Harborside Inc. Appoints Travis Higginbotham Jr. as Vice President of Production

Higginbotham brings deep experience in commercial-scale horticultural operations

OAKLAND, Calif., May 11, 2021 /CNW/ - Harborside Inc. ("Harborside" or the "Company") (CSE: HBOR), (OTCQX: HBORF) a California-focused, vertically integrated cannabis enterprise, today announced the appointment of Travis Higginbotham Jr. as Vice President of Production, overseeing the Company's Salinas, California cultivation, post-harvest, processing and packaging facilities. In this role, Higginbotham will spearhead production and product distribution to expand access to Harborside products and better serve customers as demand for high-quality cannabis continues to rise.

Higginbotham is a commercial cultivation specialist and business owner in the hemp and cannabis space with more than eight years of experience in the global and American markets. Most recently, Higginbotham was co-owner and VP of Sales and Business Development at The Hemp Mine, a vertically integrated producer of hemp genetics and hemp-derived products managing 70 acres of field cultivation and CPG products in all categories. The Hemp Mine doubled in revenue from 2019 into 2020 despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, successfully expanded business throughout the Southeast U.S. and secured sales of the company's hemp clones in more than 20 states.

"I'm excited to join the Harborside team at a pivotal point in the cannabis industry's growth when consumer demand is at an all-time high," said Higginbotham. "Harborside is an iconic California brand with a proven record for growing and producing exceptional products and I look forward to leading the talented Salinas team."

Earlier in his career, Higginbotham served as Director of Research and Development for Battlefield Farms, a 1.8 million sq. ft. greenhouse operation named one of the top 100 growers in the country. While there, Higginbotham managed partnerships with 28 global floricultural breeding companies and advised big-box retailers on crop performance, genetic selection and product development nationwide, gaining a first-hand understanding of complex sales channels and agricultural production.

"We're thrilled to welcome Travis, with his impressive cultivation and business development expertise, to the Harborside team," said Peter Bilodeau, Interim CEO of Harborside. "With extensive horticulture industry experience, Travis will lead our production teams and look to implement further facility improvements at our Salinas cultivation facility to drive harvest yield expansion while reducing operating costs and boosting profitability. We look forward to expanding access to Harborside-branded and third-party products with Travis at the helm in Salinas."

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About Harborside:
Harborside Inc. is one of the oldest and most respected cannabis retailers in California, operating three of the major dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay Area, a dispensary in the Palm Springs area outfitted with Southern California's only cannabis drive-thru window, a dispensary in Oregon and a cultivation/production facility in Salinas, California. Harborside has played an instrumental role in making cannabis safe and accessible to a broad and diverse community of California consumers. In 2006, Harborside was awarded one of the first six medical cannabis licenses granted in the United States and today holds cannabis licenses for retail, distribution, cultivation, nursery and manufacturing. Harborside is currently a publicly listed company on the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") trading under the ticker symbol "HBOR". Additional information regarding Harborside is available under Harborside's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates, and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements include, among other things, expected cultivation facility yield improvements, expected revenue projections, and expected reductions in operating costs.  

These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as 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 materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; expectations regarding the size of the cannabis markets where the Company operates; changing consumer habits; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives; plans for expansion; political, social and environmental uncertainties; inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; employee relations and the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on cultivation, production, distribution, and sale of cannabis and cannabis-related products in the markets where the Company operates. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

The Company, through several of its subsidiaries, is indirectly involved in the manufacture, possession, use, sale, and distribution of cannabis in the recreational and medicinal cannabis marketplace in the United States. Local state laws where the Company operates permit such activities however, these activities are currently illegal under United States federal law. Additional information regarding this and other risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's business are contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Listing Statement dated May 30, 2019, and in the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2020, filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. Neither the CSE nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Harborside Inc.

Company Contact: Harborside Inc., Roman Stahl, VP Investor Relations, Mergers & Acquisitions, [email protected]; Investor Contact: MATTIO Communications, [email protected]; Media Contact: MATTIO Communications, [email protected]