Heritage Cannabis Holdings (CANN.C) intends to launch their Pura Vida brand of full spectrum sativa, indica and hybrid honey oil vapes in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba by mid-July.

Earlier this month, Heritage picked up the Pura Vida as a complement to their existing offerings in the recreational space. Given Health Canada’s moratorium on advertising in cannabis, one could be excused for thinking that brand recognition could be easily acquired, if only through channels known to cannabis enthusiasts, by the amount of awards they win. If that’s the case, then Heritage’s choice of acquisition stands out.

Pura Vida won the first place awards for its THC and CBD extract products in the 2016 Emerald Cannabis Cup. Again, in 2017, they took the High Times Cannabis Cup, where it won for best vaporizer, while their sativa took first place in the Concentrate Cup, and indica and hybrid concentrates took second. In the 2018 Emerald Cannabis Cup, they took first and third in the concentrate and flower category, giving it sufficient brand recognition and ensuring a strong customer following.

“With over 25,000 customers served in its history, Pura Vida has clearly demonstrated previous brand loyalty, and will be a valuable addition to the portfolio of brands and products being launched by Heritage in the coming months. Strong brands are key to our strategy to maximize domestic and international revenue opportunities and achieve strong margin performance from our products,” according to Clint Sharples, chief executive officer of Heritage.

Pura Vida is a legacy cannabis brand recognized for its superior vape cartridge products, and its vapes are created using extracted oils from the highest quality cannabis flower. Purefarma Solutions’ extraction process produces a full flavour vapeable product without the need for potentially harmful back-added terpenes, flavours or carrier oils, resulting in a full spectrum effect.

Heritage has streamlined its processes from manufacturing to consumer channels, letting them save money on distribution, but also giving Heritage the ability to offer Pura Vida products in the mid-$30 range for a 500-milligram cartridge, which is a decently competitive price when compared to other companies.

Heritage intends to market the Pura Vida brand to the recreational markets and as a complement to their launch of Purefarma medical/recreational brand, as we reported on in May. Products will be sold through provincial cannabis stores across Canada, beginning next month.

“Our Pura Vida branded products are being launched at a price that consumers have been demanding and are only the first of a portfolio of brands and products being launched by us in the coming months. As consumer preferences have been trending toward high-value products, vertically integrated companies like Heritage can produce products that maximize margin performance, without sacrificing the quality of the offering,” said Chris Pearson, vice-president of sales and marketing of Heritage.

Here’s Sharples talking to Proactive’s Steve Darling about the acquisition earlier this month.

Heritage will acquire the Pura Vida brand and trademark for $75,000, satisfied by issuing 500,000 common shares at 15 cents each. The closing date is Friday, June 19, 2020.

—Joseph Morton

Full disclosure: Heritage Cannabis is an equity.guru marketing client.