Koios Expands Texas Presence with Upcoming Placements in Select Stores of Drug Emporium, a Pharmacy Chain in TX, AR, LA
Drug Emporium is a chain of “big box” pharmacies in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana with standard pharmacy departments as well as “store-within-a-store” features such as “Vitamins Plus”. This month, the Company’s KOIOS™ and Fit Soda™ beverage products will be placed in select Texas locations of Drug Emporium, complementing existing placements of the Company’s products in the state of Texas, including in more than 100 HEB supermarkets.DENVER and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- *Koios Beverage Corp. (CSE: KBEV; OTC: KBEVF) (the "Company" or "Koios")* is pleased to announce that beginning this month, all five flavours of its KOIOS™ nootropic beverage and all four flavours of its Fit Soda™ functional beverage will be carried in select Texas locations of Drug Emporium, a “big box” pharmacy chain with stores in Texas (population 29 million), Arkansas (population 3 million), and Louisiana (population 4.65 million). In late 2020, the Company announced that its Fit Soda™ functional beverage product is now carried in more than 100 HEB supermarkets in Texas. Additionally, the Company announced last week that its KOIOS™ nootropic beverage product was to be added to all locations of Louisiana supermarket chain Matherne’s including its storefront located across from the Louisiana State University’s Tiger Stadium, which is the eighth-largest stadium in the world. The Company has sustained its focus on placing its beverage products with regional grocery chains who can play a key role in accelerating market penetration in a given geographic region. By adding to its existing presence in the southeastern United States through local chains such as Drug Emporium and national banner retailers such as Walmart, the Company believes that it is favourably positioned to gain greater market share in the functional beverages category. The Company’s beverage products are currently sold in more than 4,000 stores in the United States.
Drug Emporium was originally founded in 1977 in Columbus, Ohio, and in the late 1990s had more than 140 company-owned stores under the banners Drug Emporium, F&M Super Drug Stores, and Vix Drug Stores, in addition to 50 franchised stores. In 1997, Drug Emporium was set to become the first drug store on the Internet, with integration into its retail operations and licenses to fill prescriptions in all 50 states^1. After falling into bankruptcy in 2001^2, Drug Emporium was reopened in 2019 and sought to gain a competitive advantage by carrying a unique product selection heavily influenced by requests from customers^3. In addition to standard pharmacy departments (e.g., medical, cosmetics, health foods), Drug Emporium locations feature “store-within-a-store” sections including Vitamins Plus, where KOIOS™ and Fit Soda™ beverages are to be merchandised.
Hearing our customers say things like "I haven't seen these in years!" or "I didn't even know they made these!" is a joy to us, because it means we are meeting needs our customers didn't even know they had.
*Excerpt from **Drug Emporium’s “About” Page*
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/38851f79-ada4-4e10-8c2c-7f8659aa8fde
*Readers using news aggregation services may be unable to view the media above. Please access the Company’s profile on SEDAR for a version of this press release containing all published media.*
Select Texas locations of Drug Emporium will begin carrying KOIOS™ nootropic beverages and Fit Soda™ functional beverages this month, which contain a combination of ingredients to include lion’s mane mushroom, electrolytes, and coconut MCT oil. This combination has been shown to boost mental drive and improve immune health.
Koios Chief Executive Officer Chris Miller commented, “Drug Emporium is very transparent about just how seriously they take requests from their customers when it comes to their merchandising decisions, and we believe that requests from our existing customers in their local markets could have contributed to their decision to carry our beverage product lines. Between several independent and chain retailers in these regions as well as a pipeline of direct-to-consumer orders from individuals in Texas, we believe that Drug Emporium’s decision to carry KOIOS™ and Fit Soda™ could be conducive to even further growth in the southern states, as we continue our initiatives with an objective of building a brand footprint that spans the entire country. We look forward to seeing how KOIOS™ performs in Drug Emporium stores as we seek to make 2021 our most prosperous year yet.”
Sources
1 - https://sec.report/Document/0000950152-99-004734/
2 - https://apnews.com/article/5be452de9c2256ca43a77f8b07b0baf6
3 - https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/trends-and-friends/drug-emporium-hosting-grand-re-opening/
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company,
*KOIOS BEVERAGE CORP.*
“Chris Miller”
Chris Miller, CEO, and Director
For further information, please contact:
Gina Burrus
844-255-6467
gina@koiosbeveragecorp.com
THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE (CSE) HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.
*About Koios Beverage Corp.*
The Company is an emerging functional beverage company which has an available distribution network of more than 4,400 retail locations across the United States in which to sell its products. Koios has relationships with some of the largest and most reputable distributors in the United States, including Europa Sports, Muscle Foods USA, KeHE, and Wishing-U-Well. Koios uses a proprietary blend of nootropics and natural organic compounds to enhance human productivity without using harmful chemicals or stimulants. Koios products have been shown to enhance focus, concentration, mental capacity, memory retention, cognitive function, alertness, brain capacity and create all day mental clarity. Its ingredients are specifically designed to target brain function by increasing blood flow, oxygen levels and neural connections in the brain.
Koios produces one of the only drinks in the world infused with MCT oil. MCT oil is derived from coconuts and has been shown to help the body burn fat more effectively, create lasting energy from a natural food source, produce ketones in the brain, allowing for greater brain function and clarity, support healthy hormone production and improve immunity. For more information, please visit our website: https://www.koiosbeveragecorp.com.
*Forward-Looking Statements*
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Often, but not always, forward-looking information and information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding: Potential outcomes from KOIOS™ and Fit Soda™ being carried by select Drug Emporium locations in Texas beginning in March 2021. The forward-looking information reflects management's current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include: (i) adverse market conditions; (ii) changes to the growth and size of the functional beverage markets; and (iii) other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company’s management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
The statements in this news release have not been evaluated by Health Canada or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. As each individual is different, the benefits, if any, of taking the Company’s products will vary from person to person. No claims or guarantees can be made as to the effects of the Company’s products on an individual's health and well-being. The Company’s products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
This news release may contain trademarked names of third-party entities (or their respective offerings with trademarked names) typically in reference to (i) relationships had by Koios with such third-party entities as referred to in this release and/or (ii) client/vendor/service provider parties whose relationship with Koios is/are referred to in this release. All rights to such trademarks are reserved by their respective owners or licensees.