Cannabis Professional’s daily roundup of industry news. View archive here.
Canopy delays launch of infused beverages
Canopy Growth Corp. has pushed back the release date for its much-vaunted infused beverages, saying that its “scaling process is not complete.”
In December, the company said its first beverage products would be on the shelves in January 2020, with additional products to follow in early February. On Friday, Canopy withdrew that guidance and gave no new timeline. It said it would have an update on the roll-out when it releases its third quarter financial results in mid-February.
"Canopy has had seven weeks to work with THC in the brand new beverage facility to scale processes and IP it has developed in the R&D environment," said Canopy CEO David Klein in a statement. "In order to deliver products that meet our customer's high standards we are electing to revise the launch date while we work through the final details."
The company said it does not believe the delay will have a material impact on its 2020 fiscal year revenue.
– Mark Rendell
OCS sells out of edibles on first day of online sales
The Ontario Cannabis Store sold out of edibles by 3 PM on Thursday, the first day that Cannabis 2.0 products were available online at OCS.ca. Twenty-one SKUs were available: 10 confectionary products, one baked goods product, eight chocolates and two tea products.
“In total 76 per cent of the SKUs were out of stock within the first hour (10 AM), with 100 per cent stockouts during our second check at 3 p.m. However, consistent with our past reporting, we admittedly do not know the inventory levels behind the SKUs,” wrote Cowen Inc. analyst Vivien Azer in a research note.
“Demand appeared to be the strongest in confectionary (hard edibles and soft chews) as 90 per cent of the subcategory was sold out within the first hour. Within chocolates (milk and dark), six out of the eight SKUs were sold out within the first hour, with WEED’s Tokyo Smoke products selling out by the end of the day,” she wrote.
– Mark Rendell
Zenabis misses production targets
Zenabis Global Inc.’s cannabis harvest in November came in 14 per cent short of the company’s target, Zenabis said Thursday in an operational update.
Most of the company’s production comes from its facility in Atholville, NB., where 2,810 kilograms of cannabis were harvested in November, 4.4 per cent below the target. Month-over-month production in the facility also declined 21 per cent from October to November.
The bigger production miss was at the company’s facility in Langley, B.C. where the facility’s first harvest yielded 343 kilograms, just 20 per cent of what the facility is designed to produce.
“Zenabis has identified a variety of ramp-up challenges, which have generally been addressed, with the exception of lighting. Zenabis is in the process of installing additional lighting improvements, in order to improve yield in the fall and winter seasons,” the company said.
Despite the production miss, the company said the quality of the cannabis “was high based on the cannabinoid yield of the cultivars harvested.”
Zenabis also revealed that it may not proceed with the buildout of a testing lab in Delta, B.C.
“As the Company continues to focus on becoming cash flow positive, the further conversion of Zenabis Delta is under review to assess whether its analytical and laboratory services are justified by market demand. Zenabis is also considering other plans for the Delta facility if it determines market demand is insufficient,” it said.
- Mark Rendell
WeedMD signs up fifth LiUNA chapter
WeedMD Inc.’s newly acquired subsidiary Starseed Medicinal Inc. has signed up a fifth chapter of Labourers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA) to its medical marijuana program.
The agreement with LiUNA Local 1059, headquartered in London, Ont., “provides approximately 4,000 members and their dependents with medical cannabis as a reimbursed benefit with no co-pay or out-of-pocket costs,” the company said on Thursday.
WeedMD, through Starseed, has similar agreements with LiUNA chapters in Toronto, Hamilton-Niagara and Windsor. The company acquired Starseed in November for roughly $78-million. As part of the deal, LiUNA’s pension fund, which was the main backer of Starseed, invested $25-million into WeedMD.
- Mark Rendell