Bee Vectoring Technologies Details Strategy for System Launch in Florida

Bee Vectoring Technologies (TSXV:BEE) has announced details on the launch plan for its BVT System for the Florida market.
As quoted in the press release:

The launch plan was developed together with Guardian Soil Solutions (Guardian), BVT’s new distributor for Florida (news release August 23, 2017).
The launch will center on the larger strawberry growers in Hillsborough County, Florida, the major winter strawberry growing region in the US which produces around 20 million flats of strawberries on 11,000 acres every year. The six biggest growers in the region, some of whom used the BVT System last year, represent about 50% while the Top-10 growers are over 70% of the total acreage. Most of the large growers are also packers and shippers of strawberries, and work directly with major consumer brands, such as Driscoll’s or Wellpict.
The objective of the launch in the first two months will be to confirm sales commitments from growers who did commercial demonstrations during 2017. The company plans to also secure additional commercial demos to further grow the BVT System’s user base beyond its established targets. To secure commitments from strawberry growers, and to promote its system in the region for the upcoming season, BVT confirmed it has set up face to face meetings with several large growers throughout September and October and will be exhibiting at several grower trade shows in the next 60 days.
With the help of Guardian which has considerable experience in the economics of strawberry production, the Company has quantified the value proposition of the BVT System and set standard pricing levels for the discussions with the growers. In a typical year, a Florida strawberry grower earns about US $32,000 per acre over a four-month season. The value delivered by the BVT System has been proven to be at least US $3,400 per acre over the season and includes savings through reductions in the use of chemical fungicides, while still controlling disease pressure, plus greater revenue potential through increase in overall yield of the crop.
In BVT’s business model, strawberry customers will be billed a monthly amount for each acre where the BVT System is being used during the crop cycle. The System, which includes a bumble bee hive with dispenser technology including a replaceable tray through which BVT’s proprietary plant beneficial microbe is delivered to crops using the bumble bees, will be priced as a complete “turnkey” system to simplify adoption by the growers. The System will be setup, maintained, and disposed at the end of the season by Guardian, BVT’s distribution partner.

Click here to read the full press release.