Lassonde Industries Inc. Announces Changes to its Board of Directors

ROUGEMONT, QC, May 17, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Lassonde Industries Inc. (TSX: LAS.A) ("Lassonde") is pleased to announce that Pierre Lessard has been appointed to its Board of Directors.

As a chartered professional accountant (CPA) and corporate director who has worked in strategic planning, human resources management and organizational transformation, Mr. Lessard has considerable experience to bring to Lassonde.

Mr. Lessard holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) and a Master of Business Administration from HEC Montréal. He acquired the chartered accountant (now CPA) designation in 1978 and the ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors in 2016.

Mr. Lessard was a partner in the Tax Services group of PwC Canada's Montréal office, where he worked for over 40 years. During that time, he held a number of tax group management positions at the provincial and national levels.

Moreover, after 14 years of service to senior management at Lassonde, Luc Provencher chose not to serve another term on Lassonde's Board of Directors. He was a member of the human resources and compensation committee and the corporate governance and nomination committee. His fellow directors, Mr. Pierre-Paul Lassonde and the Lassonde family would like to thank him for his long and dedicated service and wish him a good retirement.

About Lassonde

Lassonde Industries Inc. is a North American leader in the development, manufacture and sale of a wide range of ready-to-drink fruit and vegetable juices and drinks marketed under brands such as Apple & Eve, Everfresh, Fairlee, Fruité, Graves, Oasis and Rougemont.

Lassonde is also one of the two largest producers of store brand shelf-stable fruit juices and drinks in the United States and a major producer of cranberry sauces.

In 2018, Lassonde completed the acquisition of Old Orchard Brands, LLC ("OOB"), a fruit juice and beverage manufacturing company based in Sparta, Michigan. OOB's product portfolio consists of nearly 100 different varieties, including 100% juice, 100% juice blends, reduced-sugar juice cocktails, seasonal lemonades and flavoured teas. Moreover, OOB is a leader in ready-to-drink fruit juices and drinks in the Central United States. Old Orchard is also the second largest frozen juice concentrates brand in the United States.

Lassonde also develops, manufactures and markets specialty food products under brands such as Antico and Canton. The Company imports and markets selected wines from various countries and manufactures apple ciders and cider-based beverages.

The Company produces superior quality products through the expertise of approximately 2,200 people working in 15 plants across Canada and the United States. To learn more, visit www.lassonde.com.

SEDAR registration number: 00002099 

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements 

In this document and in other documents filed with Canadian regulatory authorities or in other communications, the Company may from time to time make written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements notably include estimates, expectations, forecasts, and projections of future investment spending, revenues, expenses, earnings, profit, indebtedness, financial position, losses, upcoming projects, business and management strategies, and business growth and expansion. In the context of this document, forward-looking statements are particularly used to discuss preliminary results, the rate of sales growth, and profit attributable to shareholders. The forward-looking statements contained herein are used to help readers better understand Lassonde's financial position and the results of its operations as at the dates presented and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Forward-looking statements can be recognized by such words as "may," "should," "believes," "predicts," "plans," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimates," "projects," "objective," "continues," "proposes," "targets," or "aims" as well as words and expressions of a similar nature and whether they are used in the affirmative or negative or used in the conditional or future tense. Forward-looking statements also include any statements that do not refer to historical facts.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific in nature. It is therefore possible that the forecasts, projections and other statements will not be achieved or will differ significantly from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements or could affect the extent to which a particular forecast, projection or other statement materializes. Although Lassonde believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that these expectations will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements are based on certain key assumptions made by the Company, in particular certain assumptions presented in the "Outlook" heading of its quarterly and annual MD&As.

Readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements when making decisions, as the actual results could differ considerably from the opinions, plans, objectives, expectations, forecasts, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements due to various significant factors. Such factors include, among others, the economic, industrial, competitive and regulatory environment in which Lassonde operates or factors that are likely to have an impact on its operations, its ability to attract and retain customers, consumers, and qualified staff, the availability and cost of raw materials and transportation, its operating costs, and the price of its finished products in the various markets where it operates.

The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. For additional information about the risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause Lassonde's actual results to differ from its stated expectations, readers may also consult the "Uncertainties and Principal Risk Factors" section of the Company's 2017 annual MD&A and the other documents it files from time to time with securities regulators in Canada and available on sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect the Company's expectations on this date and are subject to change after this date. Lassonde does not undertake to update publicly or to revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless required by applicable legislation or regulation.

SOURCE Lassonde Industries Inc.