Management at BlueOcean NutraSciences (TSX-V: BOC) found out that the natural specialty product business is a tough row to hoe, at least without a bunch of money in the bank, that is. In October, the Toronto-based company said it was selling its shrimp oil business and focusing on its restarted CO2 grow-solutions gas infusion business.
“Gaining sufficient shrimp oil product sales traction in the competitive supplement industry needs more capital for sales and marketing than the Company could raise,” management said at that time. When it comes to dissolving carbon dioxide into water without bubbles for indoor and outdoor irrigation, though, management thinks it has the market cornered.
The company is looking to leverage its technology that allows CO2 dissolved in water to be sprayed on plants, which then lets the carbon dioxide rapidly be absorbed into leaf stomata, accelerating photosynthesis and plant growth. Testing has shown that bigger, leafy plants are possible when sprayed with the dissolved CO2 at up to 2,000 parts per million during morning daylight.
On Wednesday, the transition got real, as BlueOcean said it wants to officially change its name to CO2GRO to properly reflect corporate direction. At the same time, the company is seeking a ticker symbol change from “BOC” to “GROW” on the TSX-Venture exchange. Shareholders voted on the proposal at the company’s annual meeting, but no official announcement has been made yet.
Apropos, it’s sort of hard to believe that not one of the countless companies that jumped on the legal cannabis bandwagon over the years took that ticker symbol.
Targets abound in both the food and cannabis industries for CO2GRO to try and capture market. Currently four grow trials are underway, including three for licensed cannabis growers under Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR) and one for micro greens. Several more trials are expected, including major licensed cannabis producers in Canada, cannabis growers and those in other fields (such as flowers and vegetables) in the U.S.
Shares of BOC ran sharply in November and December subsequent to the company saying it was transitioning its business plan, bringing on new leadership and raising some capital to fund the initiative. The stock climbed from under 3 cents to as high of 42 cents before a cooling period has held shares in a channel basically between 15 and 28 cents.
The name change isn’t providing any type of catalyst to the stock in Wednesday action. With just over an hour left in the trading day, shares are down 4.8% at 20 cents.
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