A Latin American licensed producer of medicinal cannabis and cannabis-derived products,
Blueberries Medical Corp. (CSE: BBM, OTC: BBRRF, FRA: 1OA,
Forum) operates mainly out of the Bogotá Savannah of central Colombia.
Led by a specialized team with deep experience in agriculture, genetics, extraction, medicine, pharmacology and marketing, this Company is fully licensed for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and international export of Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)-based medicinal cannabis in Colombia.
It is through this combination of leading scientific expertise, with
agricultural advantages on top of distribution arrangements that has positioned the Blueberries Medical to become a leading international supplier of naturally grown, processed, and standardized medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts and related products.
Operating at its 2,800 m
2 (30,138 sq. ft.) state-of-the-art extraction facility located in a modern and highly secure industrial
park 30 minutes outside of Bogotá, BBM has the capacity to become one of the largest extraction centres in Latin America. The Company also has two cannabis cultivation farms that take full advantage of the excellent growing conditions in Colombia.
This is a unique player in the cannabis game to keep watch of. BBM has the distinction of being the first Company to have a machine with new stainless-steel extraction vessels that is fully compliant under European Union - Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP).
A very undervalued stock, Blueberries is advancing its business and has just entered into multiple sales agreements to distribute its proprietary genetics to licensed producers. The business model here is very flexible, offering products and white labelling.
Already in the business of sales, let’s take a further look at why Blueberries Medical offers such a value-add to an investor’s portfolio.
Facility:
The heart of Blueberries’ operation is its GMP compliant cannabis processing and extraction facility. It is designed to process biomass from the Company, its partners and contract growers. This facility utilizes supercritical CO
2 extraction technology to produce its cannabis oil and has been designed with the flexibility to also employ ethanol extraction technologies to match market demand.
The extraction and processing side of Blueberries’ business is focused on refining cannabis, hemp, THC / CBD oil extracts and isolates.
The current 30,000 square foot facility has an initial extraction capacity of 70,000 kilograms a year of dried flower with the ability to accommodate significant future expansion with additional extraction lines. The Blueberries team is heavily focused on establishing a best-in-class extraction operation with the goal of becoming a leading extraction center in Latin America and an international supplier of medicinal-grade cannabis oil extracts, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and related products.
The Company’s facility is designed to comply with EU-GMP standards to ensure standardization and consistency of production. Blueberries is currently implementing full EU-GMP standards at its extraction facility and expects to commence the certification process shortly which would permit additional export potential to international markets.
Cultivation:
In addition to extraction, Blueberries Medical operates two farms nearby that offer immense scale and could potentially generate $119 million (USD) per year. BBM has developed a cultivation model that will be scaled by including third party contract growers to increase the production available without the need for additional future capital investment, representing significant upside for shareholders.
Located near Blueberries’ facility in the Bogotá Savannah, the major production centre of cut flowers in Colombia, is one of its farms, the operational Guatavita Farm,. Strategically located in one of the safest regions of the country, this nursery, propagation, and production facility is in an area that has scalable cultivation infrastructure. This is a significant joint of its operations, though the Company is also working to increase its production capacity and building out new facilities as well.
Blueberries’ other farm, the licensed Zipaquira Farm sits on a much larger land package than Guatavita at 15 hectares. There is a vast well of potential within this farm for Blueberries Medical, depending on how far the Company wants to expand its land package to take advantage of this outdoor growing space.
Situated just 60 kilometres from Bogotá International Airport and surrounded by potential contract growers within the highest concentration of cannabis supply in Colombia, these farms have access to water resources for irrigation to cultivate their natural cannabis resource. The combined capacity under Blueberries Medical, plus the network of contracted producers and other groups, roughly 220,000 kilograms of cannabis can be cultivated a year.
(Image via Blueberries Medical Corp.)
Leveraging technology and strict quality protocols in its genetics cultivation operations, BBM separates the clones from the mother plant, utilizing optimal techniques to ensure the starter plants are female and clones that produce high-yielding crops.
The Colombian Cundinamarca region where Blueberries operates is an ideal location for producers of all sizes. 70% of Colombia’s cut flower production comes from this region. With the highest amount of large licensed producers, it has great potential to supply high quality flower to the global marketplace. Part of this is because of the exceptional growing conditions in Colombia.
- 12 hours of sunlight year-round
- 21 degrees Celsius average temperature
- Humidity below 45% for ideal greenhouse cultivation
Extraction:
Blueberries Medical has installed a first-of-its kind extraction line equipment in Colombia – Vitalis. This stainless-steel compressor and extraction vessel is built to stringent EU-GMP standards, just as the entire facility is designed to comply with EU-GMP standards to ensure standardization and consistency of production. These standards are currently being implemented and the Company expects to commence the certification process shortly, which would permit additional export potential to international markets.
EU-GMP compliance is a major catalyst for this Company, it will help it differentiate it from others.
Commercial sales:
The Company officially
commenced sales of its proprietary cultivars approved by the Colombian Institute of Agriculture (ICA) and entered into multiple sales agreements to distribute its proprietary genetics to licensed producers located in the region.
Blueberries’ agronomic team optimized the Colombian growth climate to develop and test its proprietary cultivars and will leverage its relationship with contact growers to produce registered non-psychoactive cannabidiol strains approved by the ICA. As compensation for this service, Blueberries retains a portion of extracted product for resale.
Of key interest to investors – arrangements such as this provide Blueberries Medical with premium extracts without the associated cultivation capital expenditures and related risks.
On top of Blueberries’ own flower production, multiple agreements with local contract and associate growers such as this allow the Company to secure sufficient cannabis supply to utilize a significant portion of the extraction facility’s current capacity, while scaling production capacity to maximize the use of the Company’s extraction capabilities.
Medcann partnership:
In early June 2020, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary Blueberries SAS entered into a
collaboration agreement with
Medicamentos de Cannabis SAS (medcann), to develop, and produce commercial THC dominant cannabis extracts for the international market. Under this research and development project, Blueberries Medical will utilize its extraction capabilities to process the flower cultivated by medcann, as both businesses work together to advance manufacturing and commercialization. The commercial THC quotas will be assigned to Blueberries Medical.
The Company commissioned its first extraction line in Q1, 2020 at its facility. The first extraction line is fully operational, while the newly commissioned equipment has sufficient capacity to process biomass from Blueberries’ own cultivation operations, its contract growers, as well as other associated licensed producers, including medcann.
Medcann, a Canadian company that aspires to be a global supplier and producer of 100% organic cannabis extracts, became the first company to obtain the registration of psychoactive varieties of cannabis in Colombia in 2018.
Production of THC medicinal extracts is planned to begin in Q4, 2020.
Meet the team:
Blueberries Medical is led by a team combining a background in agriculture, genetics, extraction, medicine, pharmacology, business building, and marketing with a history of working with many household names like
Procter & Gamble.
Also beneficial is the strong local operating experience, which has fostered deep global strategic relations. This opens the door to opportunities to scale through owned and contracted capacities.
(Images via Blueberries Medical Corp.)
COVID-19 response:
The spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic can’t be understated, but in a recent
news release, the Company laid out its plan to minimize disruption of its supply chain and keep business moving.
- Instituted remote working practices for staff, where possible
- Implemented rigorous screenings processes at all operational locations
- Maximized physical distancing at operational facilities
- Mandated two-week self-isolation for any employee or contractor showing
potential symptoms
- Restricted and tracked all employee travel
Investment summary:
(Image via Blueberries Medical Corp.)
Blueberries Medical Corp. boasts significant growth catalysts and the combination of its facility, farms, location and leadership experience would prove to each be a substantial driver on their own for the Company, but when combined, create a distinct and prosperous opportunity for investors in the global cannabis marketplace.
A leading cannabis operation, located in a distinct region that supports its business backed by an experienced team that unites the cannabis, pharmaceutical, medical, and business segments into one tightly-run Company with an enticing share structure that would be a standout for any investors’ portfolio. Blueberries Medical is one to watch and engage into deeper due diligence into what makes this business so undervalued.
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.