Alpha Modus and Circle The Wagons to Target the $353 Billion Independent Grocery Market

CORNELIUS, N.C., Aug. 24, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMOD) (“Alpha Modus” or the “Company”) today announced that it has entered into a strategic consulting and business development agreement with Circle The Wagons, Inc. (“CTW” or “Circle the Wagons”) to accelerate the deployment and commercial adoption of ARIA and Alpha Cash across the independent grocery market.

Execution is expected to begin immediately. The initial commercial objectives include two signed ARIA beta agreements covering multiple store locations, one strategic Alpha Cash reseller or distribution alliance capable of supporting multi-location deployments, and introductions to at least five qualified Alpha Cash distribution prospects.

The twelve-month program is structured to advance rapidly from beta deployments into paying, multi-year ARIA enterprise customers while pursuing the objective of establishing eight active Alpha Cash alliance partners. Progress will be measured quarterly against defined commercial milestones involving deployments, customers, alliances and market adoption.

CTW’s network includes several thousand retail and grocery stores across the United States. CTW founder and Chief Executive Officer Barton Howard also serves on the Advisory Council of Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates (“ROFDA”), whose member wholesalers collectively supply nearly 7,000 independent grocery stores nationwide. CTW also collaborates with the National Grocers Association, which launched the CTW Innovation Lounge at its 2025 NGA Executive Conference & Public Policy Summit.

“This is not a market study or an exploratory relationship,” said William Alessi, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Modus. “Over the past six months, we have executed a deliberate strategy to transform our patent portfolio into a scalable commercial platform, and ARIA is now ready for deployment. Circle the Wagons brings the relationships, channel access and execution strength to take ARIA and Alpha Cash into new and different markets at scale. My confidence in Barton Howard and CTW’s ability to execute is exceptional. Together, we will advance a defined commercialization plan, beginning with targeted ARIA beta deployments across multiple stores and an Alpha Cash distribution alliance with the clear objective of securing paying, multi-year ARIA customers, expanding Alpha Cash distribution and generating recurring revenue. The platform is ready, the channel is engaged, and execution is underway.”

Independent grocery represents a major but fragmented commercial market. According to the National Grocers Association’s 2026 economic-impact study, independent grocers account for approximately $353.5 billion of the $920 billion U.S. food-retailing sector and generate approximately $557.5 billion in annual economic activity.

“Independent grocers do not need another technology presentation; they need solutions that can be deployed, deliver measurable economic value and help them compete,” said Barton Howard, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Circle the Wagons. “ARIA and Alpha Cash address immediate operational and customer needs within this market. Our objective is to bring these products directly to operators and strategic partners across our network and convert that access into active commercial deployments.”

"Independent operators are in a race with national chains on a daily basis, and the competition is only getting more aggressive," said Sasha Asgary, Chief Strategy Officer of Alpha Modus and the architect of ARIA. "Circle the Wagons sits at the table with these retailers and will help us surface the real use cases and problems that need to be solved in the industry. We will continue building ARIA to adapt to what it finds rather than force cookie cutter configuration on users. The problems come to us from the floor, and ARIA will reshape around them. Our goal is for ARIA to give the independent operators access to technology and the tools they need to not only stay competitive but offer the best customer experience possible."

ARIA, the Adaptive Retail Intelligence Architecture, is Alpha Modus’s AI-powered retail platform designed to ingest and analyze data from compatible systems already operating inside a store, including point-of-sale systems, cameras, Wi-Fi and digital signage, and deliver operational and shopper events. The platform is designed to give independent operators access to enterprise-level retail intelligence while reducing the need for significant new hardware investment. ARIA commercializes capabilities protected by Alpha Modus’s portfolio of 12 granted U.S. patents.

Alpha Cash, operated through Alpha Modus Financial Services, LLC, provides mobile and kiosk-based access to financial services for consumers who may be unbanked or underbanked. Independent grocery stores frequently serve as community anchors in the markets where these consumers live and shop, creating a natural distribution channel for Alpha Cash through retailers, wholesalers, ATM operators, payroll providers, payment processors and reseller organizations.

CTW will also support retailer introductions, ARIA beta execution, customer feedback, pricing, case-study development and the formation of an Alpha Modus industry advisory board, creating a repeatable commercialization model for ARIA and Alpha Cash across retail and grocery markets.

About Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc.

Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. ("Alpha Modus" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: AMOD) is a vertical AI company focused on real-time, in-store shopper engagement and attribution. Its patented "closed-loop" retail AI framework, Sense → Decide → Deliver → Attribute, enables brands and retailers to measure the full impact of digital content, physical interactions, and transaction outcomes. Through subsidiaries like Alpha Modus Financial Services, the company is actively deploying technologies that merge artificial intelligence, retail media, and financial access across the physical retail landscape.

For more information, visit www.alphamodus.com.

About Circle the Wagons

Circle the Wagons was founded in 2018 to support the profitability and competitiveness of independent grocery retailers. Headquartered in Houma, Louisiana, CTW operates a group purchasing, consulting, supply-chain and technology-sourcing platform that reports a broad network of retail environments across the United States.

For more information, visit www.ctwgpo.com.

Sources

1. National Grocers Association, “New NGA Economic Impact Report Finds Independent Grocers Generate $557.5 Billion in Annual Economic Activity,” May 11, 2026:
   https://www.nationalgrocers.org/news/new-nga-economic-impact-report-finds-independent-grocers-generate-557-5-billion-in-annual-economic-activity/
2. Circle the Wagons, “GPO Info”:
   https://www.ctwgpo.com/gpo-info/
3. National Grocers Association, “NGA Launches Circle the Wagons Innovation Lounge at Annual Executive Conference & Public Policy Summit,” October 8, 2025:
   https://www.nationalgrocers.org/news/nga-launches-circle-the-wagons-innovation-lounge-at-annual-executive-conference-public-policy-summit/
4. The Shelby Report, “‘Co-opetition’ Encourages ROFDA Members to Share Ideas, Resources, Solutions,” February 10, 2025:
   https://theshelbyreport.com/2025/02/10/co-opetition-encourages-rofda-members-to-share-ideas-resources-solutions/

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Alpha Modus's actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates, and projections, and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying these statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, Alpha Modus's expectations with respect to future performance, including with respect to CTW, ARIA and Alpha Cash efforts, initiatives and implementation.

Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc. ("Alpha Modus") cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Alpha Modus does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Investor Relations Contact

Alpha Modus Holdings, Inc.
Email: ir@alphamodus.com
Website: www.alphamodus.com