• Kroger, the Largest Grocery Retailer in the United States, Is Adding Three New Hope and Sesame® Non-GMO Sesamemilk Shelf-Stable SKUs to Its Plant-Based Milk Grocery Aisle in 681 Stores
• This Adds to Existing Kroger Distribution of Two Hope and Sesame ® Sesamemilk Refrigerated SKUs Which Rolled Out in January 2022
• The Kroger Distribution Includes Ralph's (Southern California), King Soopers (Rocky Mountains), Fred Meyer (Northwest) and More Kroger Banners and Stores
• Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk Named the Best Plant-Based Beverage at FoodBev Media's World Plant Based Awards 2022, Announced at the 2022 Plant Based World Expo & Conference in NYC

CHICAGO, IL and VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / September 13, 2022 / The Planting Hope Company Inc. (TSXV:MYLK)(OTCQB:MYLKF)(FRA:J94) ("Planting Hope" or the "Company"), a plant-based food and beverage company focused on producing the world's most nutritious and planet-friendly products, is pleased to announce that its Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk shelf-stable line is launching in stores nationwide across multiple retailer banners at Kroger, the largest grocery retailer in the United States. Beginning in Q3 2022, Kroger customers will enjoy access to three new Hope and Sesame® flavors in shelf-stable 32 oz cartons: award-winning Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend, Unsweetened Vanilla, and Chocolate. The Kroger divisions now carrying shelf-stable Hope and Sesame® Non-GMO Sesamemilk span 681 stores across Ralph's (Southern California), King Soopers (Rocky Mountains), Fry's Food and Drug (Arizona), Fred Meyer (Northwest), Smith's Food and Drug (Southwest), and Kroger stores across the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, and Texas.

"Kroger is the gold standard when it comes to national grocers in the United States," said Julia Stamberger, CEO and Co-founder of Planting Hope. "We're thrilled to collaborate with Kroger, a company committed to giving communities across the United States access to high quality, plant-based food and beverages that are nutritious, sustainable, and better for people and the planet."

• Sesamemilk is nutritionally comparable to dairy milk, with 8g of complete protein per serving with all 9 essential amino acids - that's 8x more protein than almond milk and 2-3x more protein than most oat milks. Sesamemilk is also an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D.
• Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk, optimized to froth, foam, and steam like a dream for hot or iced beverages, has 4g of complete protein and is designed for excellent performance in coffee and tea.
• Sesamemilk is extraordinarily sustainable, using 95% less water than almond milk and 75% less water than oat milk to produce.
• Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk in shelf-stable 32 oz cartons are produced with 12 months of shelf life and require no refrigeration before opening.

Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk 32 oz cartons can be found in the Grocery aisle wherever shelf-stable plant milks are sold. Many of the same Kroger stores also carry two flavors of refrigerated Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk in 48 oz bottles, Unsweetened Original and Unsweetened Vanilla, in the Plant-Based Milk section of the refrigerated case. This new shelf-stable distribution replaces the previous organic Hope and Sesame® shelf-stable cartons, a product line that the Company phased out in favor of the new branding, lower cost, and improved formulation of the new Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk Non-GMO product line.

Hope and Sesame ® Barista Blend Sesamemilk Receives Another Significant Industry Award: Best Plant-Based Beverage, World Plant Based Awards, at the 2022 Plant Based World Expo
The Company is also celebrating another exciting win for its popular Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk which was awarded the Best Plant-Based Beverage at FoodBev Media's World Plant Based Awards 2022, announced at the 2022 Plant Based World Expo & Conference in New York City last week. This is the fourth time in the past 12 months that Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk has been recognized as the winner in significant plant milk categories at the World Plant Based Awards: In December 2021 at the 2021 Plant Based World Expo, Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk won in the Best Plant-Based Sustainability and Best Milk Alternative categories and gained an Honorable Mention for Best Plant-Based Beverage. In addition, Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk won Best Product at CoffeeFest Chicago 2022, won a 2020 Sofi Award for Best New Product, and was the only plant-milk recognized as a finalist for Best Product at the 2022 Specialty Coffee Association show.

"Continued validation by plant-based experts, coffee experts, baristas, chefs, and widespread positive media coverage, are all indicators that Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk is the next big plant-based milk trend, answering the question: ‘what's the next big thing in plant milk after oat milk?'" added Stamberger. "It's an exciting time for us."

For more information about Planting Hope and where to find its award-winning plant-based brands, please visit plantinghopecompany.com, sign up for Planting Hope news emails HERE and follow on LinkedIn. To follow the brands on Instagram and Facebook, please visit: @hopeandsesameco, @veggicopia, @rightrice, and @mozaicschips.

About Hope and Sesame®
Hope and Sesame® has cracked the code on unlocking the dense nutrition in tiny sesame seeds, creating an important new trend in plant milk: sesamemilk, both ultra-nutritious and highly planet-friendly. Sesame is sustainable, requiring very little water to cultivate, is naturally drought- and pest-resistant, and can self-pollinate. Sesamemilk is nutritionally comparable to dairy milk, delivering 8g of complete protein per 3 serving (including all nine essential amino acids) - that's 8x the protein in most nut milks and 3x the protein in most oat milks! Specifically developed for and tested by top baristas, Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk froths, steams, and foams like a dream, great for latte art, and delivers 4g of complete protein per 8oz serving. Sesamemilk is an excellent source of Vitamin D and Calcium and is upcycled from the byproduct of sesame oil extraction. Hope and Sesame® Sesamilk™ creamers are free from saturated fat and contain only 40 calories per serving. All Hope and Sesame® products are vegan, Certified Gluten-Free and Certified Kosher, free from soy and dairy, Non-GMO Project Verified, and Certified by the Plant Based Foods Association. Hope and Sesame® Barista Blend Sesamemilk was awarded Best Plant-Based Beverage in FoodBev's 2022 World Plant Based Awards, Best Product at Coffee Fest Chicago 2022 and was a finalist for Best Product of the Year at the 2022 Specialty Coffee Awards; Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk was awarded Best Milk Alternative and Best Plant-Based Sustainability in FoodBev's 2021 World Plant-Based Food Awards; signature Chocolate Hazelnut Sesamemilk flavor received the 2020 Sofi Award for Best New Product, Plant-Based Milk from the Specialty Food Association.

About The Planting Hope Company Inc.
Planting Hope develops, launches, and scales uniquely innovative plant-based and planet-friendly food and beverage brands. Planting Hope's award-winning and cutting-edge products fill key unmet needs in the skyrocketing plant-based food and beverage space. The Planting Hope brand family includes Hope and Sesame® Sesamemilk and Sesamilk™ creamers, RightRice® Veggie Rice, Mozaics™ Real Veggie Chips, and Veggicopia® Veggie Snacks. Founded by experienced food industry entrepreneurs, Planting Hope is a women-managed and woman-led company focused on nutrition, sustainability, and diversity. For more information, visit: www.plantinghopecompany.com.

Company Contact:
Julia Stamberger
CEO and Co-founder
(773) 492-2243
julia@plantinghopecompany.com

Investor Relations Contacts:
Glen Akselrod, Bristol Capital
(905) 326-1888 ext. 1
glen@bristolir.com

Caroline Sawamoto, IR Labs
(773) 492-2243
ir@plantinghopecompany.com

Media Contact:
Alex Jessup, Jessup PR
(323) 529-3541
alex.jessup@jessuppr.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" or "forward-looking information" (collectively referred to hereafter as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements that address activities, events, or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will, or may, occur in the future, including statements about the Company's ability to execute on its goals, the timing pertaining to these goals the potential demand for the Company's products, the timing and success of anticipated product launches and distribution of the Company's products, and the Company's business prospects, future trends, plans and strategies. In some cases, forward looking statements are preceded by, followed by, or include words such as "may", "will," "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "continues", or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. In preparing the forward looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, the assumption that demand for the Company's product will be sustained or increase in accordance with management's projections, that the Company's internal research and analysis is indicative of broader market trends and the Company's anticipated future demand for its products, that changes in consumer preferences in the plant-based food industry will continue in accordance with the Company's expectations, that the Company's current business objectives can be achieved and that its other corporate activities will proceed as expected, and that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Although the management of the Company believes that the assumptions made and the expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any forward-looking statement herein will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. Risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, as well as trends identified by the Company affecting its industry can be found in the Company's annual information form dated January 6, 2022 and the Company's continuous disclosure record available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Such cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking statements made in this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE: The Planting Hope Company Inc.