Marijuana Business Magazine - May-June 2018

The Case of Incredibles Colorado-based Incredibles is best known for concentrates and infused products like gummies and vape oils. But the company also produces a line of big-ticket extraction machines that – while far less known – are no less important to the firm’s future fortunes. The multistate company has sold some 90 of the extractors, including to cultivation and extraction companies in Germany, Spain and Portugal. And now Incredibles has bigger ambitions. Com- pany executives are actively exploring international markets, attending inter- national cannabis business conferences like Spannabis in Barcelona, which drew approximately 20,000 people in March. The goal isn’t just to sell more extractors but to get Incredibles cannabis products on retail shelves in Canada, Europe and other foreign markets. “In 2018, strategically, the interna- tional arena really is the next stage for us,” said Lily Colley, marketing director for Medically Correct, Incredibles’ par- ent company. “We’re looking for partners and joint ventures,” she said. “We’ll have a big announcement to make when Canada recreational goes online, and we also expect joint ventures and licensing deals in 2018 in other countries.” Ancillary Firms Have an Advantage It’s easier to start overseas if you’re an ancillary company, be it a law firm, security company or other non-plant- touching businesses. Consider the cultivation supply firm Smart Pots in Oklahoma City.The company got its international start after meeting a distributor for Dutch lighting company Gavita International at an agricultural trade show in the United States about a decade ago. That distributor introduced Smart Pots to Gavita’s international sales network. Executives also persuaded the Smart Pots team to exhibit at Spanna- bis, which the Oklahoma firm has done since 2009. Deals have resulted with garden-supply firms in Spain, Holland, Belgium, Israel, Uruguay, Colombia and Chile. “Partnerships are key. Knowing the right people to team up with is very important anywhere, but especially in places where you are the visitor,” said Charles Jackson, vice president of retail sales for Smart Pots. “Just walking over and saying, ‘I am here, come see what I have,’ could work for the right product. But knowing who to talk with makes it a lot easier and helps with your success. Finding those right companies is not that hard, either. Attending trade fairs and talking with contemporaries, one can figure it out pretty quickly.” The Right Sector Opportunities, for the moment, are virtually nonexistent in retail, better in cultivation and somewhat more preva- lent in the manufacturing and ancil- lary sectors.That may change over the long term, however, as overseas nations develop their marijuana industries and weigh the legalization of adult-use MJ. North American business owners who gain an early toehold would be positioned to capitalize on additional growth. However, retail opportunities in for- eign medical marijuana markets will be limited outside of Canada and Jamaica, because cannabis is sold almost exclu- sively through pharmacies, precluding the possibility (for now) of a retail can- nabis sector. Cultivation is also limited, because most countries with medical marijuana laws import their cannabis products or have awarded cultivation licenses to a limited number of growers. One plant-touching niche that offers inroads to the international market is manufacturing – either by leverag- ing manufacturing know-how to find overseas partners or by getting infused products and other items onto foreign pharmacy shelves. Still, choosing the right foreign market and right sector can be daunting. This issue of Marijuana Business Maga- zine is aimed at laying out the interna- tional cannabis landscape for readers, and profiling key international cannabis markets and companies so you can start building an overseas itinerary. Charles Jackson is vice president of retail sales at Smart Pots. Photo courtesy of Smart Pots Lily Colley is national director of marketing at Medically Correct. Photo courtesy of Medically Correct GOING GL BAL 54 • Marijuana Business Magazine • May-June 2018