VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis e-commerce platforms, both medical and recreational,
are becoming increasingly important as Canada's legal marijuana market matures.
However, given that only two of Canada's ten provinces—Manitoba and Saskatchewan—currently allow private marijuana retailers to
sell cannabis online, online medical marijuana stores have continued to reign supreme in Canada's online cannabis market.
To get a better understanding of how Canada's online marijuana market is developing, we take a closer look at some of Canada’s
most promising medical and recreational cannabis e-commerce platforms.
Westleaf
Westleaf Inc. (TSX-V: WL) (OTCQB: WSLFF), a vertically integrated Canadian cannabis company focused on
innovative retail experiences as well as cultivation, production and extraction of cannabis products, and set to become one of
Canada’s largest premium cannabis retailers, recently launched its Prairie Records cannabis e-commerce platform for online sales
Saskatchewan.
Via Westleaf,
“The launch of online retail is an important next step in rolling out the Prairie Records brand
across Saskatchewan and the rest of Western Canada over the coming months,”
said Scott Hurd, President and CEO of Westleaf.
“The province of Saskatchewan has proven to be a positive regulatory environment to
launch our retail operations and we are pleased it is the first jurisdiction with a Prairie Records online
presence.”
Prairie Records is Westleaf’s unique cannabis retail concept, which seeks to redefine the cannabis purchasing experience
through tactile in-store features and product offerings that celebrate the relationship between music and cannabis.
Momentum behind Westleaf's Prairie Records retail expansion certainly seems to be building—the Company recently announced that two new Prairie Records stores are set to open by April 20, 2019 in
Saskatoon.
Via Westleaf,
"Saskatoon and all of Saskatchewan, is proving to be one of the
strongest cannabis retail markets in Canada as the sector continues to evolve and mature,"
says Scott Hurd, President and CEO of Westleaf.
"We have the opportunity to deal directly with licensed producers in stocking our
shelves, we are able to sell online across the province through our e-commerce
platform, and the ratio of stores to market size make Saskatoon an ideal
location to operate cannabis retail."
With additional stores planned for British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and potentially Ontario, Westleaf is currently
aiming to rollout up to 50 Prairie Records stores across Canada.
Fire & Flower
Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX-V: FAF), an independent licensed cannabis retailer, announced last month that it had launched its e-commerce platform to sell adult-use recreational
cannabis to customers in the province of Saskatchewan and accessory products to customers across Canada.
Via Fire & Flower,
"The e-commerce platform was developed by Fire & Flower’s digital product studio, HiFyre
Inc., that was acquired by Fire & Flower in July of 2018. HiFyre Inc. has significant
cannabis experience working in the legal cannabis industry for the past six years with clients
including Mettrum Health Corp., Starseed Medicinal Inc. and Canopy Growth
Corporation."
In tandem with its foray into online recreational cannabis sales, Fire & Flower recently announced the opening of its first Fire & Flower branded store in Ontario. Fire &
Flower's Ontario location marks the company's tenth licensed cannabis retail store in Canada.
Canopy Growth
Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC), the world’s largest cannabis company, serves 83,000+ medical marijuana patients across Canada through its Spectrum Cannabis e-commerce
platform. Canopy Growth also appears to have plans for a Tweed online store, which may foreshadow the company's entry into the online recreational
cannabis market.
In recent news, Canopy Growth continues to bolster its product offerings—online and otherwise—through a partnership with
Houseplant, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s new cannabis brand.
Via Canopy Growth,
“Under the terms of the partnership, Houseplant will lean on the production and distribution capabilities of
Canopy Growth and its licensed subsidiaries to ensure an ample supply of Houseplant flower, Softgel, and pre-rolled formats are
rolled out in Canada over the coming months."
Aphria
Aphria Inc. (TSX: APHA) (NYSE: APHA), a leading global cannabis company driven by an unrelenting commitment to
people, product quality and innovation, has one of the most established medical cannabis e-commerce platforms in Canada.
According to the company’s corporate presentation dated Q1 2019, Aphria has sold over 8,700 kg of
marijuana since 2014 through its online medical cannabis platform. Moreover, Aphria boasts an award-winning patient care team and
diverse online product portfolio, including 30+ dried flower products and 7 activated cannabis oil products.
In order to ensure that it can keep up with the growing demand of Canada's medical and recreational cannabis consumers, Aphria
continues to expand its production capabilities. The company recently announced that "Health Canada had granted the Company its license amendment, permitting Aphria to commence
production in an additional 800,000 square feet of facilities at its Aphria One location.
Via Aphria,
“This is a major milestone for Aphria on its path to becoming a leading global cannabis producer, as well as a
positive development greatly anticipated by the Canadian cannabis industry,” said Irwin D. Simon, Interim
CEO of Aphria.
“Aphria’s progress expanding production and automation is essential to our strategy of securing scale and
long-term advantages that enable the evolution of the cannabis industry through product and brand innovation. With Aphria One,
we now have the ability to expand our production capacity by over three times.”
VIVO Cannabis
Last month, VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX-V: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF), a licensed cannabis
producer offering premium medical and adult-use products and services, announced that it was launching an online medical cannabis store through its wholly-owned
subsidiary, Canna Farms Limited.
Via VIVO Cannabis,
"Canna Farms' integrated online store will cater to discerning medical cannabis consumers,"
said Daniel Laflamme, President of Canna Farms.
"In addition to offering award-winning Canna Farms and Beacon Medical brands, the site will serve as a
marketplace for products from other licensed producers who share VIVO's commitment to delivering premium products and services
focused on health and wellness."
In addition to the launch of Canna Farms’ online medical cannabis store, VIVO also announced that Canna Farms had received
approval from Health Canada to double its cultivation capacity in British Columbia and Ontario. Considering that Canna Farms' e-commerce site carries "more than 40 different cannabis strains and 100 different SKUs," this increased production
capacity will likely come in handy as Canna Farms' online product offerings continue to increase.
Canadian Cannabis E-Commerce Stifled By Provincial Regulations
With a number of Canada’s provinces restricting private cannabis retailers from selling marijuana online, online recreational
cannabis sales currently have limited potential in Canada. These strict regulations, when combined with the small addressable
markets of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, reinforce the necessity of a strong cannabis retail brand.
Still, the market for online recreational cannabis sales in Canada could become vital—much like the online medical cannabis
market today—should other Canadian provinces embrace recreational cannabis e-commerce.
The original post can be found here: https://mugglehead.com/canadian-cannabis-ecommerce-platforms/
Disclosure: Directors of Mugglehead own shares of Westleaf Inc. and other marijuana stocks not mentioned in this release and
we have been compensated by Westleaf for news coverage.
About Mugglehead
Mugglehead.com is a digital publisher dedicated to cannabis news, investments, culture, and science, owned by Mugglehead Media
Corp. We publish original content, including video, interviews and articles. Because many of the companies and trends we cover are
related to investments and stocks within the cannabis industry, please review our disclaimer and forward-looking statements
below.
Original content created by Mugglehead Media Corp. © 2019 is protected by copyright laws.
For interviews, advertising opportunities, and coverage requests - including brand and product reviews - contact us at: muggle
(at) mugglehead.com
We have lots in store for 2019 so be sure to check us out!
Visit us at https://mugglehead.com daily for all things cannabis-related.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muggleheadmedia
Twitter: https://twitter.com/muggleheadmedia
Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements
Mugglehead Media Corp. and Mugglehead.com (collectively, Mugglehead) is a news and media publisher dedicated to cannabis. It is
not registered as an investment adviser, broker-dealer or other financial or securities professional with any financial or
securities regulatory authority. You understand that no content published by Mugglehead constitutes a recommendation that any
particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Mugglehead
does not render general or specific investment advice and does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or
securities of any industry or company mentioned on this Site.
It is not intended to provide tax, legal, insurance or investment advice, and nothing on in this release should be construed as
an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. None of the content we
publish is provided with a view to inviting, inducing or encouraging any person to make any kind of investment decision. You are
solely responsible for determining whether any investment, security or strategy, or any other product or service, is appropriate or
suitable for you based on your investment objectives and personal and financial situation. You should consult an attorney or tax
professional regarding your specific legal or tax situation. You should also consult a licensed professional, such as a financial
advisor or broker-dealer, when dealing in any securities or making any investment decisions. We do not guarantee that any of the
companies mentioned on Mugglehead.com or any of our newsletters or content will perform as we expect, and any comparisons we have
made to other companies may not be valid or come into effect.
This news release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or commodities. To the extent that
anything in this press release may be deemed to be investment advice or a recommendation in connection with a particular company or
security, such information is impersonal and is not tailored to the needs of any specific person.
You understand that an investment in any security is subject to a number of risks, and that discussions of any security
published on the Site will not contain a list or description of relevant risk factors. In addition, some of the securities about
which content is published by us have a low market capitalization, insufficient public float and/or are thinly traded. Such
securities are subject to more risk than securities of larger companies, including greater volatility, lower liquidity and less
publicly available information. Content we publish may have an effect on the price of such securities.
From time to time, Mugglehead (on behalf of itself and any partner, director, officer or insider of Mugglehead) may have a
financial or other interest in the party or parties featured in this release, within the meaning of National Instrument 31-103 -
Registration Requirements, Exemptions, and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, published by the Canadian Securities Administrators, as
a result of ownership of securities in, compensation received or receivable from or other financial arrangement with such party or
parties featured in this press release. We will disclose if we have a position in any such party or parties, as at the date of
publication of this press release; however, we may not update this disclosure after such date. We have been compensated CAD$10,500
per month for 12 months (total $126,000) by Westleaf Inc. for news coverage and our directors own shares of Westleaf Inc.
In addition to historical information, this press release may contain forward-looking statements, including statements with
respect to third parties regarding product plans, future growth, market opportunities, strategic initiatives, industry positioning,
customer acquisition, the amount of recurring revenue and revenue growth. In addition, when used on the Site, the words ''will,''
''expects,'' ''could,'' ''would,'' ''may,'' ''anticipates,'' ''intends,'' ''plans,'' ''believes,'' ''seeks,'' ''targets,''
''estimates,'' ''looks for,'' ''looks to,'' ''continues'' and similar expressions, as well as statements regarding a third party's
focus for the future, are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Each of the forward-looking statements we make
in this press release involves risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from these
forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those
disclosed by the companies featured in this release in their public securities filings. You should carefully review the risks
described therein. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such
statement was published. Mugglehead undertakes no obligation to publicly release any updates or revisions to the forward-looking
statements or reflect events or circumstances after the date of their publication, except as required by law.
From time to time, reference may be made in this press release to prior articles or opinions we have published. These references
may be selective, may reference only a portion of an article or opinion, and are likely not to be current. As market information
changes continuously, previously published information and data, and any references thereto, may not be current and should not be
relied upon.
If you ever have any questions or concerns about our business or publications, we encourage you to contact us.
For interviews, advertising opportunities, and coverage requests - including brand and product reviews - contact us at: muggle (at) mugglehead.com
