SNAP Announces New Chief Technology Officer

SNAP Brands Ventures Inc. has bolstered its leadership and has added a world-renowned pioneering technologist to their team, known for his work assembling and annotating the human genome

VANCOUVER, BC, March 28, 2023 /CNW/ - SNAP Brands Ventures Inc. ("SNAP") is pleased to announce that it has appointed a world-renowned genetic biomarker technologist, Joel Bellenson, to their executive leadership team. Mr. Bellenson will assume the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective immediately, expanding SNAP's technical expertise and enabling the organization to continue to innovate and improve SNAP's biomarker platforms.

Dino Minichiello, CEO of Snap Brands: "We couldn't be more excited to have Joel join the SNAP team. Joel brings tremendous depth with a proven record of releasing world-class, innovative technology. This will help us in our mission of using advanced non-invasive technology to provide best-in-class health recommendations that can help the user improve their overall health and empower positive behavioral changes."

SNAP's Telehealth application uses audio signal processing and machine learning to analyze 30-second audio clips of a user's voice to quickly, and accurately, identify known and unknown health issues such as low vitamin deficiency, inflammation, poor cardiovascular and/or cognitive health. SNAP then correlates these Biomarkers (known as ÜRBIOCODE^TM) to personalized products or therapeutic recommendations.

This latest leadership addition marks an important milestone in the advancement of SNAP's technology platforms. Bellenson will work alongside the engineering and marketing team on upgrading and advancing the company's core products as well as the development of brand-new ones.

"Using biomarkers for personalized healthcare has been my life mission for a quarter century. Just as my past companies democratized molecular bioscience, SNAP shares my vision of using artificial intelligence to empower the citizen to self-diagnose and take action to better their health. Leveraging the microphones, cameras and other sensors in the smartphone enables an unprecedented opportunity to put control over the people's health in their own hands." said Mr. Bellenson.

Mr. Bellenson served as an executive and board member of a public company he cofounded, Upstream Biosciences, developing genetic biomarkers that predicted adverse reactions to medications as well as predispositions to various cancers. Previously he was the co-founder and CEO of Pangea Systems/DoubleTwist, which not only assembled and annotated the human genome, but also pioneered the use of gene and protein expression fingerprints associated with disease conditions. Bellenson was also Co-founder and CEO of DigiScents, internationally known for sequencing the human olfactory receptors to digitize the sense of smell for the synchronization of scent with digital media via the first digital scent synthesizer.

Bellenson is a graduate of Stanford University, where he studied molecular biology and international relations. He co-founded and managed the high-throughput DNA Analysis Facility at Stanford University Medical Center (1989-1993) under Nobel Prize laureate Dr. Paul Berg. Bellenson was featured on the cover of Wired magazine on November 1, 1999, for his unique contributions to the tech community, further to his team's work that led to the sequencing and publication of the Human Genome Project on May 8, 2000.

Joel's extensive experience leading engineering teams to solve complex problems aligns with SNAP's vision for continued product innovation focused on delivering beautiful user experiences, intuitive new features, and unparalleled performance. Since joining SNAP in November, Joel has led the organization through several initiatives that have streamlined development operations and quality control. With a continued focus on operational excellence, Joel will lead the technological charge as SNAP expands its organization and brings new products and features to the market.

About SNAP Brands Ventures Ltd. Vancouver B.C. Canada
Snap Brands is an operator of businesses that focus on telehealth, leveraging voice and breath biomarker technology to analyze personal health biomarkers and provide personalized product and or therapeutic recommendations that can help the user improve their overall health and empower positive behavioral changes. In addition, Snap has a license with a right to acquire a business in smoking cessation space, applying a similar telehealth platform with a decade long clinical history of success. Snap aspires to expand its educational program outreach with another established and accredited institute.

The Company has entered into an agreement to merge with a reporting issuer in a reverse takeover transaction (RTO) and contemporaneously intends to apply for listing on a North American stock exchange. The reporting issuer is completing a corporate reorganization to accommodate the merger following which, if completed, Snap Brands will become a public reporting issuer. Further details of corporate changes to become a public issuer will be announced as they occur.

SOURCE SNAP Brands Ventures Inc

please contact: Investor Relations: Brian Jenkins, [email protected], 778-708-0898; Chief Financial Officer: Don Gordon, [email protected], 604-617-7221