Cherubim Interests this morning announced it has filed a Corporate Action with FINRA to issue a Convertible Preferred Stock Dividend to its individual shareholders. Shareholders will be mailed physical certificates of Convertible Preferred Stock bearing a restrictive legend that will have a holding period. Once the Corporate Action is approved, shareholders will receive details of the transaction.

“There has been significant dilution over the recent past in Cherubim Interests, Inc., and the reason for that has been the issue of the automatic conversion of aged non-affiliated debt on our companies books. We are currently in the process of negotiating settlements with many of our debt holders, as we acknowledge that responsibility; and at the same time, we also want to protect the integrity of people’s investments in the open market,” Patrick J. Johnson, CEO of Cherubim, stated in the news release.

“We acknowledge the fact that our market has not recently performed to the satisfaction of our stockholders due to the automatic debt conversions of aged debt,” he continued. “And by issuing anti-dilutive, restricted convertible preferred securities to investors who securities are ‘underwater’ after purchasing our stock in the open market makes sense, because the dilution has impacted them the most. The rights and privileges of the restricted convertible preferred securities have already been noted in the company’s amended articles of incorporation. The Record Date & Payment Date will be known to our stockholders, once FINRA approves the filing.”

Cherubim specializes in alternative construction projects, along with comprehensive real estate development, including due diligence, acquisition, planning, construction, renovation and management; providing complete beginning-to-end development programs for mixed use, single, and multifamily projects and properties. The company’s BudCube Cultivation Systems USA (“BCS”) has developed a proprietary, fully portable and scalable, Controlled Environment Cultivation Technology that serves as a turnkey solution for cultivators of legal medical and recreational cannabis, as well as any other plant species. Coupled with a real estate development and property management business model, BudCube Cultivation Systems can position itself anywhere in the world where the cultivation of cannabis is legal.

For more information, visit www.cherubiminterests.com

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NEAH Power Systems is focused on supplying power products for the military, transportation and portable electronics industries. The company is now also looking to deliver these products to Black-I Robotics, Inc. (“Black-I”), a leader in robotic technology-based solutions and recently announced that they are joining forces to deliver its patented power generation and energy storage deliverables within the robotics space.

The two companies intend to develop power systems for robotic mobile platforms that can provide increases in levels of performance that have never been seen before. Their vision also endeavors to deliver robotic solutions that better meet the needs of Black-I’s commercial, industrial and defense customer base.

The service segment of the global robotics market is estimated to reach $16B in the next five years. Upward trending investments supporting the development of service robotics in Japan, China, Korea, and the US is expected to positively impact market growth. Increasing government spending initiatives in defense and military applications, combined with high demand in these segments, is expected to drive growth even higher.

NEAH Power Chief Executive Officer, Chris D’Couto commented, “NEAH Power is excited to work with Black-I Robotics, a company with proven technologies and robotic platforms that can deliver advanced robotic solutions for defense, industrial and commercial applications.” “Together, we will work to expand the markets for our products by offering power solutions that can markedly increase the amount of reliable, efficient and safe power available to these systems, which in effect will drive growth for the benefit of shareholders.”

Brian Hart, president and CEO of Black-I Robotics noted, “We very much look forward to teaming with NEAH Power, a true innovator in portable power.” “This agreement allows us to explore ways to meet the critical demand for lighter, more compact and highly efficient power systems for the robotics market. By consolidating our expertise, capabilities and resources, we expect to revolutionize the delivery of mobile power and truly untether robots, regardless of their power requirements, so they can better execute their mission.”

For more information on the company visit www.neahpower.com

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Galenfehs is revolutionizing the market with its innovative stored energy solutions. More specifically, the company’s lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries are taking the industry by storm.

“The market is quickly realizing the superior performance, increased safety, and long term costs savings of our batteries versus lead acid and traditional lithium chemistry,” James Ketner, founder and chairman of Galenfeha, stated in a news release.

LiFePO4 batteries offer a number of key advantages over lead-acid and traditional lithium batteries. In addition to containing no acid, no poisonous lead and producing no dangerous emissions during charging, Galenfeha’s LiFePO4 batteries also offer much lower self-discharge, do not sulfate and are environmentally-friendly.

In recent months, Galenfeha has successfully leveraged the marketability of its product line to achieve strong growth, particularly in the oil and gas industry. The company is rapidly expanding its distribution network through agreements with leading oil and gas retailers across the country. Earlier this month, Galenfeha announced an exclusive distribution agreement with Oil and Gas Equipment, Inc. that’s expected to provide a sustainable foothold in the oil and gas markets of the southwestern states, and the company is also making considerable progress toward expanding its market presence outside of the oil and gas industry.

“We believe that by next year, we will be the number one consumer of LiFePO4 chemistry in the U.S., as we continue to see increased market penetration with current applications, and expand our product lines outside the oil and gas industry,” continued Ketner.

One way in which Galenfeha is putting its technology to work outside of the oil and gas industry is in the field of zero-emission recreational vehicles. The company has already developed and tested a battery system designed to address the $894 million golf cart industry. This system provides up to 40 percent more usable voltage than traditional lead-acid chemistries while offering a 70 percent weight reduction, and these benefits are expected to play a key role in Galenfeha’s ongoing efforts to address other stored energy needs – including both government and military applications.

“Galenfeha is rapidly becoming one of our largest customers,” stated Patricia Delgado, president and chief executive officer of Headway Headquarters. “Currently, there is only one company in the U.S. that utilizes this [LiFePO4] chemistry in a larger capacity, and Galenfeha is closing that gap.”

For prospective shareholders, this rapid growth could translate into an opportunity to realize sustainable returns. Look for the company to continue expanding its distribution network through strategic partnerships while refining its innovative technology to address viable market needs in the months to come.

Take a closer look at the company by visiting www.galenfeha.com

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It looks like the tax revenue assessment on recreational marijuana sales in Oregon by government officials may have underestimated just how big and robust the consumer market really is, with the initial forward projection of around $9 million for 2017 looking like it will be surpassed with ease. Subsequent to recreational sales being approved ahead of schedule via a bill signed by Governor Kate Brown, the amount of money taken in by dispensaries within just the first week alone has effectively crushed the official estimate, as some $11 million in sales were completed in the state’s first week of open commerce, and current estimates are that $3.5 million was taken in on day one. With tax revenues set to kick in this January, state coffers could be filling up vastly quicker (and to a much greater extent) than originally anticipated, especially when you consider Oregon’s first week of sales more than doubled those seen in Colorado ($5 million), and beat out Washington by a landslide (which did only $2 million in sales during week one). If this keeps up, tax revenues next year will be hefty indeed – forcing other state legislatures to take the issue even more seriously.

This is a very bullish indicator for the sector overall and should give investors significant pause, as these sales figures represent a clear shot across the bow of remaining holdout states which continue to be on the fence about essentially repealing federal marijuana prohibition via state-based legislative measures. With these kinds of sales figures coming out of Oregon on the heels of an early start, it’s only a matter of time before the cultural sea-change that is already evident from recent polling (which shows a majority of Americans are now in favor of decriminalization) puts a bright spotlight on cash-strapped holdout states, making legislators in those states appear to voters as somewhat insane for not simply regulating and taxing the substance. With the now strikingly obvious potential upside for things like education and law enforcement funding, many constituents around the country are starting to clamor after their state representatives to follow suit with states like Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. This is all extremely good news for various operators within what is projected by leading cannabis industry research firm, ArcView Group, as being a market which is on track to hit $11 billion within the next four years alone. And that figure seems pretty conservative to some analysts, given that between 2013 and 2014 the market grew by 80 percent, clocking in somewhere around $2.7 billion last year.

One of the areas of the marijuana sector that stands to gain the most growth-wise from a continuing shift towards recreational use across the country is baseline logistics, where things like grow op facilities, various industry-associated real estate elements, cultivation products, and controlled environment agriculture technologies reside. After all, supply origination within this industry – which is going to be driven more and more by commercial-scale premium strain quality cultivation as restrictions wane – is, in many respects, the foundation of the entire sector. Classic “pick and shovel” plays are looking like a solid target for investors seeking to profit off of the incremental, seemingly inevitable nationwide decriminalization of cannabis that is taking place as the so-called Green Rush progresses. And, as was the case with the repeal of alcohol prohibition, some of the biggest fortunes in the industry will likely arise from those companies who get the product origination and logistics right. Not to mention the businesses which service them. In fact, as is the case in the oil industry, where oilfield service companies like Halliburton are some of the top earners, businesses providing services and products to the core commodity originators could be the biggest names in the industry after it’s all said and done.

We’re talking businesses like development-stage alternative construction outfit, Cherubim Interests. With its core competencies in construction, finance and property management, as well as a wholly-owned subsidiary engaged in making and marketing portable, proprietary, and scalable cannabis cultivation systems: BudCube Cultivation Systems USA (BCS). In fact, Cherubim Interests, via its full-spectrum capabilities in alternative construction project development and turnkey cultivation systems, is poised to capture significant market share as the cannabis market continues to expand, thanks to its intelligent mix of baseline logistics offerings, whether that growth occurs here in the U.S., or abroad. The powerful combination of a real estate development and property management business model, empowered by a veteran team of managers and highly experienced directors, with the scalable cultivation tech provided by BCS, allows CHIT to strike hard and fast wherever in the world the cultivation of cannabis is made legal, and consumers stand ready to fuel retail market growth.

To this general end, CHIT has engaged Oregon-based consultation, research and development firm, DGrass Enterprises, which is led by a man with over a decade and a half of both indoor and outdoor cultivation experience, Dominic Grasseth. Grasseth, in addition to being CEO of DGrass Enterprises, is also the guy who opened the successful Eugene, Oregon-based retail and wholesale garden supply company, The Greener Side of Life, back in 2010. An enviably capable master gardener and horticultural expert, Grasseth has developed a skill set that will be invaluable to CHIT (and BCS) as the company continues to pursue its aggressive agenda of planned deployment and leasing of commercial cultivation facilities, wherever cultivation activities are made legal by legislators. A serial entrepreneur with vast sums of personal hands-on experience in the cultivation field, Grasseth is proficient across a wide array of pertinent disciplines, ranging from cultivation/production and extraction, to grow room design, consultation, and even the retail/marketing end of the business.

Moreover, CHIT recently announced that the company is taking huge strides towards fully shoring up its share price, via a series of intelligently-crafted initiatives designed to build shareholder equity, including strict maintenance of filing obligations in order to maintain seamless OTC Market disclosure, and amending the company’s corporate bylaws in order to create anti-dilutive convertible preferred shares. Furthermore, the company will act to insulate stockholders against past and future open market dilution by offering these shares via dividend payment, and using these convertible preferred shares as a form of currency in order to exchange outstanding derivative liabilities. In addition, CHIT plans to execute an S-1 filing that will enable holders of preferred shares (who’ve converted into specific, predetermined amounts of common stock) to see their securities become freely trading. This bold move by the company to reinforce the share price and build investor confidence, will simultaneously allow CHIT to retire much of its principal affiliate debt, with the interest being converted into restricted shares.

A clear sector strategy to capitalize on the cannabis industry’s most promising area, combined with share price strengthening initiatives has CHIT sitting pretty, even as Oregon leads by example, accelerating its recreational use retail timetable, and setting a new and unmistakable precedent for other states to follow.

Take a closer look, visit Cherubim Interests online at www.cherubiminterests.com

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Star Mountain Resources this morning announced its three-way definitive agreements with Northern Zinc, LLC and HudBay Minerals, Inc., which will result in Star Mountain acquiring Balmat Holding Corp., including St. Lawrence Zinc Company, LLC, and its mining operations in the Balmat mining district of St. Lawrence County, New York.

Together, these transactions will provide Star Mountain the opportunity to shift from a junior explorer into a producer in the near term. Northern Zinc, in particular, brings to Star Mountain a roster of mining industry professionals with decades of technical and managerial experience.

The total acquisition price paid to Hudbay for Balmat will be 550,000 shares of Star Mountain common stock, and up to $17 million in cash consisting of $1.0 million in cash at closing and future cash payments of up to $15.5 million. A $500,000 payment has already been made to Hudbay. Under certain conditions, Star Mountain can accelerate the acquisition payments and reduce the future cash payments to $7 million.

As part of the overall acquisition of Balmat, Star Mountain will issue to the owner of Northern Zinc 10.0 million shares of the company’s unregistered common stock and assume $1.39 million in debts.

Hudbay has held the Balmat mine on care and maintenance since suspension of operations in August of 2008, which has kept mining permits current, MSHA inspections up-to-date, and environmental controls and conditions in regulatory compliance. Star Mountain Resources reports that there are no legal or regulatory roadblocks in place to delay the reopening of mining operations.

The Balmat mining complex includes a permitted and equipped mine, a 5,000 ton per day floatation mill, an office complex, and infrastructure to enable the operation of the mine. The acquisition of Balmat includes 2,699-acres of fee simple real estate and over 50,000 acres of mineral rights within St. Lawrence and neighboring Franklin counties in New York.

“We believe there is an excellent opportunity to upgrade and extend the mineralization through additional surface and underground development and exploration,” Mark Osterberg, president and COO of Star Mountain, stated in the news release.

Joe Marchal, CEO of Star Mountain, added, “We are delighted to reach an agreement with both Northern Zinc and Hudbay to acquire the Balmat mine. The reopening plan for the mine envisioned by Northern Zinc is expected to bring a significant number of jobs to an economically distressed area of northern New York State and jumpstart Star Mountain’s growth into an outstanding new mining company. The team we’ve assembled has world class financial and mining experience that we believe will enable the company to grow into a successful global base metals mining group. I am pleased to welcome Hudbay onto the share register of Star Mountain.”

The transactions are subject to various customary closing conditions and are expected to close by October 31, 2015.

For more information, visit www.starmountainresources.com

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Great strides in medical technology are being undertaken by Avant Diagnostics, a company that focuses its developments on the human genome project, which aims to map out the entire DNA sequence of a human. Innovations in this endeavor may treat, prevent, and cure disease as scientists will have a blueprint of how humans have developed over time along with what genes lead to illness. The company hopes to develop genetic research that can detect illness early in individuals so that treatment can avert progression or death.

With this goal in mind, Avant Diagnostics has developed the first large panel biomarker screening test for ovarian cancer. This test, OvaDx®, measures the activation of immune systems in blood samples in response to early stage ovarian tumor cell development. The test has high sensitivity to readings at 79.7% and can identify stage I, II, III, and IV Ovarian cancer with great accuracy. With ~80% sensitivity, IA disease can also be detected.

According to the American Cancer Society, 21,290 women will be diagnosed and 14,180 will die from ovarian cancer this year. A woman’s risk of getting the cancer is 1 in 75, making early detection technology essential. Currently, the three leading detection processes are the pelvic exam, transvaginal ultrasound, and CA-125 blood test. However, each of these tests lack accuracy and do not necessarily lower the cancer’s death rate.

The company is currently underway in testing previously acquired ovarian cancer specimens that will serve as a validation study for the pre-Submission package to be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for review. Then a trial for OvaDx® 510(k) can begin. The company needs to get the FDA’s approval for the product before selling. This microarray-based test will be offered to women for overall health checkups and to those who have a predisposed risk to the cancer.

Avant Diagnostics intends to develop advanced early detection technologies that will then lead to developments in surgical options and therapies for patients. Furthermore, if OvaDx® gains FDA approval, women will have another, more accurate, option for ovarian cancer detection.

For more information, please visit www.avantdiagnostics.com

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A couple hours after the opening bell today, Harvest Soul Inc. announced its new e-commerce storefront website on the world’s largest internet retailer Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN). The company also told investors that Michael Jenness will be the new Vice President of its Ecommerce Channel. It was notated that the launch of the Harvest Soul brand and products, along with an expanded team, marks an important first step toward Harvest Soul’s ambitious plans for multi-channel expansion.

“Establishing a new channel for Harvest Soul allows us to reinvent our online environment and create a more user-friendly, reliable experience through the Amazon.com brand,” stated Kevin P. Quirk, President, Harvest Soul. “With the hiring of Michael and the new e-commerce opportunity, we are in a better position to efficiently satisfy our consumers constantly evolving preferences — whenever, wherever — in the same way we are earning their loyal support at retail.”

As one of the most trusted brands in the world with an incredible amount of daily online traffic, Amazon is a well-recognized master of getting customers to come back and buy more product. In fact, two-thirds of Amazon’s orders come from repeat customers. As part of its growth strategy, Harvest Soul will leverage the Amazon platform to identify new niches and categories to enter which can be profitable.

As VP of Harvest Soul’s Ecommerce Channel, Jenness will contribute his expertise and familiarity with Amazon.com and the broader e-commerce space to fuel corporate growth.

“I have worked in ecommerce for over a decade and a half with the world’s largest brands to the smallest start-up, and recognize that Harvest Soul has numerous attributes that will resonate with online retailers including pure-play giant Amazon.com to the hybrid e-tailers in the marketplace with click&collect programs. This also holds true with our consumers who are looking for our products and can now have them from the most reliable brand in the e-commerce business, Amazon.com,” said Jenness. “Online retail — especially the Amazon.com platform family — is a powerful proving ground for products with limited brick-and-mortar distribution. New products or niche flavors find their audience on the ‘virtual aisle’ while those able to gain traction use their success to leverage physical distribution space. The latter strategy has proven particularly effective for small, emerging manufacturers that don’t yet have influence or full-fledged brick-and-mortar retailer engagement models. I look forward to providing Harvest Soul with the traction and position it needs to excel online.”

Harvest Soul plans to integrate incremental improvements to the site on an ongoing basis. With the launch of the new HarvestSoul.com, Harvest Soul will assume full control over its online operations, including the guest contact center.

For more information, visit www.freshpromisefoods.com

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More than 15 million Americans, or roughly 4.7 percent of the population, live with the constant fear of a severe reaction to a type of food that could result in an allergic reaction. Every aisle in the grocery store and every entrée on a restaurant menu could pose a potentially life-threatening risk of an allergic response that could result in anaphylactic shock, and even death. From seafood to nuts, the sources of danger are everywhere and many consumers have simply consigned themselves to the complex, laborious task of tediously perusing food labels, grilling restaurant wait staff, or nagging friends and family to be mindful of their allergies – all in hopes of avoiding a nasty reaction, hospital visit, or worse.

But there is good news, especially for the 191 million or more people in the U.S. who currently have some form of smartphone. Because app development company, ContentChecked Holdings, has engineered a robust, database-driven series of apps that rapidly index information on over 70 percent of all conventional food products, algorithmically checking in real-time if individual products are consistent with a given user’s specified allergy and/or dietary needs. The ability to simply point your smartphone at a product’s barcode and know in seconds after a scan if a given product is safe or healthy to consume is a massive time saver when it comes to completing the already often arduous and certainly always time-consuming task of shopping for groceries. The database that backs up the company’s apps is updated daily as industry information and end-user feedback is processed by a dedicated team of nutritional experts who are continuously vetting products in order to provide consumers with the most up-to-date and accurate information possible.

With a growing suite of function-specific apps, including one for allergy and dietary needs ContentChecked, as well as SugarChecked, an app for Type 2 diabetics and people simply trying to watch their intake of refined sugars, and MigraineChecked, an app specifically for the more than 36 million Americans who experience food and beverage-triggered migraines or chronic daily headaches, ContentChecked Holdings, Inc. has established itself in short order as a true innovator in consumer awareness utility apps. And the apps do far more than just help users stay away from certain items that are flagged based on their defined settings and preferences by prompting users with a quick menu of alternative options that are either safe or healthier than what they are looking for. This simple, yet ingenious, software allows friends or family members to shop for people with complex dietary restrictions and food allergies, and do so without enduring long, drawn-out product reviews via typically busy product labels, or having to memorize a litany of user-specific things to avoid.

This is a process for parents who have kids with food allergies, but now there is a solution that is just a few clicks away, thanks to CNCK. Users can simple go to Google’s (NASDAQ: GOOG; GOOGL) Google Play store, or Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) AppStore, download the latest version of the company’s apps for a nominal fee, set them up for a specific user(s), and then shop with confidence – without the typical stress often associated with making complex dietary and allergy related calls while being jostled by other shoppers in the grocery aisle. The longer-term global potential for such apps is tremendous with a worldwide smartphone market that expanded 13 percent year over year in Q2 this year (according to International Data Corporation), and choice consumer markets in Europe and Asia which lack any similarly compelling offerings along these same lines.

Originally born out of a father’s frustration with the hassle of trying to help his daughter and her friends avoid food allergies and intolerances, with an initial release in Norway, the official launch of the company’s flagship ContentChecked app occurred as recently as February of 2015. Subsequent to going public in April of 2015 – after a reverse merger made ContentChecked a wholly-owned subsidiary of parent company CNCK and a $1.9 million private placement was secured for further development – this revolutionary company, which is creating the first truly user-centric marketplace for consumers and the businesses that cater to their needs, went on to quickly receive trading approval on OTCQB (in June), the primary OTC securities market for reporting issuers.

This still very young company’s product pipeline has a team of engineers at work behind the scenes constantly striving to keep the innovation ball rolling, with plans to tackle other usage demographics already in the offing, including apps for people who want to avoid GMO foods, or who want to eat a vegan, or kosher diet. In many ways the sky is the limit for this sort of rich, database-driven, user-centric consumer intelligence, and CNCK has no intention of resting on its laurels.

The company has come out of the box swinging hard in order to capture first-mover market share in what is an estimated $6 billion food allergy market. CNCK has managed to establish a noticeable presence in a very short time among consumers with dietary restrictions. Management is keen to keep on innovating, fully intent on evolving the company into the go-to source for in depth food and beverage product health and safety data.

Recognizing unmet needs shared by large groups of consumers and developing intuitive, easy to use apps that facilitate shopping or product avoidance/alternate product selection, via increasingly ubiquitous smartphones (which are now around 77 percent market penetration in the U.S.) is just half of he story here as well. The other half is the remainder of the marketplace created through such software, where producers, marketers and retailers themselves can begin to leverage the platform created by CNCK’s apps in order to directly court the business of consumers. The marketplace CNCK is creating will allow a wide range of supply-side entities to actively find and interact with consumers that seek out their products at the actual location of purchase. The very platform which today is primarily helping consumers make intelligent purchases, will no doubt become a major conduit for big data-driven marketing in the future, representing some very attractive digital real estate for CNCK that investors need to be aware of.

To dig deeper, visit ContentChecked at www.contentchecked.com

A recent report from one of the leading market research firms today, Packaged Facts – which has been at the forefront of consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, as well as demographic sector analysis now for over five decades – clearly indicates the strength of the U.S. pet products and services market, which did sales last year of around $73 billion. This is a huge pie for any company to carve into and grab a slice. The report’s trend lines show increased pet ownership rates, higher ecommerce spending on pets, and a population of pets that are living longer, just like their owners. These trends appear intact for the foreseeable future and it seems like everywhere you go on this planet, people just love their pets.

While the pet industry is considered to be resistant to recession, it is better to simply think of the industry today as being driven by family-oriented household spending, and therefore core to spending habits. Most pet owners consider their pets to be a regular member of the family and will go well out of their way to care for a pet, spending a great deal of money for the well-being, as well as overall happiness, of that family member.

Little wonder then that, even by the American Pet Products Association’s (APPA) more conservative estimates, based on their own compilation of various market research, the supplies segment of what they tallied as a $58 billion market last year was around $13.75 billion. With 45 million U.S. households currently owning dogs and 30 million households owning cats, any way one slices up the data, the numbers look good. The Packaged Facts report was keen to emphasize a 38 percent jump last year in the number of pet owners shopping online too, with heavy ecommerce hitters like Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) making it easier than ever to streamline product flow to end markets.

In an industry largely dominated on the services side by players like big box retail outfit PetSmart (NASDAQ: PETM) – which provides services like grooming and pet training, in addition to miles of aisles of pet products – the pet supply market is saturated with cookie-cutter tropes. Only a handful of companies are dedicated to creating defining brands and are capable of successfully cultivating what is essential to connecting with consumers in the pet products space: constant innovation and a tight feedback loop with the end users. A strong brand in this game is essential for success, but a company has to really make that connection with consumers through the products, winning them over to the superior style, design, continuity, and affordability of the brand.

One look at the latest product from rapidly developing proprietary pet supply company, OurPet’s Co. (OTCQX: OPCO), and it is plain to see that this operation really lives up to the vision of its founder, Dr. Steve Tsengas. Intelligent applications to toy design and product engineering, driven by deep insights into cat and dog biology, as well as psychology, have continually defined OPCO as a rising star within the industry.

Launched in May this year, the company’s new Catty Whack® electronic toy for cats was scientifically developed to stimulate the natural hunting instincts of our feline friends, using an erratic feather wand that darts in and out of six different holes and an enticing audio queue. Feeding the animal’s instinctual desires, as well as providing therapeutic mental diversion that is also good exercise, directly addresses the needs of the animal to make them calmer and well-adjusted to domestic life. Only three months after the product’s debut, the Catty Whack managed to take home the New Product Showcase Award for best new cat product at the pet supply industry’s major conference, SuperZoo 2015. The Catty Whack, featuring the company’s electronic RealMouse® sound and erratic movement technology, was voted “Best New Cat Product” in the New Product Showcase by pet industry retailers themselves, illustrating how captivating the design, quality, and overall execution truly is. The company wheeled out a bevy of new products at SuperZoo 2015 in Las Vegas this year, with toys and feeding solutions at the heart of the OPCO booth.

The Catty Whack stole the show though, and this one product is a perfect example of the wide array of trend-setting and highly unique ideas available via OPCO’s OurPets® and Pet Zone® portfolios. This dual-brand portfolio is respectively set up in order to provide a tailored experience for the company’s pet specialty trade customers on the one hand, and those in the mass-market, as well as food and drug channels on the other. The company creates an entire range of products designed to promote the comfort and enjoyment, as well as the health and safety of pets. From accessories and toys to well-designed feeders and bowls, OPCO even makes a constantly evolving selection of pet waste management solutions. Many of the company’s highly unique products are one-of-a-kind market entrants and nearly every offering from OPCO is protected by the company’s growing IP library of over 160 issued and pending patents.

Record Q2 revenues reported by OPCO in early August were no surprise to investors who have been following the company closely. And while quarterly net revenues were up only four percent compared to last year, net income shot through the roof, pulling in a 77 percent gain on strong receptivity in pet specialty end markets, primarily due to the company’s recently introduced bowl designs, as well as new cat toys and accessories.

The PetZone brand is also doing quite well in the mass market, food and drug channels, and a significant uptick in overall profit margins for the quarter was further enhanced by noticeably lower SG&A expenses. These guys run a tight ship it seems and the company even touted an upcoming rollout for a series of three new and proprietary feline waste management products early in 2016, which shows just how aggressively the company is delivering on consumer response to its brands of pet products.

Dr. Tsengas pointed out in the company‘s August 3 earnings conference call that ecommerce was picking up incredible amounts of steam for OPCO, and the segment currently represents about as much as 10 percent of the company’s footprint, which spans direct-mail catalog and internet, as well as leading pet specialty retailers and food, drug, and mass merchandisers. A strong relationship with ecommerce juggernaut Amazon.com doesn’t hurt of course and the company’s imminent expansion from Amazon Canada and Amazon US, with the upcoming Amazon UK opening, will set OPCO up very nicely for maximum product throughput capability. Already tapped for Amazon Japan and India, the sky is the limit for the company’s international brands of pet products, and because the language of design is universal, consumer resonance barriers to entry will be at a minimum.

OurPet’s Co. has honed its design process down to creating holistic products that unify the behavioral, lifestyle, and health needs of both pets and their owners. The result is truly astounding, with products so clever that consumers can’t say no. An example of this is the WonderBowl™ selective feeder, which uses a small infrared tag on the pet’s collar in combination with a properly positioned and unit-based sensor to open the transparent lid for feeding. This brilliant design helps keeps food fresh, ensures that only the correct pet eats from the correct dish, and also keeps anything from getting into the food. The product directly addresses an unmet need that can often be a big problem in multi-pet households and demonstrates how OPCO beautifully addresses that underserved demographic with an elegant solution.

Whether it is coming up with new toys to help stimulate a pet’s mind and therefore contribute to preventing unwanted behaviors, or creating gorgeous designer dog bowls in durable stainless steel, OurPet’s Company is constantly rifling great products out to a loyal user base. It is this kind of forward thinking in product design that is capturing the most sought after consumer dollar demographics in the pet supply space and OPCO is proving itself to be quite the dynamo, churning out creative solutions to underserved or unmet needs in the market.

For more information visit www.ourpets.com and www.petzonebrand.com

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As a growing investment company, Legacy Ventures International operates a business model focused on identifying high-potential businesses with scalable opportunity and sustainable growth. In the company’s own words, “We like to deal with category game changers.”

A bold statement of that nature requires an aggressive management team with considerable and equally as relevant industry experience, and Legacy Ventures CEO Evan Clifford fits the bill.

With more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur in the private and public sectors, Clifford has steadily built a network of pertinent business relationships in numerous industries. Throughout the last 10 years, Clifford has successfully steered companies and individuals to achieve professional and personal growth. This dexterity is aptly aligned with his leading role at Legacy Ventures, where the company’s corporate mission is to expand its brand portfolio.

Legacy Ventures current portfolio includes recently acquired RM Fresh Brands, a global servicer of food and beverage retailers and distributors, as well as Boxed Water, Aloe Gloe, Uncle Si’s Iced Tea and Chef 5-Minute Meals. Highly focused on further expansion of this portfolio, Legacy Ventures stands to benefit from excellent financial leadership, and this is where company CFO Rehan Saeed fits in.

Saeed contributes to Legacy Ventures more than 10 years of banking experience, during which he built and managed a real estate portfolio valued at $110 million. His resume also boasts a track record of successful revenue and profitability growth and corporate leadership.

In addition to growing its portfolio, Legacy Venture’s primary focus is, of course, maximizing shareholder value. The company recently commenced trading on the OTCQB venture-stage marketplace, further demonstrating its commitment to shareholders and financial growth.

Leveraging an aggressive business model, a strong management team, and a growing portfolio of game-changing companies and trend-setting products, Legacy Ventures is successfully charting its course for a constant state of forward-motion.

For more information visit www.legacyventuresinc.com

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