- Company fulfilled purchase orders from British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario in-full and on-time for October 17 adult-use market opening and is preparing re-stocking shipments following sell-outs
- Flowr launched new Ace Valley brand in partnership with the team behind the highly successful Ace Hill Beer
- Company broke ground on a first-of-its-kind, 50,000 square foot R&D facility funded by its exclusive R&D partner, the Hawthorne Gardening Division of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company. Facility is expected to open in the summer of 2019 alongside Flowr’s cultivation complex in Kelowna, BC
October has been a busy month for Canadian cannabis companies, perhaps none more so than premium cannabis company The Flowr Corporation (TSX.V: FLWR). The Company, which began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in late September, bucked industry trends by completely filling its purchase orders from three provinces before adult use legalization, launched a new cannabis brand in partnership with the team from Ace Hill Beer, broke ground on its first-of-its-kind R&D facility, and kicked off its medical sales program.
Throughout early October, Flowr announced it was fulfilling orders for its premium cannabis products from provincial authorities in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario on-time and in-full in anticipation of the October 17 opening of recreational use markets. By reaching and fulfilling supply agreements with these provinces, Flowr products became available to more than half of Canada’s population.
Since October 17, several provincial authorities have reported that they have been unable to meet customer demand, in part because some suppliers were unable to deliver the volume of products for which they had accepted orders. Flowr not only met its initial supply commitments but anticipates additional shipments in the coming weeks to complete pre-existing or supplemental orders. These shipments will make Flowr’s premium cannabis available again to consumers. Many varieties of Flowr’s products sold out in provincial stores even though it is priced in line with its premium quality.
Flowr also announced in early October that it had formed a partnership with the team behind Ace Hill Beer to create a new cannabis brand, Ace Valley. Ace Hill has grown from a start-up into one of Ontario’s most popular beer brands in just a few years by marketing authentic, easy to understand, craft products. Ace Valley, Flowr executives said, marries Flowr’s high quality cannabis with Ace Hill’s marketing expertise, particularly with millennial consumers.
Ace Valley launched with two strains of cannabis and focuses on packaging in pre-rolled joints for ease and portability. The Ontario Cannabis Store website showed the Ace Valley pre-roll products sold out within the first day of sales.
“Our team is working incredibly hard to ensure we are delivering a great experience to consumers, our provincial partners and our investors,” said Vinay Tolia, Flowr’s CEO. “We’ve said all along that our cultivation team is our competitive advantage and its proving out in multiple ways – in our ability to fully understand and deliver on our capacity and in our ability to grow premium cannabis that there is real demand for along with a willingness to pay premium prices for it.”
Flowr also broke ground on its highly anticipated research and development facility in mid-October. The facility is North America’s first R&D facility dedicated to advancing cannabis cultivation techniques and systems.
The company was selected by the Hawthorne Gardening Division of the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) as its exclusive Canadian cannabis R&D partner (http://ibn.fm/vB4u7). Scotts is funding the 50,000 sq. ft. facility. Hawthorne selected Flowr for this alliance based on the technical expertise of Flowr’s design, build and cultivation team under the direction of Flowr Co-Founder Tom Flow. Flow is widely recognized for his cannabis thought leadership and expertise building and operating cannabis cultivation facilities. He also co-founded MedReleaf which recently was acquired by Aurora (TSX: ACB) for C$3.2 billion.
At the groundbreaking, Flowr Chairman & Chief Strategist Steve Klein said, “Flowr’s partnership with Hawthorne is more than just an acknowledgment of the talents and track record of Tom Flow and our cultivation team. We strongly believe it will also help us sustain our competitive advantage in cultivation and remain at the forefront of industry innovation.”
The alliance makes Flowr one of only three Canadian cannabis companies with a business partnership with a publicly traded U.S. company along with Canopy (TSX: WEED) – Constellation (NYSE: STZ) and Hexo (TSX: HEXO) – Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP).
Just a day after going public, the company announced that it was beginning direct sales of its FlowrRx medical cannabis brand (http://ibn.fm/6PASI). Under the sales license it obtained from Health Canada in August, the company is allowed to sell to both the medical and the adult-use recreational market in Canada.
Initially available to a limited number of customers who will have access to a wide range of cannabis strains, FlowrRx will be sold through the company’s website but also be distributed in multiple medical clinics via distribution partnerships. Products in the line are grown in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia using Flowr’s proprietary cultivation systems and strict pharmaceutical quality production standards.
“FlowrRx’s premium cannabis is grown to provide our clients with the medicinal benefits they seek and, most importantly for their care, a consistent experience,” said Flowr Chief Policy and Medical Officer, Dr. Lyle Oberg.
Committed to offering all clients easy access to the products they want and need, the company has focused on developing a medical sales program centered on the patient, that delivers premium quality products, convenient access and extensive support. This includes multiple strains of FlowrRx brand flower featuring the company’s award-winning Delahaze cultivar, known for its powerful and invigorating effects. Flowr also offers a convenient and discreet online medical documentation process complete with an online consultation with a healthcare professional for clients obtaining medical documents for the first time, and personalized support from the company’s team of client care nurses.
Founded by MedReleaf co-founder Tom Flow and a team of industry pioneers, successful start-up executives and top industry scientists, The Flowr Corporation is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, and has production facilities in Kelowna, BC. It is constructing a flagship 85,000 square foot cultivation facility using proprietary growing systems and designs and engineered meet pharmaceutical quality production standards. It is currently operational at approximately 20 percent, with the remaining 80 percent scheduled to come online early in 2019. The facility is expected to produce more than 12,000 kilograms of premium cannabis flower per year once it becomes fully operational.
Flowr’s goal is to be the leading supplier of premium, non-irradiated cannabis to the Canadian medicinal and recreational-use markets. Klein said, “We think there is going to be a shortage of high-quality flower in Canada in both the medicinal and recreational markets. We’re focusing on meeting the demand there initially.”
In interviews (link to piece about Midas Letter Vinay Tolia interview), executives have said Flowr intends to pursue other growth opportunities including potentially expanding the Ace Valley brand to include beverages, export opportunities, genetics, plant and seed sales opportunities, as well as branching into providing other form factors of cannabis products such as edibles and vape products when they become legal in Canada.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Flowr.ca
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