Irwin Naturals Engages Proactive Investors, Hybrid Financial and SB Partners

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 27, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Irwin Naturals Inc. (CSE: IWIN) (FRA: 97X) ("Irwin" or the "Company"), a household name and best-in-class herbal supplement formulator since 1994 that is leveraging its brand to enter the cannabis and psychedelic mental health industries, is pleased to announce that it has engaged Proactive Investors North America Inc. ("Proactive") to assist the Company in enhancing its online presence with the global investment community (the "Proactive Services") for an initial period of twelve months (the "Proactive Initial Term"), subject to the terms of the service agreement (the "Proactive Agreement") executed between the Company and Proactive.

Proactive will receive a total of $37,500 CAD for the Proactive Services. The Proactive Services shall include comprehensive coverage of officially released news and other developments at the Company, plus interviews in video and written formats, with all content to be featured on Proactive websites and further distributed through Proactive's multinational network of syndication partners. Proactive will also provide digital advertising services over the same Proactive Initial Term.

Second, Irwin has recently retained Hybrid Financial Ltd. ("Hybrid") to provide marketing services (the "Hybrid Services") to the Company. Hybrid has been engaged to heighten market and brand awareness for Irwin and to broaden the Company's reach within the investment community. Hybrid has been engaged by the Company (the "Hybrid Agreement") for an initial period of 6 months (the "Hybrid Initial Term") and then shall be renewed automatically for successive insert term periods thereafter, unless terminated by the Company in accordance with the Hybrid Agreement. Hybrid will be paid a monthly fee of $22,500 CAD during the Hybrid Initial Term.

Third, the Company retained SB Partners LLC ("SB Partners") to provide content marketing services and business opportunity reports (the "SB Services") to the Company. SB Partners has also been engaged to heighten market awareness for Irwin and to broaden the Company's reach within the investment community. SB Partners has been engaged by the Company (the "SB Agreement") for an initial period of 3 months (the "SB Initial Term"), unless terminated by the Company in accordance with the SB Agreement. The Company will pay SB Partners a monthly cash fee of $6,000 USD during the SB Initial Term.

Proactive, Hybrid and SB Partners have agreed to comply with all applicable securities laws and the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") in providing their services. All of Proactive, Hybrid and SB Partners are arms-length entities from Irwin and, therefore, are unrelated and unaffiliated with the Company. The Proactive Agreement, Hybrid Agreement and SB Partners Agreement may be subject to CSE approval, if and as applicable.

About Irwin Naturals

Irwin Naturals Inc. is a household name and best-in-class herbal supplement formulator since 1994 that is leveraging its brand to enter the cannabis and psychedelic industries. On a mission to heal the world with plant medicine, Irwin Naturals has operated profitably for over 27 years*. Irwin Naturals' growing portfolio of herbal products are available in more than 100,000 retail doors across North America, where nearly 100 million people know the Irwin Naturals brand**. In 2018, the Company first leveraged its brand to expand into the cannabis industry by launching hemp-based CBD products into the mass market. The Company is now leveraging its famous halo of brand trust to become one of the first household name brands to offer THC-based products and psychedelic-assisted services.

*Under several corporate structures, Klee Irwin has operated the Irwin brand profitably since 1994, as measured by EBITDA adjusted for extraordinary costs.

**Based on a formal Company survey with a sample size of 500 randomly selected adults.

For investor-related information about the Company, please visit ir.irwinnaturals.com/

To contact the Company's Investor Relations department, please call toll-free at (800) 883-4851 or send an email to Investors@IrwinNaturals.com.

Regulatory Overview

The following is a brief summary of regulatory matters concerning ketamine in the United States ("US"). Under the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. -- 811) (the "CSA"), ketamine is currently a Schedule III drug as well as being listed under the associated Narcotic Control Regulations, and psilocybin is currently a Schedule I drug.

Most US States have enacted Controlled Substances Acts ("State CSAs") which regulate the possession, use, sale, distribution, and manufacture of specified drugs or categories of drugs and establish penalties for State CSA violations and form the basis for much state and local drug laws enforcement activity. State CSAs have either adopted drug schedules identical or similar to the federal CSA schedules or, in some instances, have incorporated the federal scheduling mechanism. Among other requirements, some US States have established a prescription drug monitoring or review programs collect information about prescription and dispensing of controlled substances for the purposes of monitoring, analysis and education.

In the United States, facilities holding or administering controlled substances must be registered with the US Drug Enforcement Agency ("DEA") to perform this activity. As such, medical professionals and/or the clinics in which they operate, as applicable, are also required to have a DEA license to obtain and administer ketamine (a "DEA License"). While ketamine is a controlled substance in the United States, it is approved for general anesthetic induction under the US Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Once a drug is approved for use, physicians may prescribe that drug for uses that are not described in the product's labelling or that differ from those tested by the manufacturer and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (the "FDA"). Licensed medical practitioners may prescribe ketamine legally in Canada or the United States where they believe it will be an effective treatment in their professional judgment.

Please see Irwin's filing statement on its SEDAR profile for more information on the regulatory environment and regulations surrounding the US THC industry.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of management of the Company with respect to performance, business and future events. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "may", "will", "would", "could", "should", "believes", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "expects", "plans", "intends", "anticipates", "targeted", "continues", "forecasts", "designed", "goal", or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements related to, the Company entering into and doing business in the US THC cannabis and psychedelics markets. The Company does not have any active operations or agreements with respect to the entrance into the THC cannabis or psychedelic markets at this time. The potential entrance by the Company into these new business segments are in their preliminary stages and may be subject to approval from the board of directors of the Company as well as any regulatory approval, including that of the Canadian Securities Exchange. These statements are based on numerous assumptions that are believed by management to be reasonable in the circumstances, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including without limitation: board and regulatory approval, including the approval of the Canadian Securities Exchange, Irwin being able to acquire and or enter into business relationships to enter into these new markets, the Company obtaining the required licenses, and changes to regulations and laws regarding cannabis or psychedelics. Further information on the regulatory environment and risks will be contained in future disclosure. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from that which are expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.

Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Irwin Naturals Inc.