With federal legality in the United States moving slower than expected, Canadian cannabis giant Tilray is considering shifting some of its production capacity to fruits and vegetables.
CEO Irwin Simon told investors on a January earnings call that the company is considering using its excess growing capacity to grow food as a way to generate profits as a “temporary bridge” while the company waits for demand to catch up with its cultivation abilities.
“There’s food shortages in the world of lettuce, tomatoes, strawberries,” Simon said, in response to a question about capacity. “If we have overcapacity, how do we start growing fruits and vegetables at some of these facilities and supply food to the world?”
When an analyst questioned if growing vegetables was best for the brand, Simon noted that growing branded cannabis was the top priority but said the company was “working on a plan” and reiterated that “utilization of facilities is important to us.”
“We’re not going into the branded vegetable business,” he said, but noted the company has “world class facilities” and that it’s best for Tilray for the space to be used.
“We’ve got to make sure we’re utilizing our facilities to grow something out there. Hopefully it’s cannabis, but we don’t want them to sit idle.”