Tarrytown, NY, Jan. 23, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Nightfood, Inc. (OTCQB: NGTF), the award-winning ice cream company addressing America’s $50 billion-dollar nighttime snacking problem, announced today that Company Founder and CEO Sean Folkson this week extended his existing lock-up agreement for an additional twelve-month period into 2021.
The Company filed an 8K on Tuesday, January 21, related to this agreement with Folkson, Nightfood Holdings’ single largest shareholder.
“We received questions from a couple of shareholders about the lock-up, so I wanted to address those publicly,” commented Folkson. “This Company is my past, my present, and my future, and I’m not looking to sell or otherwise decrease my share position in any way. With our introduction into hotels, and various consumer marketing initiatives that will come to light very soon, I’m expecting a breakout in consumer awareness and product demand. We’re in discussions with global executives at three of the top four global hotel brands and are rolling into new supermarket chains here in Q1 which will be disclosed shortly.”
The Company will soon be launching its first major in-store promotion across more than 500 high-volume supermarket partners. Participating chains will include existing Nightfood partners, along with new major chains in which the brand has secured distribution, expected to be announced publicly in the coming weeks.
The Company also announced that the Meijer supermarket chain will not be included in that initiative as Meijer has elected not to include Nightfood in their 2020 reset.
When Nightfood established distribution in hundreds of additional major supermarket outlets in Q4, it opened the door for certain marketing tactics and partnerships that had not previously been available. The promotional tactics the brand is now implementing online and on-shelf have previously been used successfully by fast-growing brands such as Halo Top, Enlightened, and others.
“We’d have liked to be able to run these kinds of campaigns in 2019, but we were not yet in enough outlets to qualify with Ibotta and the other service providers,” commented Nightfood CEO Sean Folkson. “We are thankful to Meijer and look forward to working with them again in the near future. Being in fewer than half of Meijer locations and under 200 total stores for most of 2019 limited us in terms of the promotions we were able to run. We’ve now more than tripled our supermarket distribution count compared to Q1 of last year. We will have about seven times the supermarket distribution by the end of this quarter as the same time last year, and approximately ten times the number of facings, plus distribution in divisions of the two largest supermarket chains in the country.
“Our newfound ability to run these proven, large-scale campaigns influenced the decisions made by some of the new chains that will be adding Nightfood this quarter,” added Folkson. “We’ve got a great product serving a massive consumer need. The key now is driving awareness, trial, and repurchase. Going forward, our ability to run large promotions very early in the distribution cycle will make a big difference.”
Folkson continued, “It’s sometimes easy to forget that we’ve done in 12 months what takes years for most successful brands. That comes partly from expectations and goals we set for ourselves and communicated outwardly. And although we’ve gotten a tremendous amount of media and distribution, statistically, our brand awareness is probably still at a fraction of one percent with so much room to grow. While our investors have been following the brand for a long time, ninety-something percent of consumers have never even heard of us yet. Sales data we have show that velocity and consumption continue to grow on an ongoing basis. This is a process, and even the food and beverage companies that look like an overnight success take years to get there.”
A recent Nightfood/Harris Poll study confirmed that most consumers snack regularly at night, most of what’s being consumed at night is known to be unhealthy, and that most night snackers feel guilty and out of control about their night snacking.
Management believes that the powerful human biological drivers behind these unhealthy and guilt-inducing snacking behaviors, along with the recent “snackification” of our society and the evolution in the way we consume media are converging to bring the concept of nighttime-specific nutrition to a critical tipping point.
By helping consumers solve their night snacking in a better, healthier, and more sleep-friendly way, Nightfood is establishing the leading position in this category where American consumers are generally dissatisfied, yet still spending over $50 billion annually.
About Nightfood Holdings:
Nightfood Holdings, Inc. (OTC: NGTF), owns Nightfood, Inc. and MJ Munchies, Inc.
After manufacturing their first pint in early 2019, Nightfood secured ice cream distribution in multiple Top-10 supermarket chains in the United States, with concentrations in the Carolinas, Mid-Atlantic, the upper Midwest, and New England.
Management has also begun to focus on distribution of Nightfood sleep-friendly ice cream in hotels across the United States, and is currently available in certain locations of chains such as Fairfield Inn & Suites (Marriott), Hilton Garden Inn (Hilton), Staybridge Suites (InterContinental Hotels Group), and Residence Inn (Marriott).
On Feb 8, 2019, it was announced that Nightfood ice cream won the 2019 Product of the Year award in the ice cream category in a Kantar survey of over 40,000 consumers. On June 26, 2019, Nightfood was named Best New Ice Cream in the 2019 World Dairy Innovation Awards.
Over 80% of Americans snack regularly at night, resulting in an estimated 700M+ nighttime snack occasions weekly, and an annual spend on night snacks of over $50 billion dollars, the majority of it on options that are understood to be both unhealthy, and disruptive to sleep quality.
Scientific research indicates these unhealthy nighttime cravings are driven by human biology. Willpower is also weakest at night, contributing to unhealthy night snacking behavior, and the majority of night snackers report feeling both guilty and out-of-control when it comes to their nighttime snacking.
Because unhealthy night snacking is biologically driven, and not a trend or a fad, management believes the category of nighttime-specific nutrition, which Nightfood is pioneering, will be a billion-dollar category.
MJ Munchies, Inc. was formed in 2018 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Nightfood Holdings, Inc. to capitalize on legally compliant opportunities in the CBD and marijuana edibles and related spaces. The Company is seeking licensing opportunities to market such products under the brand name “Half-Baked”, for which they’ve successfully secured trademark rights.
Questions can be directed to investors@Nightfood.com
Forward Looking Statements:
This current press release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future, including but not limited to, any products sold or cash flow from operations.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with distribution and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume 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. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Media Contact:
Tim Sullivan
media@Nightfood.com
732-816-0239
Investor Contact:
Stuart Smith
investors@Nightfood.com
888-888-6444, x3