Canopy Growth reveals CBD beverage plans

Constellation Brands-backed cannabis producer Canopy Growth is set to release new cannabidiol-based beverages in the US over the coming months and has filed 56 patent applications for new products in the past three months alone.

Canopy Growth believes a wave of new consumer products will boost its business in the US and Canada

Following the release of its first quarter financial results, Canopy Growth revealed that its total number of patent applications was 270. The group has already secured 111 patents.

CEO Mark Zekulin said the development of “unique, high-margin” cannabis consumer products had the “greatest potential to drive the overall size of the Canadian recreational cannabis market for Canopy Growth”.

The new products include vapes, edibles and beverages, which are being developed with ‘beverage science groups’ at Constellation Brands.

New York-based Constellation Brands has invested almost US$6 billion in Canopy Growth since 2017 and now owns 38% of the business.

Canopy Growth is developing a range of cannabidiol-based (CBD) products for the US market, and plans to launch them before the end of its 2020 fiscal year. While a number of US states have legalised recreational cannabis use, it is prohibited at a federal level. Recreational cannabis use was legalised in Canada last year.

“Fiscal 2020 is going to be another exciting time for the cannabis industry as we close in on the launch of new product formats,” said  Zekulin.

“Our recent harvests are proof that our focus on operational excellence is working, and we look forward to showing both our Canadian and US customers what we’ve been working on behind the scenes to prepare for the next wave of products coming later this year.”

Zekulin said Canopy Growth’s beverage innovations have the potential to recruit new consumers to the nascent cannabis category.

He added: “We believe that high-quality cannabis beverages that offer sophisticated taste, better bioavailability and dose control, zero or low calories and little or no drug interaction, will appeal to not only current cannabis consumers but will also expand the cannabis consumer category to reach a larger portion of the population that may have never tried cannabis before.

“In October 2019, we will be revealing more details about the multiple beverage products that we will be bringing to market later this year. Benefiting from significant collaboration with marketing, market analytics and beverage science groups at Constellation Brands, we are excited by the market segmentation, brands, packaging, taste profiles, strengths and formats of the cannabis-beverage products that we will be bringing to market.”

Mark Zekulin was appointed sole CEO of Canopy Growth in July following the “termination” of Bruce Linton as co-CEO. A search is currently underway to find a new company head.

In its first quarter of fiscal 2020, Canopy Growth reported a 249% net revenue increase to CA$90.5 million (US$68m). However, the group reported a net loss of CA$1.3bn due to the extinguishment of warrants held by Constellation Brands.