Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton: “…related cannabis products have the potential to disrupt as much as $500 billion annually in non-smokable areas and industries: alcohol, sleep aids, appetite aids, sports drinks, medicines and pet care.”
If you can read them, the signs are there.
The marijuana edibles industry, that part of the recreational marijuana that be ingested as a candy, a chocolate, a candy bar or in a mixed drink or a beer is going to be huge and may very well eclipse that old standby the smokeable flower or bud.
During the summer ResearchAndMarkets predicted that the global cannabis infused edible products market would grow at an expected CAGR of 25.01% from 2018 to 2022. The infused beverage market would include CBD based
recovery drinks and tonics as well as potent THC infused beers.
An October 11, press release announcing a new report, “The Tasty Future of Cannabis Edibles,” by BDS Analytics and Arcview Research predicted that by 2022 the edibles market would exceed US$4.1 billion, up from US$1.5 billion, for the Canadian and US market in 2018.
A June article in Forbes ran the headline “New Data Shows that Smoking Marijuana is a Dying Trend.” The data it references is the 2018 Deloitte report on the emerging Canadian marijuana market and the Forbes story says, A recent analysis from Deloitte shows that “smokable marijuana” in the northern nation will generate in upwards of $5 billion in 2019. But the edibles sector is predicted to hit somewhere between $12 and $22 billion by the time the market is in full swing.”
According to the BDS and Arcview report the THC infused candy and chocolate market segment took the lion’s share of the US market at 60%. The press release quotes Troy Dayton the CEO of ArcView Market Research: “Established big brand food and beverage companies are beginning to take notice of the cannabis edibles market and this is likely just the tip of the iceberg.”
If anyone doubts that edibles and beverages are the next big thing they should remember Constellation Brands $4 billion investment in Canopy Growth. Of course if that doesn’t convince you then there is also the partnering dance between Coca-Cola and Aurora that somehow didn’t get off the ground. Just how big the market is going to be is still up for grabs.
In a video on TheStreet.com, Canopy Growth CEO Bruce Linton claimed that related cannabis products have the potential to disrupt as much as $500 billion annually in non-smokable areas and industries: alcohol sleep aids appetite aids sports drinks and medicines and pet care.
If you think the $500 billion figure was a bit too high Constellation Brands COO Bill Newlands predicted that the legal cannabis product market would hit $200 billion plus. “Our View is that in the next ten plus years, this is going to be a $200 billion business worldwide. And some would argue that’s understating the case.”
It’s not difficult to see why the edibles market segment is going to take off.
Smoking is, after all, bad for you. The more difficult question to answer maybe how to profit from what will be a long term market build out and development, one that, ResearchAndMarkets.com has predicted will grow at an astonishing rate of 25.91% CAGR for the years 2018-2022. At the moment almost every major Canadian marijuana company has either a beverage in development or edibles underway in a test kitchen. Edibles and beverages are made from oils and compounds removed from the plants by volatile or non-volatile extraction methods. One way of investing in this developing market lies in investing in those companies that are extracting THC and CBDs from marijuana and then selling it business to business for use in either medical marijuana or as food grade marijuana.
North Bud Farms (CSE: NBUD) is building out its 95 acre site in Low Quebec where it is in within 10 km of a major hydro power plant. Construction is scheduled to be finished Q1 2019 and at the moment is on time and within budget.
The company is also in the process of applying of for a production license under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulation (ACMPR). North Bud has cleverly tagged itself as Marijuana 2.0, in reference to the second wave of legal marijuana slated for October 2019, when the edibles and infused beverage market will be open for business. The company’s strategy is to supply two underserved markets by producing and selling certified pharmaceutical grade cannabis and GMP standard raw cannabis for the food and beverage industry. The company also intends to develop and market new products.
To that end it has recently signed a number of agreements that will help turn its words into action. On September 27, 2018 the company announced that it had signed an agreement with American firm Made By Science to license its cannabinoid infusion technology for food and beverage platform.
On October 17, 2018 North Bud announced that it had created a distribution company, “1017,” so named to commemorate the date of marijuana legalization Canada, and signed a letter of intent to acquire Janey’s, one of the six licensed marijuana accessory distributers in Ontario. Janey’s is also engaged in marijuana product development. North Bud intends to develop multiple products over a variety of product segments under the 1017 brand.
As of November 15, 2018 North Bud Farms, (CSE: NBUD) was trading at $0.25.
Given the predicted explosion in the marijuana consumables and edibles market laying a bet or two on companies in that field makes sense and one such company that bears keeping an eye on is Arev Brands International (CSE: AREV), formally Arev Nutrition Sciences. Arev originally saw life as a developer and marketer of coconut oil based health products. It is focussed on two distinct market sectors, consumer products and manufacturing as an ingredients supplier. Along the way the company also developed a unique extraction technology and this is where they fit into the consumables market segment.
In a press release on Bloomberg the company announced that it had reached a major milestone in extraction development with its partner Alternative Extracts Inc. Using its proprietary extraction system Arev has developed a
system that preserves flavour and aroma and which in the case of beverages may lengthen shelf life. It intends to manufacture finished oil products with proprietary strains bred to specifically address key health issues: anxiety, pain management, central nervous system disorders, insomnia and libido.
Arev also has an exclusive distribution agreement with the award winning full line of BARE Topical products.
In September 2018 the company completed its acquisition of BC Bud Depot. BCBD has one of the world’s largest cannabis seed banks. Over the last 14 years BCBD has won over 40 awards and was the first Canadian company to win an international award with “BC God Bud,” now Canada’s most award winning strain of all time.
On November 15, 2018 AREV was trading at $0.365.
This blog should not be construed as investment advice. Every investor is obligated to perform his or her own due diligence. In the interests of transparency Arev and North Bud Farms are both Momentum Public Relations clients.