Lake Oswego, Oregon--(Newsfile Corp. - April 22, 2026) - Functional Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: MEHA), a leading innovator in wellness and performance products, today announced a strategic technology partnership with partnrup.ai, a next-generation artificial intelligence platform purpose-built to support and improve partner-driven customer acquisition. The partnership will deploy partnrup.ai's full technology stack on behalf of Tru2u.health, a digital health platform dedicated to helping individuals achieve their health goals through medication-based treatment, clean supplementation and clinically guided wellness solutions.

The integration of partnrup.ai's AI platform represents an important step in scaling Tru2u.health's partner marketing efforts. Tru2u.health connects consumers with personalized health solutions, trusted wellness products (including nutraceuticals, peptides and GLP-1's) and vetted health providers — Partnrup.ai's platform enables continuous AI-powered partner discovery, real-time traffic evaluation, and measurement across campaigns, helping the team better understand and refine how they reach relevant audiences — Functional Brands Inc. expects to materially improve the platform's cost-per-acquisition and revenue-per-visitor metrics.

"This strategic partnership directly supports our mission to build scalable, profitable health and wellness assets," said Eric Gripentrog, CEO of Functional Brands Inc. "Partnrup.ai gives Tru2u.health the AI infrastructure to grow traffic intelligently — attracting consumers who are genuinely seeking what we offer — and that precision should translate directly into revenue and long-term platform value for our shareholders."

The Tru2u.health platform was designed around the principle that every individual's health journey is unique and personal. That mission demands that acquisition channels deliver consumers who are authentically aligned with the platform's offerings. Partnrup.ai's proprietary matching algorithms and behavioral scoring models ensure that partner-driven traffic is evaluated using intent-based signals to help improve alignment between content, creators and audience engagements.

Under the terms of the partnership, partnrup.ai will serve as the primary AI-powered partner technology provider for Tru2u.health's marketing and partner programs. The integration is expected to be fully operational within 10 days, with initial performance data and key conversion metrics available to management on a rolling basis.

"Tru2u.health is a strong example of how brands can use AI to better identify and connect with relevant audiences. We're excited to support their team with technology that improves partner discovery, traffic quality, and measurement in a way that is scalable and transparent," said Jessica Thorpe, CEO of partnrup.ai. "We are proud to partner with Functional Brands Inc. to demonstrate what intelligent, data-driven partner technology can do for a health and wellness brand at scale."

Functional Brands Inc. views this partnership as a scalable model that may be extended to other platforms within its portfolio. Management believes that the demonstrated results from the Tru2u.health deployment will create additional opportunities to leverage partnrup.ai's technology across the Company's broader brand ecosystem, further enhancing the digital revenue capabilities that underpin MEHA's growth strategy.

About Functional Brands Inc., Kirkman® and Tru2u.health
Functional Brands Inc. is a health and wellness company focused on acquiring and growing science-based consumer brands. With a portfolio that includes trusted names like Kirkman®, P2i by Kirkman®, Tru2u.Health™; Functional Brands is committed to providing high-quality, effective solutions that support healthier lives.

Kirkman® has been the leader in Ultratested® supplements since 1949, setting the gold standard in purity and hypoallergenic formulation. Our rigorous standards ensure that even the most sensitive communities-including those who cannot tolerate other supplements-can thrive from our formulations. With more than 70 years of clean science behind every product, Kirkman® is trusted by practitioners and patients worldwide.

Tru2u.health is a personalized health and wellness platform that connects consumers with trusted products, providers and resources tailored to their individual health journeys. Built on the conviction that no two paths to health are alike, Tru2u.health delivers guidance and solutions that are genuinely true to you.

For more information, visit www.functionalbrandsinc.com and www.kirkmangroup.com, and www.Tru2u.health

About partnrup.ai
partnrUP is an AI- powered influencer marketing platform that helps brands discover creators, manage content, and drive measurable results from creator partnerships. The platform enables marketers to scale campaigns, streamline workflows, and turn creator content into a repeatable growth channel across social and commerce environments. It recently acquired Novel to help bring shoppable video to DTC, Shopify Storefronts, and the Shop App Discovery Feed.partnrup.ai is an artificial intelligence platform engineered for partner-driven customer acquisition. By combining intelligent partner discovery, real-time traffic optimization, automated attribution, and brand safety monitoring, partnrup.ai enables brands to grow qualified customer acquisition at scale. For more information, visit partnrup.ai.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This news release and statements of Functional Brands' management in connection with this news release or related events contain or may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In this context, forward-looking statements mean statements (including statements related to the closing, and the anticipated benefits to the Company, of the private placement described herein) related to future events, which may impact our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "potential," "will," "should," "could," "would," "optimistic" or "may" and other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this news release and represent management's current views and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, events or results and involve significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may be beyond our control.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release. Potential investors should review Functional Brands' Registration Statement filed with the SEC on Form S-1 on October 16, 2025 and the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 27, 2026 for more complete information, including the risk factors that may affect future results, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a predictor of actual results. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this news release, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/293717

Source: Functional Brands Inc.