Hot off the press this afternoon (Tuesday) is the news that Rritual Superfoods Inc (CSE:RSF/FRA:0RW) is launching its brand of premium food supplements across the United States. Rritual products will be made available through Rite Aid stores throughout the US over the course of Q2 and Q3, Rritual confirmed today.
Rritual Superfoods was a company we were keenly awaiting and entered the market earlier in March, first with its Canadian market debut, and subsequently with a Frankfurt listing as well. When we first looked at the company, we could see the appeal of its core range of mushroom-based supplements, and there is definitely a growing appetite for these products in North America, but the company still needed a distribution strategy that could see its products appearing on the right shelves.
In our experience, health and wellness stocks don’t like to discuss their distribution strategy in detail before any announcements are made, so it was no surprise that the Rritual team were a little coy in this respect. Rritual does have existing North American distribution and says it has been scaling production to meet growing demand, including a strategic sales and marketing focus at major retailers across the US in the course of 2021.
“This first national retail rollout is a major achievement for the Rritual brand. It validates both supply and demand for the category, specifically, our product quality and the rapidly growing interest of consumers in functional superfoods,” said David Kerbel, Rritual Superfoods CEO. “We are striving to not only lead this emerging category, but to define it. A significant part of achieving that goal is accomplished through gaining the trust and support of consumers through top tier retailers such as Rite Aid.”
The Rite Aid roll out is going to be happening at scale: it is phased but it will reach 1000 stores and the all important e-commerce platform as well. Rritual says it is going for a national strategy rather than attacking regional markets in the US.
Rite Aid distribution is a national level roll out for Rritual
Rite Aid is the third biggest chain of drugstores in the US market it reaches 1.6m Americans every day. It stocks an array of whole being health products and services through its 2400 locations. It now has stores in 17 states.
Rritual currently has three main product offerings in the superfoods / food supplements area: Chaga Immune is the immune system supplement, Lion’s Mane Focus is intended to support brain health and cognitive function, and Reishi Relax is the stress management supplement. These products draw on organic adaptogens that have been used more widely in Asian health preparations but which are rapidly gaining wider acceptance in North America and Europe.
Podcast: David Kerbel, CEO of Rritual Superfoods
We have touched on the rapid growth of the superfoods / plant-based elixir market in our previous note on Rritual Superfoods, which we published shortly after the company listed in Canada. European investors should note that it is also now listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The company is firmly situated in the superfoods market which is enjoying considerable growth dynamics.
Our New York bureau is currently in the process of preparing a more detailed look at the US superfoods market which we anticipate we will publish before the Easter break.
