Canadian Category Leader Blender Bites Announces Actress and Entrepreneur Julianne Hough as Brand Partner and Shareholder Ahead of USA Expansion

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Blender Bites Limited. (the “Company”, “Blender Bites” or “Blender”), (CSE: BITE, FWB: JL4, WKN: A3DMEJ), an award-winning line of premium, organic and plant-based pre-portioned frozen functional foods, announces that it has signed a partnership with actress, performer and entrepreneur Julianne Hough as a brand partner, shareholder and strategic advisor as the Company prepares for a US product launch later this year.

Hough will be an active participant in the strategic marketing of the Company’s products and will also work in collaboration with Blender Bites’ founder and CEO, Chelsie Hodge, in the creation and development of a new product innovation, including an official product launch of the new collaboration.

Together, Blender Bites and Hough are committed to marketing the Company’s first to-market smoothie innovations, as well as its recently unveiled 1-Step Frappé, with the goal of increasing brand awareness across Canada and the United States.

“I am so thrilled to be joining Chelsie and her innovative team at Blender Bites,” says Hough. “I am personally a huge fan of the brand and am excited to be taking on this larger role within the Company. Their mission and intention of creating a clean, sustainable product without compromising nutritional value and convenience is something that truly aligns with my own lifestyle and routine. Their functional smoothie innovations make me feel energized every time, whether I’m about to take on my next workout or during a busy morning. I can’t wait for this product to come to the US and to continue to create with this team as I expand my entrepreneurial footprint.”

With the Company entering one of the biggest smoothie and functional food markets on the planet, Blender Bites looks to establish itself with Julianne, welcoming her as a shareholder. Julianne will offer strategic counsel and creative insight on product development to further the flavor profiles of the brand to meet the next generation of consumers.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have Julianne join the Blender Bites team as a voice for the brand, a partner and a shareholder. The Company has done an incredible job the past year working with our broker team to line up multiple large US retail opportunities, and I truly believe Jules has the perfect platform for us to market the product to all of Canada and the US. Jules is more than an entertainer, she is also an entrepreneur, and I’m incredibly excited to work with her on bringing this brand to new heights,” commented Chelsie Hodge, Blender Bites’ founder and CEO.

Ms. Hough has agreed to collaborate with the Company, from March 24, 2023, in the marketing and advertising of products for an initial twelve-month term. Under the terms of the collaboration, Ms. Hough is entitled to receive cash compensation payable in two parts over a six month period, as well as 307,000 common shares (the “Consideration Shares”) of the Company. The Company has also agreed to grant Ms. Hough 80,000 incentive stock options, and 20,000 restricted share units, the exercise terms and vesting conditions of which will be determined at the time of grant. The Consideration Shares will be subject to restrictions on resale for a period of four-months-and-one-day in accordance with applicable securities laws.

ABOUT JULIANNE HOUGH

Emmy Award-winner, entertainer, producer, and entrepreneur Julianne Hough is known to audiences globally for her success in film, television, music, and most recently, the Broadway stage. In 2022, she made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated, uproarious political farce, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, playing the role of “Dusty” at the iconic Shubert Theatre. That same year she hosted the 75th Tony Awards: Act One alongside Darren Criss which streamed on Paramount+. A true multi-hyphenate, Hough became a household name as a two-time champion on ABC’s top-rated Dancing with the Stars, which she is set to host the upcoming Season 32 in 2023, before further expanding her artistic footprint to include becoming an award-winning recording artist and accomplished actress. Her acting credits include Safe Haven opposite Josh Duhamel, Footloose with Kenny Wormald and Dennis Quaid, and Rock of Ages with Tom Cruise, among others. She is the founder of Canary House Productions, which cultivates storytelling rooted in transformation, self-discovery, and identity, as well as KINRGY, the only trauma-informed dance fitness & energy healing modality backed by neuroscience and evidence-based research. An immersive and serial entrepreneur, Hough is also a co-owner of Fresh Vine Wine, a collection of premium naturally low-carb and low-calorie wines.

ABOUT BLENDER BITES

Blender Bites is a multi award-winning Canadian company involved in the development and marketing of a line of healthy and functional, time-saving frozen food products. Blender Bites launched in 2017 and was first to market with a pre-portioned 1-Step Smoothie product that includes functional ingredients, a blend of whole food vitamins and minerals and various organic greens. They are free of any unnecessary inner plastic packaging, organic, plant-based, non-GMO, gluten free, dairy free and soy free. Its latest innovation, 1-Step Frappe with half the sugar of the leading frappe and functional ingredients such as adaptogenic mushrooms and probiotics, are set to launch Spring of 2023 and are a category disruptor in both Canada and the USA. Blender Bites products are currently distributed throughout North America in both retail and club store channels and has quickly become a leader in the “easy smoothie” frozen category.

Blender Bites Limited

Chelsie Hodge, Chief Executive Officer
Email – [email protected]
Telephone – 236-521-0626

For further information, contact Blender IR Team at:

Email – [email protected]
Telephone – 1-888-997-2055

CAUTIONARY DISCLAIMER STATEMENT
This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements” under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon several estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political, and social uncertainties, and uncertain capital markets. Readers are cautioned that actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.