NedStark wrote: If you have been following both of these companies over the past few years then you might have come across, or heard about, the speculation surrounding a potential partnership between the two of them. There have been all sorts of claims or reasons for this speculation, with some being more of a stretch than others, so I just wanted to chime in and give my simple explanation about why I think Canopy will announce a co-packing partnership with Tinley.
To start, I think that we can all agree that Canopy’s CEO, Bruce Linton, is an absolute stud when it comes to wheeling and dealing in this fast-moving sector. He is a pioneer and trailblazer in his vision and thinking when it comes to the cannabis sector, and he has spearheaded his company into becoming the king atop the global green mountain. He is currently sitting on the throne and a lot of his success up until this point has to do with being first. First to market as a publicly traded cannabis company, first to do a deal with a major alcohol company, and first to acquire a US MSO. He loves and prides himself on being first.
Secondly, Bruce has been talking about and working on cannabis-infused beverages since 2016, well before Constellation Brands even came into the picture. It has been on his radar for many years and he has always been a very forward-thinker when it comes to where this market is headed in the future. And this is exactly where, and when, Tinley comes into the picture…
One of the very first times that Bruce publicly mentioned that his company was already working on cannabis-infused beverages was back in September of 2016. And a month after making that announcement, Tweed hosted a birthday party for Snoop Dogg at Union Nightclub in Toronto on Thursday, October 27th. One of the guests that was there in attendance was Jeff Maser, the CEO of Tinley (some of you may have seen a picture of Jeff and Snoop in front of a Tweed backdrop that was circulating around at this point in time - posted below). This obviously wasn’t a coincidence. Now, for anybody that isn’t familiar with Tinley, they have been working on hemp and cannabis-infused beverages since Q4 2015 (and actually, Jeff had been working on them well before that time with another guy named Jeff Pencer whose grandfather or great grandfather turned Cott Beverages into the 3rd largest global soda company behind Coke and Pepsi – the seed money for Tinley came from the Pencer family).
Why is all of this relevant? Because it means that Bruce and Jeff have known each other since 2016. Even if there is no concrete proof that they were in business development discussions back then (which would really be hard to believe – especially when 3 weeks before this party, Tinley announced in a press release that they were now in discussions with Canadian Licensed Producers), we know for a fact that, at the very least, they met and were acquainted. Some of you may be thinking, “so what? Maybe Jeff was just lending a hand and providing his beverage expertise to Bruce”…and I wouldn’t necessarily argue against that. But what I do know is that a relationship was established, and relationships drive business.
Now, fast-forward back to today and put yourself in Bruce’s shoes for a second. Beverages have been the buzz for a while now and Tinley recently completed its Phase 2 bottling facility in California, with the permanent phase 3 facility scheduled to be completed within the next two months. This will be the FIRST and ONLY highly mechanized professional food grade manufacturing and distribution facility for technologically advanced cannabis beverages in the state of California, which is both the largest cannabis market and beverage market in the entire world. Tinley is already shipping it’s own drinks and have recently announced that they will be able to accommodate co-packing partners in the coming weeks.
If you are Bruce, whose number one goal is to be the first and best at everything related to the cannabis sector, are you going to sit back while Tinley and their other co-packing partners start flooding the California market with cannabis drinks, securing first-mover advantage in the most lucrative market in the world?
The answer is HELL NO! If I am Bruce, there is no way that I am going to let these other companies be the very first to spread their drinks and brand names throughout the state. I have been working on cannabis beverages since 2016 and up until now have had no way to commercially mass produce and sell the technologically advanced drinks that I have been developing. Why would I sit back and not be first to market for a product that I believe is the future of cannabis consumption…especially since I already have a working relationship with Jeff. I want to get Canopy’s name out there and establish it as the number one beverage brand in California, and eventually the world. And the best part is that my hands aren’t tied anymore from a regulations perspective because I can license the Canopy name to Acreage who can then turn around and secure a co-packing deal with Tinley.
There any many more pieces of information that other investors will point to in their speculation, however, it is because of these simple and logical reasons that I believe Canopy will announce a co-packing partnership with Tinley in the coming weeks or months. And when this happens I think that the larger investment community will either hear about Tinley for the very first time or finally begin to take them seriously. Either way, it will be very rewarding for all shareholders.