Green Gorilla's Hemp and Olive CBD Line Featured in mg Magazine

The Green Gorilla Hemp and Olive CBD Line is Profiled in the Current (June) Issue of the Popular B2B Monthly, Glossy Publication, mg Magazine.

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Green Gorilla

Jun 15, 2016, 02:48 ET

LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Gorilla's Hemp and Olive CBD Line (www.ilovegreengorilla.com) is featured in the current (June) issue of mg Magazine, the Cannabis industry's popular and top-rated Business to Business monthly publication.

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Green Gorilla Co-CEO Steven Saxton said, "We're extremely pleased to be profiled in what I consider to be the "Rolls-Royce" standard for Business to Business publications in the space, mg Magazine."

Green Gorilla's Co-CEO Philip Asquith added, "To be featured in mg Magazine is a statement. It is a significant achievement, indicating Green Gorilla has arrived in the space and we thank mg Magazine for their interest in Green Gorilla and for publishing a tremendously informative and visually stunning monthly magazine."

More Than Monkey Business

Green Gorilla puts its ambitious plans for market domination into action late last year with the launch of an inaugural line of CBD-infused products under the Hemp & Olive brand.

Philip Asquith and Steven Saxton share a vision for Green Gorilla Inc.: an international brand that eventually will dominate and define a "sustainable, ethical, healthy, organic approach" to business in the hemp and cannabis industry. To that end, they have mapped out a disciplined strategy for growth that operates on the legal side of the law. "Our game plan is to be well-capitalized, create a brand, and then as the federal and international laws emerge, decide how to participate," said Saxton.

With deep experience in both commercial agriculture and high finance, the entrepreneurs debuted Green Gorilla in late October 2015 with the launch of Hemp & Olive, an inaugural line of products that ultimately will consist of up to 200 unique items in the supplements, cosmetics and pet care sectors, all infused with 100-percent pure, organic CBD produced in Europe. Asquith said Europe offers the most regulated product on the market. "You know it is what they say it is," he said. "There is also a lot of certification with the hemp – non-GMO, organic, fair trade – and then there is more certification and lab testing on the extraction process, which is also done in Europe. We get it once it is the pure, white, crystalline CBD, which we send to a lab for further testing."

The first product out of the gate is a CBD-infused olive oil supplement sold in 60ml spray bottles that come in concentrations of 150mg, 600mg, 1,500mg, and 3,000mg. The first two concentrations also come flavored with lemon or mint and as a Pet Care CBD Oil. According to the company, "Hemp & Olive's products are 100-percent organic, non-GMO, plant-based, raw, vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free, Kosher, Paleo, macrobiotic, and infused with plant-based, pure and organic cannabidiol (CBD)."

But it is the organic, extra-virgin olive oil that truly sets the product apart. As the operator of Ojai Olive Oil, a family owned boutique producer of award winning extra-virgin olive oils founded by his father in 1998, Asquith knows a thing or two about olive oil. "The best way to deliver CBD is in a plant-based oil, of which there are two: extra-virgin olive oil and extra-virgin coconut oil," explained Asquith. "They are the two healthiest oils and the two most tolerated and absorbed by the body. But coconut is a nut so a lot of people have allergies; plus, it's got a very strong flavor, and high-quality extra-virgin coconut oil is not easy to come by, Olive oil is the better choice. No one has allergic reactions to it, and it is very well absorbed and tolerated. Olive oil has also been well-studied for its health value, for everything from cancer to Alzheimer's to arthritis and skin conditions. It's just wonderful. It happens that all the things that olive oil are great for perfectly overlap with the things people take CBD for. If anything, they work very well together."

Asquith also spent years in the financial world. "My background is actually investment banking. I ran a hedge fund for a while; did private equity and structured finance in the U.S., Europe and Russia," he said. Eventually, he "got fed up making more and more money for the evil people of the world" and left to start his own business.

"I launched a chain of wellness centers – yoga, a juice bar, a boutique – to do something healthier and get back in touch with that side of me," he said. "They were based out of Miami and called the Green Monkey. It was a wonderful experience and a great success, but then I told my share in that company and moved back to California."

Asquith returned to California in part to run the family business, but the idea for Green Gorilla had already been gestating. "Steven and I have known one another for quite a long time, about fifteen years, and this is a conversation we've been having in the background for ever a decade; hemp, cannabis, medical marijuana, legalization; where and how to do this? Should we do this? Does it make sense? Then three or four years ago, we basically decided we wanted to do something in this space."

Saxton, a former investment banker and stock and commodities broker, had extensive experience in corporate structuring, private equity, public companies, corporate refinancing, and raising capital for startups. He also has been involved in film, music, and fashion for the past thirty years, working as a producer, manager, agent, distributor and financier in the entertainment industry. The founder, chief executive officer, and chairman of Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Studios Asia, Artist International, and Models International, Saxton still has one foot in the movie business.

"I have a couple of Bruce Willis movies we're still wrapping up, but my last big movie was Lone Survivor," he said. "I'm still dabbling in it, tying up loose ends, but my focus is the company."

Green Gorilla was formed in November 2013, and the intervening time until last year's official launch was spent organizing the company and formulating products for the Hemp & Olive and subsequent brands.

"We've been in the initial development phase, getting our corporate infrastructure together; developing the brand, what it's going to look like; figuring out what the initial products are going to be, and cobbling together some initial capital so we could actually launch," said Saxton. "So we've gone through phase one and now we're focused on phase two: distribution, sales, marketing, dispensaries, national chains, international companies, and our online presence."

Hemp & Olive products can be bought on the company website, ilovegreengorilla.com, priced from $35.95 (150mg Hemp & Olive CBD Oil – Lemon) to $399.95 (3,000mg Hemp & Olive CBD Oil), and they are also available in about twenty natural foods, health- and vitamin- type stores. Major distribution expansion is in the works. "We just signed our first distribution deal, and we go into their book in July. They have 2,200 stores," said Saxton. "We also are talking to more distributors and want to build solid relationships with them so that ultimately we can funnel a thousand products through national distribution."

To gain a foothold in medical marijuana dispensaries and retail shops, Green Gorilla is developing a sales team to work major markets around the country. Saxton also is leveraging his showbiz connections for the benefit of the brand. "We put our products in the Oscar gift bags and the Grammy gift bags," he said. 'We'll use all my Hollywood contacts."

The team is also well ahead in formulating products for the brand that will follow Hemp & Olive. "The next line is going to be called Master Grower, which will initially offer organic fertilizers and pest-control products," said Asquith. "Eventually, it will provide everything a grower needs, from trimmers to lights, with an Apple approach. If you buy one of our products, they all work together."

Saxton added, "And then we'll get into everything a dispensary might need that we're allowed to sell that's federally legal. Following that, we'll enter the actual cannabis space when it's federally legal and we could enter the space in a foreign country."

The entrepreneurs exude confidence not just about the products they produce, but also the structure and direction of Green Gorilla Inc. "We have the exact structure that Facebook has as far as how the stock is structured," said Saxton. "Philip and I can make decisions and move, and we're expecting investors will rely on us to make the right decisions."

As far as what ethos they want the brand to conjure within investors, patients, and consumers alike, Asquith summed it up in three simple but potent words: "A trusted source."

Published monthly, mg is a controlled circulation printed publication which places a singular focus on the people, plants and products that fuel the unprecedented growth of the cannabis industry, as well as a shared interest in its continued use in both the medical and recreational environments. It quickly has become one of the most-read glossy magazine/print publications in the industry.

mg is the creation of the CANN Media Group and Darren Roberts. Prior to launch, Roberts noticed an opportunity to provide the U.S. legal cannabis industry with a range of business-to-business (B2B) tools. These tools came in the form of aligned interactive products and services, both physical and digital. Roberts says, "Our products are designed to educate and increase the effectiveness for businesses in all sectors of the cannabis community."

About Green Gorilla: Green Gorilla is building an international brand in the hemp and cannabis industries. Our mission is to provide sustainable and ethical goods and services to a broad range of customers, with a primary focus on health and wellness. Green Gorilla prides itself on being a sustainable and ethical company utilizing hemp to provide people with tools to live healthier and happier lives, while also preserving and protecting our planet. While federal policy is developing, the Company will operate only in areas that are unequivocally federally legal, and is initially focused entirely on hemp based products. The company is building a multitude of market leading product lines centered around hemp and the picks and shovels of the cannabis industry, as well as a state of the art web portal addressing a wide range of related goods, services, online interaction, and education. Green Gorilla was established in 2013 by founders Philip J.P. Asquith and Sir Steven Saxton.

About the Company Principals: Prior to his new role as Co-Founder & Co-CEO of Green Gorilla, Inc., Philip J.P. Asquith co-founded and managed Green Capital Investments, Inc. GCI's projects included wind-energy farms, biomass-energy facilities, and municipal waste-energy facilities. Mr. Asquith is 39 years old, and lives in Ojai, CA, on a certified organic permaculture ranch where for generations his family has produced an award winning extra virgin olive oil under Ojai Olive Oil, Inc. Ojai Olive Oil has been recognized as one of the world's top olive oils countless times, and Mr. Asquith awarded the title of "Master Miller".

With over 30 years of experience, Sir Steven Saxton is a successful serial entrepreneur and film executive with credits that include Lone Survivor and The Kids are Alright. He is a highly regarded expert in corporate structuring, private equity, public companies, corporate refinancing, and capital raising for startups. Mr. Saxton has been the lead negotiator for numerous partnerships, mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and rollups for private and public companies. Mr. Saxton was a former investment banker and stock and commodities broker. Mr. Saxton, the Co-Founder, and Co-CEO of Green Gorilla, is 52 years old, and currently resides in Malibu with his wife and daughter.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release may contain certain forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Readers are cautioned that all forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any assumption could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion should not be regarded as a representation by the Company or any other person that the objectives and plans of the Company will be achieved.

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SOURCE Green Gorilla