Vertical Wellness Acquires The Organic Candy Factory® to Expand Brands Portfolio Into the Fast-Growing Better For You Candy Segment

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vertical Wellness™ [VWEL], a leader in the branded hemp cannabinoid health and wellness space, acquired The Organic Candy Factory in a stock transaction. No other financial details were disclosed.

Smoke Wallin, Chairman and CEO of Vertical Wellness, said: “Piper and her daughter Ginger have done a remarkable job building a truly unique brand in the Better For You candy market over the last 10 years. This segment is large and outpacing the traditional confectionery/snack market significantly. We also know the top form factor in the CBD market has been gummies. Having an established brand that is 100% organic and is the best tasting product on the market is the perfect segue for us to expand into that space as ingestibles go mainstream. We welcome Piper, Ginger, and the Organic Candy Factory to our growing team and family of brands at Vertical Wellness.”

Piper Cochrane, Founder and CEO of The Organic Candy Factory, explained: “My dream is to build Organic Candy Factory into the leading brand of Better For You candies. Vertical Wellness has the right team and scalable platform to achieve this.”

“Smoke has built Vertical Wellness into the best platform for brands in the health and wellness space with a focus on natural and organic products derived from hemp. I have long been a fan of his approach and of Piper’s Organic Candy Factory. I couldn’t be more excited about the combination and the potential for growth,” said Sandy Climan, Founder and CEO of Entertainment Media Ventures and an investor in both Vertical and Organic Candy Factory, who will join the Vertical Wellness Advisory Board.

Organic Candy Factory has built a solid foundation with initial offerings of Peach and Berry (Boysenberry, Blackberry, and Raspberry) and growing to include milk and dark chocolate dipped variations. Garnered press includes People, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Magazine, and Modern Mom. Current retailers include Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Eataly, Waldorf Astoria, and Pressed Juicery. Focusing on a larger piece of the $37.5B US Candy Market, Organic Candy Factory is differentiating itself by being the first organic, vegan, kosher, non-GMO, gluten-free gummy bear and crossing into the $12.7B Global Vegan Market that is largely untouched by the candy segment.

Vertical Wellness and Organic Candy Factory each have a focus on health and wellness. The future will combine Vertical Wellness’ knowledge and reach in chain, distribution, and growth strategies with Organic Candy Factory’s intimate knowledge of the Better For You candy segment. By growing the existing direct-to-consumer business, while expanding the existing retail outlets and integrating the brand into Vertical Wellness’ distribution network, Organic Candy Factory has a direct line to “change the way people think about candy.” The collaboration will provide Vertical Wellness an opportunity to produce an adult focused hemp and cannabinoid-infused versions of Organic Candy Factory products, combined with VWEL’s patented fast acting higher bioavailability technology. CBD-infused gummies are among the top selling form factors in the rapidly growing CBD space. The global CBD gummies market size is expected to reach $6.94 billion by 2025, exhibiting a 31.9% CAGR over the forecast period.

About Vertical Wellness™

Vertical Wellness is a leading vertically-integrated consumer focused health and wellness brand company with innovative hemp cannabinoid solutions. Vertical Wellness’ mission is to help people by bringing the most innovative and effective portfolio of cannabinoid, health and wellness brands to the market. Initial VWEL brands include AntiDos®, GoldQ®, Halogenix Beauty™, Hemp-Moji™, Just Live®, kathy ireland® Health & Wellness, Lap Dog™, Neutrate Fitness™, Organic Candy Factory®, Par5™, Taos™, Wingra Farms™ and USMCC™. Vertical Wellness has operations in California and Kentucky and cultivated over 1,800 acres of hemp on partner farms last season. The Company is one of the largest processors of hemp globally with over 22 million lbs owned, processed or contracted for during 2020.

About Organic Candy Factory®

In 2010, Piper’s daughter Ginger, decided that she wanted to open a candy store (every child's fantasy). Mom decided to empower her and began to explore options. To Piper’s dismay, many candies contained dyes, chemicals, GMOs, toxins, and gelatin (made from animal by-products). That’s when she and Ginger created a better option for kids and moms everywhere. Organic Candy Factory: INTRODUCING THE WORLD’S FIRST ORGANIC, Vegan KOSHER GUMMY BEAR - With none of the yucky stuff like dyes, gelatins, and chemicals. The products contain ZERO Gluten, Gelatin, Pesticides, Preservatives, Nuts, Corn Syrup, GMOs, Chemicals, Artificial Colors, Flavors, or Sweeteners They are also free of the Top 8 Allergens: Wheat, Egg, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Dairy, Shellfish, Soy, & Fish.