extensive experience ramping companies up, going from small to large, from large to larger; this tells me that management is very focused on the challenge of scaling upwards in a controlled manner. Is that the biggest challenge V.NSP faces?
Racz: Yes but, in addition, managing the vast opportunities that are available to us. In addition, trying to prioritize and stay focused on our designed business strategy.
McKechnie: For mine, the biggest challenge is focus. You need to identify the biggest markets and greatest opportunities, and have the ability to identify your unique selling proposition.
Goodwin: Yeah, I see the biggest challenge as narrowing down the multiple opportunities in front of us into one cohesive business strategy moving forward.
Mason: For me, speed to market is key. The biggest challenge for me is to get to market with as many viable products as possible while the trend is emerging and the technology is unique.
Q: Have you had family members give you quizzical looks when you tell them you’re getting into the hemp business?
Goodwin: Not at all.
McKechnie: Not Really. This company is food related, but a supply partner to food...
Mason: My wife uses a variety of hemp based products today.
Racz: Are you kidding me? All the time. It never stops! Try discussing it at a party, it gets even more bizarre.
Q: Do you see Naturally Splendid as a branding play, a B2B supply play, or a licensing play?
Mason: My personal vision is that the route to greatest success is licencing.
Racz: Branding and B2B are very important.
McKechnie: Yes, it’s a branding play but licensing is an important an opportunity also...
Goodwin: There’s value in multiple distribution models. Given the experience we have assembled, it makes sense to launch products in specific categories; functional beverages, for example. However, the larger play is likely to be B2B opportunities.
Q: A lot of public companies hope to make solid revenues, show some growth, but am I right in thinking that, internally, V.NSP management and directors are looking several years down the line at something way bigger than just ‘a nice little earner’?
McKechnie: All boards should think this way but most don’t. There is a Big Idea, lots of thought leadership, and something transformational here.
Goodwin: The team assembled has done hundreds of millions of dollars of sales. The omega opportunity is a multi-billion dollar market, as are functional foods and beverages. The cannabinoid opportunity is unfolding in front of us. Our intention is to penetrate multiple markets, maximizing revenue streams.
Racz: I would agree. Again staying focused, identifying the ‘right’ opportunities that will provide us short and long term success is key.
Mason: This could be a huge homerun if executed correctly.
Q: CEO Craig Goodwin: Does he ever stop pitching?
Goodwin: No, I don’t. EVER!
Racz: NEVER!!! Love it.
McKechnie: He’s very passionate about this business. That’s what really attracted me.
Mason: He is a driving force and has all the energy needed to drive the company to unprecedented highs.
Q: What event do you think will make it clear to the world that Naturally Splendid is a ‘really big deal’, and how long do you think we’ll have to wait for it?
Racz: Our emergence into the US market in Hemp CBD production.
McKechnie: Big Ideas drive innovation and innovation drives big ideas. An accumulation of small steps that will lead to the big idea becoming very clear... 3-5 years? Who knows.
Mason: The greatest challenge is consumer education but the world is awakening. An Oprah pitch would help.
Goodwin: You know, we have a strategic partnership with POS Bio-Sciences now. The next big step will be purchase orders in the omega market. Additionally, industrial hemp is being grown legally in many states of the USA for the first time in decades. The opportunity here is immediately in front of us as the planting of these acres is commencing in the next few weeks with the crops being ready for harvest in August. This, potentially, puts us in the CBD ‘game’ in a very short time.
--Chris Parry
https://www.twitter.com/chrisparry
FULL DISCLOSURE: Naturally Splendid is a Stockhouse Publishing marketing client, and the author is totally fricking long on the stock.