BevCanna Enterprises (BEV.C) exercised its option today to acquire the right, title and interest to water-soluble cannabinoid powder DeeperGreen, developed originally by their partner, Greener Frontiers.
DeeperGreen finished independent lab testing in August with enough distinction that the company is confident that it would pass California’s cannabis compliance regulations, allowing for both water-soluble infusion manufacturing and consumer confidence in regards to dosing. If that’s true, it’s big news for Bevcanna, because while California isn’t exactly a competition-free market in terms of water soluble cannabis, they will be primed to enter into a market with few competitors if they intend on selling in their home Canadian market.
“DeeperGreen technology expands BevCanna’s ability to produce a portfolio of cannabis infused beverage formats. The addition of a water-soluble powder allows us to offer consumers more variety in methods of consumption, which can now pair with various consumption occasions. Powdered drink mixes complement our existing expertise in ready-to-drink products and allow us to expand the innovation pipeline for our house brands, and with white label partners through contract manufacturing,” said Emma Andrews, chief commercialization officer at BevCanna.
Deeper Green is a tasteless, odourless, water-soluble powdered ingredient and has been proven to be a stable ingredient that when tested with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Think more Crystal Light sleeves, but the kind you’re going to want to keep under lock and key lest your kids mistake the two. They consistently deliver target concentrations within one batch (plus or minus 0.3 per cent) and from batch to batch (plus or minus 0.6 per cent). Independent laboratory testing has also confirmed that Deeper Green precisely infuses granular drink mixes (plus or minus 0.4 per cent) and ready-to-drink water beverages (plus or minus 0.3 per cent).
The powder technology allows for a full range of cannabinoid inputs, including both THC and CBD, full-spectrum extracts and hemp-based CBD.
Canada and California
Right now this company isn’t selling any products. They don’t have licenses to deliver, export or otherwise distribute their beverages to any of the major cannabis markets. They’re in the review and security clearance stage of the licensing process to deal in Canada, and they’re getting ready for Cannabis 2.0 here. They’ve licensed 100 acres of land and have locked down a 40,000 square foot bottling facility and access to an underground aquifer in Bridesville, British Columbia.
It’s not like things aren’t happening. It’s a question of whether or not things are happening fast enough. Cannabis 2.0 is basically live. The local shops are starting to stock their shelves with cannabis 2.0 products, and the race is on to see which company is going to capitalize fast enough.
Health Canada issued a hemp cultivation license in May, and then in August gave them a cannabis research license.
The market
Let’s be gentle. Cannabis-legalization’s first year in Canada was bumpy. Mistakes were made. Some were made out of avarice, others out of ignorance. But consumer confidence took a massive hit and the entire cannabis-industry reap the fallout of a handful of bad apples. Bevcanna’s chart shows this trend. They’re still new, though, and their cash position and serious potential upside indicate that this company might be one to break-out for 2020.
If there are no more speedbumps on the way to revenue, it could happen.
—Joseph Morton
