Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (BEE.CA) is an agriculture technology company, BEE.CA (BVT) has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees.
According the the company, BVT's award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides - and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment.
Currently, BVT has over 65 granted patents, over 35 patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide, and has US EPA registration of its VECTORITE™ with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.
Coverage was initiated June 2020. Below is an update.
News Releases
July 2 - Granted Patent by European Patent Office For Biological Fungicide CR-7: European Patent Office (EPO) has granted a patent for BVT's Clonostachys rosea CR-7 microbial strain (CR-7).
This patent has been validated in 14 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, UK, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Turkey). The patent has been granted in six countries, and is under review by another nine patent authorities around the world.
Financing: Closed a non-brokered placement of 1,111,111 units at $0.315 cents (Warrant $0.525) for $349,999.96.
July 28 -Enters State-Funded Trial in Sunflower Crops with North Dakota State University: for sunflower crops. The trial will evaluate optimal hive distribution for application of BVT's biological fungicide, CR-7. The project is funded by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, is approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and will be run by NDSU in cooperation with BVT.
In addition to the trials, BEV.CA will be doing demonstration trials in Minnesota and Idaho with key sunflower growers.
Aug. 18 - Announces Listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange.
Aug. 24 - Begins Multi-Year Trials in World's Second Largest Blueberry Production Market: a new multi-year blueberry research trial with the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture (ISH) in British Columbia (BC), Canada.
Local growers will be tapped for trial locations to help build awareness and early demand for the BVT system in BC. The trial will evaluate and quantify the efficacy of CR-7, BVT's biological fungicide, combating fungal diseases.
Sept. 22 - Successfully Completes Phase 2 Evaluations of Biological Products for In-licensing and Revenue Extension: Completed a Phase 2 proof-of-concept field trial with two biological insecticides in North America. EU trials with a third biological insecticide, in addition to a biological fungicide are in progress and expected to be done by late fall.
Phase 3 will have BVT working with partner companies on market and business refinement, including formulating the basis of a potential agreement. Phase 4 will move to large-scale field efficacy trials and could include some bee safety confirmation work; and Phase 5 will involve regulatory work to add BVT as a use to each third-party product label, if needed. After that, BVT will launch the new product line extensions to growers -potentially starting as early as in 2022.
Oct. 7 - Closes Non-brokered Private Placement: 2.6M units at $0.24 cents (Warrant $0.40) for proceeds of $638,727.84.
The proceeds will be used to fund its ongoing growth strategy, R&D, and general working capital purposes.
Nov. 4 - Secures 2021 Revenue Commitments in October Exceeding Entire 2020 Growing Season: 1) one-third of the way through the growing season and has already exceeded last year's benchmark. 2) 100% retention of the 11 blueberry growers in Georgia from 2020 to 2021. 3) Six new grower deals with more expected as blueberry sales season enters peak. 4) The sales cycle began in the US Southeast where the bloom starts first; will now expand into the Midwest, Pacific Northwest and the Northeast where blooms start later in the growing season.
"The objective for BVT in its current fiscal year, which is the 2021 growing season, is to secure CAD$1million in revenue from a repeat customer base with increasing acreage combined with contracts derived from new customers,"
-Ashish Malik, CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies.
During its first US growing season, the Company commercialized its natural precision agriculture system using Vectorite™ with CR-7, generating CAD$292,000 in revenue through Q3 2020 (ended June 30, 2020) from two crops (strawberries and blueberries) across four states (Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina). In total, 20 growers used the BVT system on 900 acres. This was accomplished within three months of achieving EPA approval .
Nov. 24 -Enters New Phase to Accelerate Revenue Growth in 2021: Will intensify its near-term direction to accelerate revenue growth in 2021 and focus on sales and marketing in key regions for the upcoming growing season.
2021 Objectives
1) Focus on US revenue growth and secure a minimum of CAD$1 million in revenue;2) Hire additional salespeople to serve key US markets (e.g. Pacific Northwest, California, Midwest); 3)Accelerate marketing to raise awareness of BVT in target markets;4) Initiate grower trials in California, the biggest market opportunity for BVT in North America;5) Finalize business operations for Switzerland including partnerships, plus increase grower trials in anticipation of near-term regulatory approval; and,6) Initiate grower trials in Mexico with influential players, where the Company expects to submit for regulatory approval in the coming months, to facilitate rapid commercial adoption.
Issued 2,58M of restricted share ($0.29 cents) under the Company's shareholder approved restricted share unit plan to the Company's management, insiders and consultants. Also issued 0.27M stock options to two insiders of the Company. The Options vest immediately and are valid for a period of five years with an exercise price of $0.29 cents.
Dec. 17 - Adds Territory Manager to Grow Market Reach in Pacific Northwest: Ryan Dragoo as Territory Manager to drive sales growth in the US Pacific Northwest. He will lead commercialization with growers.
Placement
Closed a private placement of 1,111,111 units at a price of $0.24 cents (Warrant 0.40 cents) for $266,666.64.
Debt
Reached agreements with certain arms-length parties to settle outstanding indebtedness of $800,000 for past consulting and other services provided with the issuance of 3M shares issued at a deemed price of $0.266 cents.
Dec. 22 - Completes California Approval Review Process, Gaining Access to Biggest Commercial Market in US: Successfully completed regulatory approval review process with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR) on its proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 (Clonostachys rosea CR-7) (CR-7) biological fungicide.
The commercial license allowing sales will be issued by CDPR in January 2021. California is BVT's largest and most crop-diverse market opportunity in the US, where there are 1.3 million acres of key crops for the Company to target and 1.1 million(1) of them are already using commercial honeybees for pollination.
California is the country's largest berry market (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) with an estimated 55,000(2) acres representing 30% of the US's berry acreage. This is the initial crop focus for BVT and where the Company has already attracted customers in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, Michigan and the Pacific Northwest.
Almonds are the single largest crop opportunity for BVT with California having 1.2 million(3) acres and a crop value greater than US $6 billion(4), the largest crop in the state. Almost 50% of the country's 200,000 acres(5) of pollinated stone fruits (cherries, plums and prunes) are in California. This will be the next area of focus for the Company.
Feb. 1 - Officially Secures California License, Entering the Largest Agriculture Market in the US
Feb. 4 - Closes Non-Brokered Private Placement for Gross Proceeds of over $2.3 Million: Issued 7.30M units at $0.32 cents (Warrant $0.525 cents) for gross aggregate proceeds of $2,338,120. Intends to use the proceeds to fund its ongoing growth strategy in the agricultural space, R&D, and general working capital purposes.
Feb. 10 - Announces Investor Webinar to Provide Business Progress Update: Thursday, February 18 at 1:00pm EST.
Feb 25 - Announces Inaugural Grower Trials with Two of the World's Largest Berry Growers : First grower trials in berry crops in California, where the Company received state regulatory approval less than a month ago on its proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 (Clonostachys rosea CR-7) (CR-7) biological fungicide.
Eight commercial-scale grower trials have already been confirmed, including with two of the world's largest berry companies and their growers. The trials will be conducted on blueberries, caneberries (blackberries and raspberries) and strawberries in the three main growing regions in the state for berries, which are among the most productive and diverse agricultural growing areas in the world.
BVT's sales adoption cycle consists of four market stages that span three to four growing seasons. The first stage is awareness, which involves proof of concept and initial trials. In the second pilot stage, small-scale sales are secured via grower demos. The launch stage is when commercialization happens, with initial revenues coming from a small percentage of the acreages of large, influential growers as they validate the product. Finally, the expansion stage sees revenue growth achieved through increased share of acres with existing customers and more new customers as word-of-mouth spreads.
Feb. 26 - Closes Second Tranche of Non-Brokered Private Placement for Total Gross Proceeds of over $3.2 Million: Issued an additional 2,770,875 units at $0.32 cents for proceeds of $886,680. Total gross proceeds to the Company from the 1st and 2nd tranche of the Offering total $3,224,800.
BVT intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering to fund its ongoing growth strategy in the agricultural space, for continued research and development and general working capital purposes. All securities are subject to a statutory hold period that will expire on June 27, 2021, in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Mar. 4 - Announces Strategic European Developments: disclosed a progress update for entry into Europe, including key investments to accelerate timelines into this key global market.
1) Switzerland established as a strategic entry point into Europe with registration in advanced stages, new HQ and R&D center operating smoothly, and more than 28 European grower trials successfully completed.
2) EU grower community targeted through in-licensing and commercial partnerships: registration of synergistic products will possibly short-cut market entry by 1-2 years.
3) Partnerships engaged in countries that export to Europe (e.g., Turkey and Morocco) will help meet European consumer demand for sustainably-grown produce. Deals pending final results.
4) Preparing for submission of BVT proprietary biological plant protection product CR-7 for pan-EU regulatory approval.
Mar. 10 - Announces Start of the Sales Process in World's Largest Almond Market: Started its first grower trials in the Company's largest single crop opportunity in the US to date, the California almond market. BVT has begun trials with five almond growers and key crop advisors in the main almond growing region in the state, the Central Valley.
Four are commercial demonstrations led by agricultural consultants or crop advisors who work directly for growers and are responsible for evaluating and recommending disease and pest control solutions. The fifth is an R&D trial, led by a well-respected researcher with connections to the Almond Board of California.
The total California almond market is valued at over USD $6 billion(1), is the largest non-dairy crop in the state, and includes over 1.2 million(2) acres in production.
BVT is also in discussions with the Almond Board of California, which represents 7,600 almond growers and 100 handlers. The Almond Board is one of the US's leading crop associations with commitment to increase adoption of environmentally-friendly pest management tools by 25% by 2025.
Mar. 15 - Announces First Two Months of 2021 Invoicing Exceeds Entire Fiscal Year 2020: The Company has invoiced USD$258,000 since January 1, 2021, which already represents 18% more invoicing than the Company's entire fiscal year 2020. At current exchange rates, this translates to booked revenue of CAD$330,000.
BVT sales momentum in the US Southeast is strong, including a 100% increase in revenue from blueberry growers in Georgia, the Company's largest current commercial market, where there was a 100% retention of prior year's customers, in addition to securing 11 new growers. BVT's marketing campaigns are producing leads and referrals, and growers are seeking out BVT on their own initiative.
Summary
Patents and Licences
July 2020, BVT was granted Patent by European Patent Office (EPO) For Biological Fungicide CR-7. Validated in 14 European countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, UK, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Turkey), it is granted in six countries, and is under review by another nine authorities.
BVT also secured a California License (February 2020) entering the largest agriculture market in the US. California has 1.3 million acres of addressable crops and 1.1 million(1) of them are already using commercial honeybees for pollination. It is also where the largest berry market (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries) in the US resides with an estimated 55,000(2) acres representing 30% of the US's berry acreage.
Trials
There were a number of trials initiated in the last nine months. July 2020, a State-Funded Trial in Sunflower Crops with North Dakota State University approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was disclosed. BVT also reported that it would be doing demonstration trials in Minnesota and Idaho with key sunflower growers.
August 2020, a multi-year blueberry research trial with the Institute for Sustainable Horticulture (ISH) in British Columbia (BC), Canada was announced.
September 2020, reported the completion of a Phase 2 proof-of-concept field trial with two biological insecticides in North America as well as, EU trials with a third biological insecticide and fungicide expected to be done by late fall.
Phase 3 will have BVT working with partner companies on market and business refinement, including formulating the basis of a potential agreement. Phase 4 will move to large-scale field efficacy trials and could include some bee safety confirmation work; and Phase 5 will involve regulatory work to add BVT as a use to each third-party product label, if needed. After that, BVT will launch the new product line extensions to growers -potentially starting as early as in 2022.
February 2020, BVT launched inaugural grower trials with two of the World's Largest Berry Growers : First grower trials in berry crops in California (one month after receiving state regulatory approval). In addition, eight commercial-scale grower trials have also already been confirmed, including with two of the world's largest berry companies and their growers. The trials will be conducted on blueberries, caneberries (blackberries and raspberries).
March 2020, BVT begun trials with five almond growers and key crop advisors in California (Central Valley). Four were reported to be commercial demonstrations led by agricultural consultants or crop advisors who work directly for growers and are responsible for evaluating and recommending disease and pest control solutions. The fifth is an R&D trial, led by a well-respected researcher with connections to the Almond Board of California.
Objectives for 2021
November 2020, BVT set out its 2021 Objectives.
1) Focus on US revenue growth and secure a minimum of CAD$1 million in revenue;
2) Hire additional salespeople to serve key US markets (e.g. Pacific Northwest, California, Midwest);
3) Accelerate marketing to raise awareness of BVT in target markets;
4) Initiate grower trials in California, the biggest market opportunity for BVT in North America;
5) Finalize business operations for Switzerland (partnerships, grower trials);
6) Initiate grower trials in Mexico with influential players and expects to submit for regulatory approval shortly.
Revenue
Along with the 2021 Objectives (Nov. 2020), BVT disclosed it had secured 2021 revenue commitments by exceeding the entire 2020 growing season through 100% retention of the 11 blueberry growers in Georgia from 2020 to 2021.
March 2020, BVT revealed that in the first two months of 2021 its invoicing exceeded the entire 2020 fiscal year 2020: A total of USD$258,000 was invoiced since January 1, 2021, which represents 18% more invoicing than last fiscal.
Financing
There were a four distinct non-brokered placement in the last period.
1) July 2020: $0.34M was raised by issuing 1.11M units at $0.315 cents (Warrant $0.525).
2) October 2020: another $0.63M, 2.6M units at $0.24 cents (Warrant $0.40).
3) December 2020: an additional $0.26M, (1,11M) units at $0.24 cents (Warrant $0.40).
4) February 2020: $3.22M was raised with 10M units at $0.32 cents (Warrant $0.525).
Options
Issued 2,58M of restricted share under the Company's shareholder approved restricted share unit plan to management, insiders and consultants. Also issued 0.27M stock options ($0.29 cents) to two insiders of the Company.
Debt Settlement
BVT issued 3M shares at $0.266 cents to square $800,000 for past consulting and services debt.
Appointment
Ryan Dragoo as Territory Manager to drive sales growth in the US Pacific Northwest to lead commercialization.
In short
In the past nine months, BVT received patents from Europe for CR-7, and recently secured a California license which expands its addressable market significantly. California has 55,000 square acres; 30% of the US berry acreage.
In addition to expansions in the State of Georgia, commercial launch in Florida, with existing pilots in New Jersey, Michigan, the Carolinas and the Pacific Northwest, BVT expanded its trials to British Columbia, Canada (blueberries) and California (blueberries, blackberries and raspberries). The latter has eight commercial growers, including two with the largest berry companies. Almond trials were also launched this month with five growers (also in California). Furthermore, sunflower trials were initiated in North Dakota, Minnesota and Idaho.
BVT also mentioned proof of concept trials combining CR-7 with two biological fungicides in the US, as well, as a third biological fungicide in Europe as part of its portfolio extension. In fact, BVT recently shared its strategic plan in Europe where it completed more than 28 trials to date and is aiming for in-licensing and commercial partnerships in addition to developing its affiliated relationship with net European exporters countries such as Turkey and Morocco.
BVT set its Fiscal 2021 revenue target of a minimum of CAD $1M (November 2020). Last month, BVT disclosed that it already exceeded CAD $300,000 in invoicing since January 1 2021. However, investors should keep in mind:
BVT's sales adoption cycle consists of four market stages that span three to four growing seasons and this is done in each crop starting with the largest opportunities. The first stage is awareness, which involves proof of concept and initial trials. In the second pilot stage, small-scale sales are secured via grower demos. The launch stage is when commercialization happens, with initial revenues coming from a small percentage of the acreages of large, influential growers as they validate the product. Finally, the expansion stage sees revenue growth achieved through increased share of acres with existing customers and more new customers as word-of-mouth spreads.
Also, during the past nine months, BVT completed four rounds of financing with sizable number of warrant (14M) with exercise price ranging from $0.40 cents to $0.52 cents. This is likely to create a lid on the stock price. Nonetheless, there are multiple catalyst ahead including but not limited to additional European and Mexican registration and trials.
Overall, BVT has clearly articulated its objectives and is very well engaged in reaching its FY 2021 targets.
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