Green to pink: Alberta cannabis company diversifies with orchids
Posted Oct 20, 2023 9:07 am.
Last Updated Oct 20, 2023 9:08 am.
An Alberta-based cannabis company is diversifying its business operations by growing and selling orchids, as Canadian pot producers wrestle a volatile market, Aurora Cannabis was keen to try something new.
“One of the areas that we got very excited about was propagation and environmentally controlled agriculture, which we knew a bit about because of some of the folks who worked with us on cannabis,” explained Aurora Cannabis CEO Miguel Martin.
In August of 2022, Aurora acquired a 50.1 per cent stake in Bevo Farms; one of the largest suppliers of propagated produce in all of North America.
But, the company was looking to expand.
“One of the great benefits to that was they could use these world class glass greenhouses that we have,” said Martin. “Particularly the one in Edmonton.”
Read more: Canadian cannabis industry still facing challenges 5 years after legalization: experts
In May 2022, Aurora announced the closure of it Sky Greenhouse in Edmonton as part of a cost savings initative.
With cannabis operations ceased, the empty temperature-controlled facility opened the window for a Bevo move-in.
“Edmonton as everyone probably knows is an absolute perfect place to service both Canada and the U.S. and orchids at the time were primarily being serviced by growers in southeast Asia,” Martin said.
A Bevo begins its orchid expansion, Aurora optimism is high.
Still, Martin insists the company is committed to cannabis.
“We are still predominantly a medical cannabis company,” he said. “The vast majority of our sales and profitability come from cannabis.”
