Wellnex hits record Q1 revenue as exclusive nationwide Mark Wahlberg, A2 formula launches unveiled

Aussie-listed wellness innovator Wellnex just keeps delivering, and this time, the house that Mark Wahlberg chooses to call his Aussie home is launching two more new Wahlbergian-style health brands which Wellnex says ideally complement its fast-expanding product portfolio in the booming wellness market.

This week’s launch of Mark Wahlberg’s nutrition and supplements brand – Performance Inspired – and Australia’s first organic A2 infant formula – Ocean Road Dairies – come as Wellnex Life (ASX: WNX) reveals record quarterly revenue for Q1 FY 23.

For the September quarter just gone, Wellnex reaped a record $6.88 million in revenue – a more than 80% lift on the prior corresponding period.

Wellnex says the sales growth has been driven by its wholly-owned brands as well as strong success in contract manufacturing.

Timing is right on the Mark

CEO George Karafotias says the company’s strong sales momentum will only be accelerated by this week’s launch of Wahlberg’s Performance Inspired nutrition supplements and Ocean Road Dairies A2 infant formula across Chemist Warehouse nationally.

The headline-making product ranges are likely to draw strong public attention – distributed as they are across the far-reaching Chemist Warehouse network, in a growing market and with specifically targeted high-demand subsectors.

“We’re overjoyed to be launching two new product ranges with Chemist Warehouse nationally this week – Performance Inspired and Ocean Road Dairies A2 infant formula will continue to drive the company’s revenue growth in FY23 and beyond.”

Mr Karafotias says the huge revenue boost to kick off the new fiscal year, coupled with the strong outlook for the twin product launches reaffirms the company’s previous guidance of FY23 revenue of $29 million.

Diversified opportunities: Yes we cannabis

Wellnex Life is aiming to become one of the first companies to launch an over-the-counter medicinal cannabis product under Australia’s new Schedule 3 (S3) classification.

The existing Special Access Scheme (SAS) market, which allows certain health practitioners to access therapeutic goods not included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), is forecast to be worth $423m in 2022 for Australia.

But that’s been heavily limited by its prescription requirement which is about to be lifted under the S3 scheme.

This lowers the entry bar for Australians to get the product they need from their pharmacist without a prescription, which, considering the massive demand here in Australia, is why the company expects the S3 market to swiftly expand.

Mr Karafotias says Wellnex’s core competencies around required regulatory approvals and distribution networks, in combination with the production capabilities secured through its joint venture with OneLife Botanicals, provide WNX with ‘all the essential ingredients to be among the few first-movers set to dominate this soon-to-emerge market’.

“And it’s a market which is expected to feature high regulatory hurdles for competitors and shelving priority for Australian pharmacies.”

Wellnex will be using OneLife’s medicinal cannabis cultivation and processing facility, delivering an enormous 20 tonne p/a capacity at no cost.

The company will then utilise their established sales channels to distribute the product across Aussie shelves.

A huge ‘22, a bigger ‘23

“It’s been a busy and successful time for Wellnex Life And we have made a strong start to FY23, with revenue for the first quarter up 81% vs PCP.

“We’re excited to be diversifying our portfolio of products as we look to build our presence in the health and wellness market and be one of the first companies to break into the over-the-counter medicinal cannabis market.”

Niche-targeted products with closely-held partners

Meanwhile, bringing Australia’s first organic A2 infant formula using all Australian milk under the new brand Ocean Road Dairies – is the culmination of Wellnex’s joint venture with ASX-listed Australian Dairy Nutritionals (ASX:AHF).

All three stages of Ocean Road Dairy Products – infant formula, follow-on formula and toddler milk – have already been canned, WNX says, with initial orders received from Chemist Warehouse being dispatched this week and expected on shelves shortly after.

“Ocean Road Dairies will fill a niche in the market for a premium infant formula and as an alternative to regular cow’s milk,” Mr Karafotias says.

Performance Inspired, founded in 2015 by Wahlberg and Tom Dowd, is now one of the fastest growing nutrition brands in America.

Wellnex scooped the exclusive licensing agreement with Performance Inspired for all of Australia and New Zealand, and has first rights to expand the license into Asia, tucked in the top drawer.

Even better, Wellnex secured distribution for the Performance Inspired brand in Chemist Warehouse, one of Australia’s largest retailers, with a substantial initial purchase order received and instore and online sales commencing this week.

“This partnership demonstrates Wellness business model and capability in identifying gaps in Australia’s health and wellness market and quickly bringing solutions to Australian consumers.

“We can’t wait for Australians to discover both brands.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Wellnex, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.