Lake Oswego, Oregon--(Newsfile Corp. - June 4, 2026) - Functional Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: MEHA), a U.S.-domiciled Nasdaq issuer, which is party to a binding agreement to acquire the assets of BullionFX, including its core product Alchemy — a blockchain-based settlement layer and decentralized finance ecosystem built around auditable physical gold — today provided a brief corporate and operational update on its progress toward closing the asset acquisition first announced on May 22, 2026.

Vision: Where Functional Brands Is Headed — 12 to 24 Months From Now

The BullionFX | Alchemy acquisition is not merely a transaction. It is a strategic repositioning. Management believes the Company is entering a pivotal 12-to-24-month window that could be significant for the Company's future.

The Gold Market Tailwind: Why Now

The Company's approach to this direction is informed by market data. Gold demand reached a record $193 billion in Q1 2026, which is up 74% in value year-over-year (source: World Gold Council, Gold Demand Trends Q1 2026). Leading institutional forecasters project gold prices approaching $5,000 per ounce by the end of 2026 (source: JPMorgan Global Research, December 2025). Structural drivers are clear: real wages have turned negative, inflation remains nearly double the Federal Reserve's 2% target, and sovereign debt concerns globally are directing institutional capital toward hard assets. Physical gold buyers are not retreating in this environment; they are accelerating their purchases.

At the same time, the digitization of gold is no longer an emerging idea. It has become a growing category. Tokenized gold trading volume reached $90.7 billion in Q1 2026 alone, already surpassing the entire annual volume recorded in all of 2025 (source: World Gold Council / RWA.xyz, Q1 2026). Major institutional treasury desks and asset managers are evaluating blockchain-based gold as a programmable collateral alternative to cash, deployable in lending protocols and transferable peer-to-peer without clearing delays. Analysts project that tokenized gold will grow faster than traditional gold ETFs, driven by digital-native investors, institutional infrastructure, and maturing regulatory frameworks. The total tokenized real-world asset market reached $19.3 billion by the close of Q1 2026, which is a 256.7% expansion over the prior 15 months (source: RWA.xyz Market Intelligence, Q1 2026). Functional Brands intends to be a meaningful participant in that growth.

A Two-Engine Company: What the Business Looks Like Post-Closing

Within 12 to 24 months of closing, management envisions Functional Brands operating as a two-engine company with a presence in both the wellness and digital asset sectors.

Engine One — Wellness & Performance (Established): The Kirkman® brand, P2i™ by Kirkman®, and Tru2u.health platform continue to form the Company's revenue-generating foundation. Kirkman's more than 75-year legacy, its FDA-registered cGMP-compliant manufacturing facility in Oregon, and its distribution presence across more than 35 countries provide a durable cash-flow base. The Company's growing gross profit, which reached its strongest first-quarter performance on record in Q1 2026, signals that this core business continues to grow. Management expects this engine to continue funding operations and supporting the infrastructure needed for the Alchemy platform launch and growth.

Engine Two — BullionFX | Alchemy (Emerging): Following closing and activation, the Company intends to commercialize Alchemy as a blockchain-based settlement layer built around auditable, on-chain physical gold. In practical terms, this means giving individuals and institutions the ability to hold, transfer, and deploy gold-backed digital assets, including USDg and $GOLD, with the transparency of on-chain reserve verification and the speed of blockchain settlement. In the near term, the Company is focused on platform activation, early user adoption, and establishing liquidity. In the 18-to-24-month horizon, the vision expands: Alchemy positioned as a DeFi infrastructure layer for gold-backed finance, with its products potentially deployable as collateral in lending protocols, as settlement instruments for cross-border transactions, and as a yield-bearing alternative to traditional commodity exposure. The Company is entering a category that institutional capital is actively building toward and it intends to participate in that development.

The Intersection Point

Management believes the two business lines are more complementary than they may appear. Both serve consumers who prioritize quality, transparency, and trust. Both are grounded in real assets; physical products in the case of wellness, and auditable gold in the case of Alchemy. And both are designed to grow without compromising the integrity that underpins them. The Company is not abandoning what has made it resilient. It is building on top of it.

Two years from today, Functional Brands intends to be known as the company that saw the convergence of physical gold, blockchain transparency, and institutional demand before the broader market fully priced it and the company had the balance sheet discipline, the platform, and the team to act on it.

Eric Gripentrog, Chief Executive Officer of Functional Brands Inc., commented: "I want to address something directly, because I know it is the first question a thoughtful investor will ask: what does a 75-year-old nutritional supplement company have to do with blockchain-based gold? The answer is both simpler and more strategic than it might appear.

"Functional Brands is not a wellness company that stumbled into crypto. We are a Nasdaq-listed operating platform. A company with real revenue, a cGMP FDA manufacturing facility in Oregon, and a balance sheet we have spent the last several quarters deliberately strengthening. That platform is well-suited to support BullionFX | Alchemy.

"But I also want to say this: these two businesses are not as disconnected as they look on the surface. The Kirkman brand has spent 75 years earning trust by putting real, verifiable ingredients into products and standing behind them. Alchemy is being built on the same principle; real, auditable, physical gold. The consumer in both cases is making a decision based on one question: can I trust what's inside? That is not a coincidence. That is the kind of company we intend to be.

"Now look at the market we aim to participate in. Tokenized gold spot volume hit $90.7 billion in Q1 2026 alone, which is more than all of 2025 combined. Institutional investors are increasingly active in this category because traditional markets close on weekends, and geopolitical risk does not. Gold itself is around $4,400 an ounce with J.P. Morgan projecting it to approach $5,000 by year-end. The real-world asset tokenization market has grown 256% in fifteen months. We believe this reflects durable infrastructure being developed by institutional participants.

"We identified this window, we prepared our balance sheet for it, and we're moving forward into this business. A materially stronger balance sheet and a significantly reduced debt burden are important inputs for what comes next. We believe that foundational work is well underway."

Balance Sheet Strengthening — Nearly 51% Reduction in Current Liabilities

The Company reported that current liabilities declined from approximately $5.75 million as of December 31, 2025 to approximately $2.84 million as of March 31, 2026; a reduction of approximately $2.9 million, or nearly 51%, in a single quarter. This improvement was driven primarily by the retirement of approximately $3.3 million in derivative liabilities and the continued conversion of the Company's preferred stock obligations into common equity, including the conversion of all Series A Preferred Stock and nearly all of Series B Preferred Stock (from 28,475 shares to 2,400) into Series C Preferred Stock. Gross profit also improved year-over-year, rising to $961,133 in Q1 2026 from $866,764 in Q1 2025; reflecting the Company's strongest first-quarter gross profit performance on record and growing margin strength in the core wellness business.

The Company continues to work toward satisfaction of the closing conditions described in our May 22, 2026 press release and the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 22, 2026. On June 3, 2026, the Company received confirmation from Nasdaq that its Event Notification Form for its reverse stock split recently approved by stockholders has been received and is under review. This is a meaningful procedural milestone in the regulatory process. Material developments will be disclosed in subsequent releases and periodic filings, and any disclosure required under Form 8-K will be made within the required timeframe.

David R. Wells, Chief Financial Officer and Board Member of Functional Brands Inc., added: "The numbers speak clearly and they tell a story of deliberate, meaningful progress. In a single quarter, this team reduced current liabilities by nearly $2.9 million, which is approximately 51% while eliminating over $3.3 million in derivative liabilities. Our gross profit is growing. Our core revenue is expanding. And we are pursuing this acquisition from a position of improving financial strength. My mandate is clear: build the financial foundation that the BullionFX | Alchemy acquisition demands and that our shareholders deserve."

About Functional Brands Inc.
Functional Brands Inc. (NASDAQ: MEHA) is a leading innovator in wellness and performance products dedicated to Making Everyone Healthy Again™. The Company's portfolio includes Kirkman®, one of the most trusted names in nutritional supplements for over 75 years with products available in more than 35 countries; P2i™ by Kirkman® Prenatal Multivitamin & Multimineral, the first prenatal supplement to align with FIGO standards and comply with California SB 646; and Tru2u.health, a consumer-facing telehealth and wellness platform. Functional Brands operates an FDA-registered, cGMP-compliant manufacturing facility in Oregon. For more information, visit www.functionalbrandsinc.com and www.kirkmangroup.com, and www.Tru2u.health.

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.

Important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the ability of the parties to negotiate final terms of a definitive acquisition agreement, the closing of the contemplated asset purchase agreement, including expected conditions to closing which are anticipated to include regulatory approvals, valuations, and future shareholder approvals; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the Company or BullionFX (collectively, the "Parties") to terminate the asset purchase agreement; the effect of such termination; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Parties or their respective directors or officers; the ability to obtain regulatory and other approvals and meet other closing conditions for the asset acquisition on a timely basis or at all, including the risk that any regulatory and other approvals required may not obtained on a timely basis or at all, or are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated or that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction; difficulties and delays in integrating BullionFX's assets in the Company; prevailing economic, market, regulatory or business conditions, or changes in such conditions, negatively affecting the parties; potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships resulting from the announcement of the expected acquisition; uncertainty as to the long-term value of the common stock of the Company following the acquisition; the significant dilution to the Company's stockholder in connection with the acquisition; the continued availability of capital and financing following the potential acquisition transaction; the business, economic and political conditions in the markets in which the Parties operate; and the fact that the Company's reported earnings and financial position may be adversely affected by tax and other factors.

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' 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/300133

Source: Functional Brands Inc.