$PLPL Plandai Biotechnology Learning Branding and

$PLPL Plandai Biotechnology Learning Branding and Marketing From Former Microsoft Executive Turned Marijuana Entrepreneur

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Feb 6, 2014) - Plandaí Biotechnology (OTCQB: PLPL) is in good hands when it comes to the future of branding and marketing its Phytofare(TM) cannabis extracts for use in both medical and pharmaceutical marijuana applications. While Plandaí continues to develop a full range of botanical extracts using its proprietary hydrodynamic sheering process, the company can follow the lead of its new branding partner, Diego Pellicer, Inc. and its co-founder Jamen Shively, to perfect a process as important as developing the extracts themselves -- marketing them.

The good news for Plandaí executives is they have a head start on the competition as businesses within the marijuana industry wait for regulations and nationwide legalization to play itself out in order to remove any legality concerns faced in using the drug for medicinal purposes. But, with the Cannabis debate still unfolding, former Microsoft executive turned marijuana entrepreneur, Jamen Shively, says there are advantages to building the brand now while others are idly waiting for the issue to be resolved.

"As an avid student and practitioner of the principles of marketing and branding, I can state with authority that 'first to mind' in getting our powerful brands out into the marketplace early on, are proving decisive in capturing long-term market share."

Shively has stated that he hopes to build the first retail brand of marijuana in the U.S., and eventually capture 40 percent of the market worldwide. It will be in those retail markets that Plandaí hopes to sell its cannabis extracts under the Diego Pellicer brand.

When asked how big the chain of stores can get in this country, Shively said, "It's difficult to predict, especially considering that the industry will evolve, eventually away from cannabis-only retail stores to packaged cannabis products sold in a variety of retailers, much as the alcohol industry evolved during the 1930s and 40s." He added, "Having said that, the next five years, at least, will see several hundred marijuana specialty retail stores opening throughout the U.S."

After years of helping steer Microsoft product releases, Plandaí picked a partner to learn from in Jamen Shively, who truly understands the importance of branding and knowing his audience, and in the end, it is Plandaí investors who should benefit.