TITUSVILLE, Fla., March 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Apple Rush Company, Inc. (OTC PINK: APRU) (the “company”) is proud to update its loyal shareholders with a letter to shareholders.
Dear Shareholders:
I am writing today to update you on several different initiatives we have been working on over the last six months, as well as a communication flow adjustment. We have spent numerous hours building an extremely qualified team to lead us on a national rollout of Apple Rush Sparkling Juice. This team has decades of experience in the beverage industry and is working diligently on the plans for this rollout. Several advisors are distributors that have spent their lives in the business of delivering consumers the brands they desire, as well as adding professionals that have a proven track record of running successful businesses. Creating the right pack at the right price is most important for this rollout. Marketing and grass-roots sampling will continue to follow in the appropriate markets.
Jason Atwell has taken an active role in both the operational side of the business and on expanding our sales and marketing push. APRU is in the process of rolling out the 8oz sleek cans throughout Key West and the entire Florida Keys. We are delivering cans to many establishments that carried the original Apple Rush bottles in the past, as well as adding additional accounts, as the cans were a better fit for the area. Key West specifically, brings in tourists by the thousands weekly. We have created partnerships with specific accounts, that will not only sell Apple Rush, but will have a sampling program involved also. People visit The Keys from all over the world, and being able to sell our products on https://applerush.com/ and on Amazon Prime (https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Rush-Sparkling-Juice-100/dp/B0813XY83C) will help generate sales in new markets. There is continued interest in Apple Rush and the Element Brands portfolio in Florida, as well as the South East and Midwest markets, and our team is working with many associates to push the products to retailers. We are thrilled about the reception Element C has received in the limited test markets so far, and we will keep you posted as distribution continues to new markets. Look for http://element-brands.com/ to go live soon.
With that being said, we realize that we need to have a more consistent communication flow, and we have been working together in order to bring the message of APRU Brands to the forefront with some new methods of interaction other than traditional PR’s & tweets, which will be more active as well. We will be launching a new podcast that is designed to engage consumers and investors on APRU Brands with both current and future events, which will introduce more people to our company. We have diversified our brands to leverage the capabilities of development, manufacturing and distribution. Also, we have additional partnerships to do small batch processing in order to test new products with the consumer without having to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars on a production run. These product lines have better margins than traditional products and allow for small batch testing.
Nicholas Kinports has been working on several projects for APRU Brands, including both Apple Rush and the Element Brands portfolio. He will continue to bring valued marketing & sales feedback to the group as we maintain the forward momentum of this journey to build multiple brands and have such a diverse portfolio. You can view his work at http://www.noticeagency.com/. KG Studios and Contend have been in contact with Mr. Kinports and have been assigned specific material in conjunction with their forte of podcasts and videography. You can view Steven Amato’s work at http://contendco.com/ and Kelly Garner’s work at https://www.treefort.fm/. Also, Ahmad Toom, lead graphic designer for Southern Eagle Distributing, has joined the APRU design team in order to more rapidly develop our web strategy, product packaging and online messaging. We appreciate the work Ahmad has done so far on our umbrella site of http://aprubrands.com/. Soon we will be updating our shareholders with the details involving the scope of the projects they have been working on.
I would also like to take the time to reference the Internet chat-board claims of APRU issuing millions of shares to people at $.0001. APRU raised more money at $.007 to $.015 than we did from $.0001 to $.0007, and we always raised money at a small discount to the current market. None of the investors that are friends and family have sold any shares, as they are long-term investors and have taken the most risk, as they came into this investment with no immediate liquidity and purchased restricted shares. The only shares we have ever given to anyone are for services in lieu of a salary and it has been done alongside the reduction in outstanding shares. We didn’t feel it was prudent to pay salaries upfront while we are in the development phase of the business.
As announced, we have negotiated several large buybacks of stock that we are planning to use in order to raise additional capital, without issuing additional shares. One of those transactions was to help in capital formation for both LiveWire and APRU. However, due to complex matters we could not prevent LiveWire from seeking other avenues. LiveWire is no longer a shareholder in Apple Rush, and we believe the transferee of the shares formally held by LiveWire is the source of the selling pressure on our stock over the past month. There are no negative fundamental changes to where we are as a company today versus six months ago. If you look at our capital structure, we have reduced shares while raising additional capital for the company. This process is complicated and requires cooperation from certain existing shareholders that were and continue to be willing to reduce holdings and create a better capital structure for all. We have noticed certain shareholders that post both positive and negative comments, especially due to the downward selling pressure this past month. The Internet is a powerful tool and many people try to hide behind anonymous handles while they bash our common stock.
APRU Brands has several pilot programs in place, and we are continuing to evaluate those programs. You will see us doing promotions, cross-merchandising and grass-root sampling. Many pilot programs take extra time and energy to produce the results required for moving forward and we will update shareholders on the progress.
We announced a few months back that we sent samples to Japan and we are looking forward to the positive results. Our team will be following up with shareholders on the headway and what our International plans will look like. APRU Brands intends to be selling product in multiple countries in 2020, as we are currently working with those countries’ government agencies to accept our products. It is our objective to bring on some additional International leadership to the advisory board, which will help accelerate the process in those countries. We will be formally announcing that leadership and those plans soon.
Ronnda Shields has been helping again with some distribution and promotions. She started her own marketing and promotions company and has been helping to place product in the independent retailers. Ronnda is an aggressive promoter and is doing everything she can to help our brands. With her help we believe that we will gain a solid foothold in the independent convenience stores, smoke shops, and chain convenience stores. She has previously received equity in the company in addition to cash compensation for her services.
Apple Rush Company, Inc. is a small company, and we need to raise capital. This capital will be raised by investors that can make the investment without risk to their lifestyles. The capital will be deployed to develop, manufacture and distribute new products, purchase new equipment, acquire additional brands, hire additional personnel, or provide working capital. This must be done to have a secure business moving forward.
Our goal at APRU is to continually develop, manufacture and distribute products for consumers searching for high quality goods. When developing, every product we produce under APRU Brands will be strategic and market ready to succeed. As a manufacturer, we have a solid team, great resources, organic and all-natural ingredients that we can bring to consumers, while being able to distribute using our network and connections. We believe APRU Brands will hit the market strong.
Sincerely,
Tony Torgerud
CEO
Apple Rush Company, Inc.
About The Apple Rush Company, Inc.
The Apple Rush Company, Inc., through its subsidiary APRU, LLC, is a distributor of cpg products under the trademarked Apple Rush brand and other labels. The Apple Rush brand has more than 40 years of existence in the natural beverage industry. As a historical leader in the organic and natural beverage sector our goal is to also become the leader in the distribution of anhydrous hemp oil products nationwide. For more information, please go to www.applerush.com. Also coming soon www.aprubrands.com
About APRU, LLC
APRU, LLC focuses on the development and sales of all natural Apple Rush sparkling juices, and research and development, of premium hemp extracts that contain a broad range of cannabinoids and natural hemp derivatives and other active ingredients such as our exclusive agathos active, kratom, kava, blue lotus, and ginseng. www.aprullc.com or on Twitter @RealAPRU_News.
Safe Harbor Act: Forward-Looking Statements are included within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, financing plans, business strategy, products and services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of management for future operations, including words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should," "will," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements and involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Investor relations Contact:
Tony Torgerud
888-741-3777 x 2