Ms. Katie Field reports

HALO COLLECTIVE REPORTS Q4 REVENUE INCREASE FOR ITS BUDEGA RETAIL STORES IN CALIFORNIA

Halo Collective Inc. has released preliminary unaudited revenue numbers for its California operations, with retail sales increasing 16.8 per cent for this last quarter (1). The company has made progress with its Budega VIP program and its new location in Hollywood expected to open this year. The company is evaluating new sales and marketing initiatives through a series of pop-ups across California, which will act as a prerequisite to the continued expansion of the Budega retail chain, testing the demand in various regions within the state.

The company has continually increased revenues in the retail division of its California operations each quarter, contributing over $1.4-million to the top-line revenues for 2022 (2). The company expects a continued increase of retail store revenues after launching new marketing initiatives and prepares for an additional revenue stream from its third dispensary location opening later this year. BDSA projects U.S. recreational and medical cannabis will be $46-billion by 2026, with California remaining the largest market and constituting over 50 per cent of legal sales. Another estimate has legal retail sales in the United States growing to $52.6-billion by 2026. With reduced capacity across the state and larger players exiting, the company believes its operations in California will continue delivering results in the years to come.

The following initiatives have been launched in a series of marketing efforts to increase top-line revenues:

• The Budega VIP program will be available at all Budega locations for customers to participate in a loyalty point program. The special membership program includes a discounted rate to it high-value customers and will integrate a software program to allow efficient tracking of customer purchases. The company will have access to purchase data to adjust promotional targeting accordingly.
• A guerrilla marketing approach through a series of pop-ups across California: The incentive will act as a prerequisite to the continued expansion of the Budega retail chain, testing the demand in various regions within the state while generating additional revenues.

The company has been discussing innovative ways to connect with the community. Pop-up shops have been growing in recent years, with many brands opening short-term retail locations in cities around the world. In the modern experience economy, creating an environment where customers can touch, see and smell things creates a memorable experience. Instead of just skimming through racks or browsing items on-line, really experiencing a carefully selected inventory can help items stand out in shoppers' minds. Only being able to see the items for three days a month also adds a sense of urgency and exclusivity to the items, which can be a huge draw for customers. Halo is in discussion for obtaining multiple event-based cannabis licences to launch a series of pop-ups across California, which will allow the company to test the market acceptance in high traffic areas and communities in preparation for its retail expansion plans.

"The California cannabis market continues to deliver a large legal recreational consumer base, and Halo intends to keep up with the state's evolving market trends. We will continue to assess the effectiveness the proposed pop-up incentive as we test different pockets in the state. Our Budega retail revenue growth has proven to be strong since the initial launch, and we expect to see this arm of the company contribute to top-line revenues as we expand into new locations," commented Katie Field, chair and chief executive officer of Halo Collective.

The company has obtained the state retail licence for the Hollywood location and has been moving through necessary steps on construction and buildout for the new opening.

About Halo Collective Inc.

Halo is focused on the U.S. west coast, where it has vertically integrated operations covering the entire value chain from seed to sale. Halo cultivates, extracts, manufactures and distributes quality cannabis flower, prerolls, vape carts, edibles and concentrates. Halo sells these products under a portfolio of brands, including Hush, Winberry Farms, its retail brand Budega and licence agreements with FlowerShop*. In addition, Halo has opened two dispensaries in Los Angeles under the Budega brand in North Hollywood and Hollywood, with plans to open one more in Hollywood in 2023.

In the non-tetrahydrocannabinol sector, Halo is expanding into health and wellness categories, including cannabidiol and functional supplements. Halo Collective, through a series of acquisitions, has product offerings in the form of beverages (H2C Beverages) and dissolvable strips (Dissolve Medical).

Halo has acquired and integrated a variety of companies which were subsequently reorganized to create Akanda Corp. (Nasdaq: AKAN), an international medical cannabis and wellness company, of which Halo is the largest shareholder. Halo has also acquired a range of software development assets, including CannPOS, Cannalift, CannaFeels and a discrete sublingual dosing technology, Accudab. Halo intends to reorganize these entities (including their intellectual property and patent applications) into a subsidiary called Halo Tek Inc. and to complete the distribution of the shares of Halo Tek to shareholders on record at a date to be determined.

(1) The 16.8-per-cent percentage has been calculated based on preliminary unaudited revenue numbers.

(2) The $1.4-million revenue has been calculated based on preliminary unaudited revenue numbers.

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