— All 258 Jackson Foods locations will now carry the 3-ltr bottles of Alkaline88®
— All 108 Plaid Pantry locations will now carry 1-ltr bottles of Alkaline88®SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., March 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ and TSXV: WTER) (the “Company”), a producer of bottled alkaline water, flavored-infused waters, and CBD infused products sold under the brand names Alkaline88®, A88™, and A88CBD™, respectively, today announced that its flagship brand, Alkaline88® will be available in all 258 Jacksons Food Stores, Inc. (“Jacksons Food”) across six western states and in all 108 Plaid Pantry Inc. (“Plaid Pantry”) locations mostly situated in the metro area around Portland, Oregon.“We continue to make steady progress penetrating the convenience store channel. In coordination with our partners, Capitol Distributing and Core-Mark, we now have a strong c-store foothold in the northwest for our flagship brand Alkaline88®. I am happy to report that two prominent chains, Jacksons Food and Plaid Pantry, will start carrying our 3-liter and 1-liter bottles, respectively. This is a meaningful win for us, given the potential opportunity, especially for our line of single-serve products, including our eco-friendly aluminum bottles and A88™ flavor-infused water. With a growing geographic footprint and a strong cash margin profile for our single-serve offerings, we expect the c-store channel to be a strong contributor toward our growth and our goal of being cash-flow positive by fiscal 2021,” stated Richard Wright, President, and CEO of The Alkaline Water Company.Jacksons Food has grown to be a nationally recognized chain with more than 250 Shell- and Texaco-branded convenience stores. In February of 2018, Jacksons’ purchased a 50% stake in ExtraMile partnership with Chevron and is in the midst of converting its Chevron-branded locations into ExtraMile. ExtraMile has more than 850 convenience stores that feature traditional c-store products and a growing offering of healthier food options. Jacksons Food holdings also include Capitol Distributing, Jacksons Energy, and Jacksons Jet Center.Plaid Pantry operates a regional chain of 24-hour Plaid Pantry convenience stores in the Pacific Northwest, most situated in the metro area around Portland. The chain offers a variety of convenience items, beverages, and fresh foods at value prices. It aims to be an easy-to-get-to, bicycle-friendly neighborhood corner store.According to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) survey, the c-store trade channel has seen healthy high single-digit growth over the past couple of years. The NACS survey found that nearly three in four retailers say that in-store merchandise sales were up over the first nine months of 2018. The survey data suggests the total sales for the c-store channel are expected to exceed $700 billion in sales for the 2019 calendar year. The survey also indicated that that beverages help drive customer traffic inside the store. Furthermore, the survey found 53% of the retailers said that buying a beverage was the top reason why customers come inside the store, compared to 23% for food purchase and 18% to purchase something else.About Jacksons FoodJacksons Food Stores, Inc., headquartered in Meridian, Idaho, was founded in Caldwell, Idaho, in 1975 as a single service station. Jacksons has grown to be a nationally recognized chain of over 230+ Chevron, Shell, and Texaco branded convenience stores in six western statesAbout Plaid PantryPlaid Pantry Inc., headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, was founded in 1960. Plaid Pantry is locally owned and operates 108 location convenience store chain based in the greater Portland, Oregon area.About The Alkaline Water Company Inc.The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ and TSXV: WTER) is a producer of bottled alkaline water, flavored-infused waters, and CBD infused products sold under the brand names Alkaline88®, A88™, and A88CBD™, respectively. With its innovative, state-of-the-art proprietary electrolysis process, Alkaline88® delivers perfect 8.8 pH balanced alkaline drinking water with trace minerals and electrolytes. The Company recently announced a broad line of CBD infused products, which include ingestibles and topical products. For its ingestibles line, the A88™ Infused Beverage Division Inc. intends to produce CBD infused drinks, beverage shots, tinctures, capsules, and powder packs. For its topicals line, A88™ Infused Products Inc. produces salves, balms, lotions, essential oils, and bath-salt all made with lab-tested full-spectrum hemp. To purchase A88CBD™ products online, visit us at www.A88CBD.com.The Alkaline Water Company Inc. is currently pursuing a national multi-channel, mass-market expansion strategy with a direct-to-warehouse model and co-packaging facilities that are strategically located 600 miles within 95% of the U.S. population. Founded in 2012, the Company is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. To learn more about The Alkaline Water Company, please visit www.thealkalinewaterco.com or connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.The Company intends to comply in full with all federal, state, and local laws, rules and regulations as the Company develops its CBD-infused ingestible products. The Company will not pursue the commercial production or sale of CBD-infused ingestible products until legally permitted. The Company is closely watching and responding to all regulatory developments within the FDA and in each individual U.S. state, and plans to launch its CBD infused ingestible products accordingly.Notice Regarding Forward-Looking StatementsThis news release contains “forward-looking statements.” Statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Such forward-looking statements include, among other things, the following: the expectation that the c-store channel to be a strong contributor toward the Company’s growth and its goal of being cash-flow positive by fiscal 2021; and statements with respect to the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) survey, including that the survey data suggests the total sales for the c-store channel are expected to exceed $700 billion in sales for the 2019 calendar year.The material assumptions supporting these forward-looking statements include, among others, that the demand for the Company’s products will continue to grow significantly; that the c-store channel will benefit the Company’ growth and goals; that the past production capacity of the Company’s co-packing facilities can be maintained or increased; that there will be increased production capacity through implementation of new production facilities, new co-packers and new technology; that there will be an increase in number of products available for sale to retailers and consumers; that there will be an expansion in geographical areas by national retailers carrying the Company’s products; that there will be an expansion into new national and regional grocery retailers; that there will be an expansion into new e-commerce, home delivery, convenience, and healthy food channels; that there will not be interruptions on production of the Company’s products; that there will not be a recall of products due to unintended contamination or other adverse events relating to the Company’s products; and that the Company will be able to obtain additional capital to meet the Company’s growing demand and satisfy the capital expenditure requirements needed to increase production and support sales activity. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, governmental regulations being implemented regarding the production and sale of alkaline water or any other products, including products containing hemp/CBD; the fact that consumers may not embrace and purchase any of the Company’s CBD-infused products; the fact that the Company may not be permitted by the FDA or other regulatory authority to market or sell any of its CBD-infused products; additional competitors selling alkaline water and enhanced water products in bulk containers reducing the Company’s sales; the fact that the Company does not own or operate any of its production facilities and that co-packers may not renew current agreements and/or not satisfy increased production quotas; the fact that the Company has a limited number of suppliers of its unique bulk bottles; the potential for supply-chain interruption due to factors beyond the Company’s control; the fact that there may be a recall of products due to unintended contamination; the inherent uncertainties associated with operating as an early stage company; changes in customer demand and the fact that consumers may not embrace enhanced water products as expected or at all; the extent to which the Company is successful in gaining new long-term relationships with new retailers and retaining existing relationships with retailers; the Company’s ability to raise the additional funding that it will need to continue to pursue its business, planned capital expansion and sales activity; and competition in the industry in which the Company operates and market conditions. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and Canada. Although the Company believes that any beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Readers should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in the reports and other documents the Company files with the SEC, available at www.sec.gov, and on the SEDAR, available at www.sedar.com.The Alkaline Water Company Inc.Richard A. Wright
President and CEO
800-923-1910
investors@thealkalinewaterco.comMediaJessica Starman
888-461-2233
jessica@elev8newmedia.comNeither 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.
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