Meet the Fresh, New Face of the Booming Plant-based Economy

Stockhouse investors and readers know the plant-based economy is booming. And they also know that while opportunities abound, not all of these companies are created equal. But one, uniquely-positioned West Vancouver, BC-based company is looking to stand out from and outpace the pack.

Calling itself “the digital face of the plant-based community”, PlantX (CSE.VEGA, Forum) is a one-stop-shop and distribution company with a fast-growing database with plans to offer customers across North America more than five thousand products. In addition to offering pre-made meals and indoor plant deliveries, the company plans to expand its product lines to include cosmetics, vitamins, clothing, and its own water brand.

In this lively ‘Learn & Earn’ video podcast, Stockhouse Media’s Dave Jackson was joined by PlantX CEO Julia Frank to discuss the recent company news, the future of the plant-based economy, and investment opportunities this exciting, new space.

TRANSCRIPT BELOW:

SH: To start off, can you tell us a bit about yourself, the company, and your very unique-looking business model?

JF: Sure. Yeah. As you mentioned before, I’m based in, in Germany I’m originally from, from unit actually from the South of Germany and yeah, but I’ve, I’ve worked in many different countries and also companies so far. And actually, my past company was a BMW and I used to work for BMW over five years on multiple projects. One project was the joint venture actually with Daimler Mercedes Benz which is also well known. So, I was a part of like the business development and building up several startup departments for BMW and Mercedes proceeded sense in, in Germany. And yeah, as you can tell, I worked for the automotive industry with, with those companies, but I’m really happy that I get to change into the yeah, the green and plant-based space which is definitely more my passion than the automotive industry I have to say.

So yeah, I started in 2019 when I met Sean Dollinger was actually the founder of PlantX and yeah, really happy to, to be the CEO since last year, August, I’m basically the first employee of the company. So, it’s a, it’s a wide and very exciting, right. And yeah, to, to come to, to our company and, and what we do. So basically, as you already told in your introduction the big picture for PlantX is already built into our messaging, what you mentioned, and we are the https://stockhouse.com/opinion/interviews/2021/02/01/meet-fresh-new-face-booming-plant-based-economydigital face off the plant-based community and the one-stop shop for everything plant-based. And when we say that we very much mean it. And yeah, the idea is to have a massive e-commerce platform, as you said, you have a couple of thousands of products on our websites. So, you can buy any, any kind of fan products and, and services, which we offer under one big umbrella.

And that’s basically our unique business model. And if people either want plant-based products meal delivery plans, cosmetics we can basically create any where to go on our website. And I think that’s pretty unique. And also, what makes us unique that yeah, we also want to create a community around plant-based living B we basically, Y come anyone. So, if you want to still eat your, your steak once or twice a week you’re also happy to be our, our customer and you know, try out plant-based or plant-based meals are plant-based products. I don’t know, a few days per week. So that’s also totally fine to us. And what we want to do is also to educate people on a, on a plant-based lifestyle. And I think especially during these times when everyone is like, I have the feeling that everyone gets like more health conscious really is interested in the plant-based space and how they can feel better. You know, like I think we are a perfect tool to also educate people around the whole quality lifestyle living. And I think that’s pretty unique and amazing.

SH: You’ve had a busy start to 2021. Can you walk us through your very recent announcement that your common shares are now eligible for electronic clearing and settlement through The Depository Trust Company in the U-S?

JF: Yeah, exactly. We just announced it yesterday and basically that this electronic method of clearing securities and speeds up the settlement process for our investors and brokers, and basically enables our stock to predate it, to be traded over a much wider selection of brokerage firms. And yeah, we are really excited about that that achievement. But yeah, I mean, we had so many news and in the past, but I’m sure we’re going to touch base at a later step. But yeah, that was our Redis. We send it to achievement.

SH: You’ve also recently taken steps to strengthen your presence in cosmetics market. Can you tell us how?

JF: Yeah, we are happy that we partnered up with the cosmetic company it’s called [inaudible] and see it’s a privately held company based in British Columbia and yeah, obviously they are committed to also use high quality plant-based ingredients. And I mean, that’s exactly that that we go for as well. So Nootka NC perfectly fits with the vision of PlantX and you know, we are like super excited about that new vertical, because believe it or not, the skincare and beauty industry is a 189 billion (dollar) market.

SH: …and PlantX’s announcement of the addition of an enhanced meal program to your current in-home meal delivery service. This sounds like a great initiative given the booming COVID stay-at-home economy…

JF: Yeah, exactly. So basically, we want to give our customers with our subscription-based option, which we call it set and forget, which I think is amazing. We give them that option, which means they can choose between three or five full days worth of meals delivered to your door. And as you said, especially during these times, I think it’s an amazing new service that we offer. And also, you know, it provides the freedom from the hassle of cooking of meal preparation for a couple of days. So yeah, if you, if you choose this our meal program and it couldn’t be easier actually to follow a plant-based nutrition. So especially also for people who’ve never tried it and actually you can like really to try and see how it feels to have only a campus Christian, because actually many people think that you don’t have enough energy or you can like work out when you only eat plant-based food. But that’s definitely not true.

SH: Can you tell us about any exciting new product offerings that may be of interest to investors and consumers?

JF: Like, yeah, like I said, basically on a daily basis on our website, but what I’m really excited about is our plant delivery service. So, so you can order plans to your doorstep, which I think is pretty amazing. And, you know, like in these times you spend so much time at home and you want to feel, you know, you want to feel comfortable at home and want to be like surrounded by nice things and also, you know, the plant-based life. So, it’s not only about what you put into your body. It’s also like your whole lifestyle and how you surround yourself with, so that’s also why we offer cosmetics because, you know, you use, plant-based what you put onto your body, but also, I think plants is also part of it. So, I’m pretty excited about that. And actually, that vertigo is exploding in the past years, even, you know, like in the past two or three years the plant delivery service is actually exploding. So, it’s a good revenue driver as well, and a super convenient service for our customers.

SH: I couldn’t help but notice that your stock has had a very nice bump since mid-November…nearly tripling in value since then. What can you tell our investor audience regarding the current valuation of your stock and why you think it’s still a good buy right now?

JF: Yeah, I mean, as you know, that the industry itself is, is quite young and the growth in general is really exploding. So even if we would stop adding verticals, we would still see like a massive, massive growth simply from expanding the market share. And then when you when you look at the numbers and the expectations of that market for 2007 27, it’s expected to reach 74 billion. So, you can only imagine what kind of potential the plant-based market actually has. And I’m convinced if we going to be a big part of it. So yeah, it makes the investment in plant ex highly attractive, for sure.

SH: And lastly, Julia, if there’s anything else that I’ve neglected to ask and you’d like to add, please feel free to elaborate.

JF: Yeah, as you, as you just mentioned briefly reached a massive milestone and December, and basically, we went from zero revenue per month to over 1 million. And I mean, we launched our website in April last year to achieve such a huge gross revenue. And in that short period of time to me is mind blowing and I think it’s, it also proves our business model, which is really important, just wanted to add this.

For more information, visit plantx.com