When Miguel Martin first visited Bevo Agtech Inc.B次元官网网址檚 Langley, B.C., greenhouse, he saw potential bursting from every corner.

Hundreds of trays of tomato seedlings stretched away under the glow of LED lights. Baskets of blossoming flowers hung from the rafters. And the company was convinced it already had its next big product line: orchids.

Martin is CEO of Aurora Cannabis Inc. and may have seemed like an unlikely buyer for Bevo, an agriculture stalwart still run by the Dutch family that founded it in 1986. But it was a good match: the Edmonton-based pot giant already had the hulking, temperature-controlled greenhouses Bevo needed to expand, while for Aurora, BevoB次元官网网址檚 stability would provide some reprieve from the volatile weed industry.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a company that makes money. ItB次元官网网址檚 a company thatB次元官网网址檚 growing,B次元官网网址� Martin said in a September interview, a year after Aurora bought a 50.1 per cent stake in Bevo for $45 million.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a company thatB次元官网网址檚 not broken. It doesnB次元官网网址檛 need us to do everything for them.B次元官网网址�

In the cannabis world, where facility closures, layoffs and multimillion-dollar writedowns have become the norm, B次元官网网址済rowingB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渘ot brokenB次元官网网址� are crucial elements for survival.

Over the five years since cannabis was legalized in Canada, pot companies have been constrained by the strength of the illicit market, packaging and tax rules they see as too restrictive and U.S. regulators that have been slow to make national changes.

As the industry continues its slow crawl toward profitability, many are now heavily focusing on other parts of their companies to protect themselves from further upheaval.

For example, Village Farms International Inc., the Vancouver-based owner of cannabis companies Pure Sunfarms, Leli Holland and ROSE LifeScience, has a subsidiary growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

SNDL Inc., the Calgary-based firm behind the pot shops Value Buds, Spiritleaf and Superette, owns hundreds of liquor stores across Western Canada.

B次元官网网址淎 lot of cannabis companies have evolved and are different than maybe what they were before,B次元官网网址� said Martin.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 certainly true at Tilray Brands Inc., a Leamington, Ont.-based company whose chief executive, Irwin Simon, joked, B次元官网网址淚 have four children B次元官网网址� beer, cannabis, medical cannabis, Manitoba Harvest B次元官网网址� and love them all equally.B次元官网网址�

Tilray began as a pure-play cannabis firm, but shortly after legalization it dropped $277.5 million on Manitoba Harvest, a purveyor of hemp-based foods, oils, and supplements with a history dating back to 1998.

As its buying spree continued, alcohol became TilrayB次元官网网址檚 new focus.

It first obtained exposure to beer through its merger with cannabis company Aphria Inc. in 2021. Aphria had paid US$300 million in 2020 for SweetWater Brewing Co., an Atlanta brewer best known for its B次元官网网址�420B次元官网网址� beer that smells like weed but contains no pot.

Then, Tilray bought Colorado-based whiskey and spirits producer Breckenridge Distillery as well as CaliforniaB次元官网网址檚 Green Flash Brewing Co. and Alpine Beer Co. in 2021, followed by New YorkB次元官网网址檚 Montauk Brewing Co. in 2022.

And it wasnB次元官网网址檛 finished. Over the summer, Tilray announced a deal with Anheuser-Busch Cos. that would see its beverage portfolio gain eight more brands B次元官网网址� Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Co., 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Co., and HiBall Energy.

B次元官网网址淢ost of these eight brands were declining somewhat and we are glutton for punishment. We like a challenge,B次元官网网址� said Simon. B次元官网网址淲e felt, B次元官网网址楬ey, we can turn these around.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

The deal put Tilray on track to become the fifth-largest craft beer operation in the United States and gave the company a sizable share of a multi-billion-dollar industry Simon said has B次元官网网址済ot a little stale.B次元官网网址�

HeB次元官网网址檚 confident Tilray can B次元官网网址渕ake craft beer cool again,B次元官网网址� but admits part of the reason why the company is even interested in the task is because other markets that were expected to welcome cannabis havenB次元官网网址檛 done so.

B次元官网网址淭he reason weB次元官网网址檙e diversifying, ultimately, is B次元官网网址� the U.S. markets and the European markets,B次元官网网址� said Simon.

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 see legalization from a recreational (standpoint) happening in the U.S. any time soon.B次元官网网址�

Canadian cannabis companies were hopeful the U.S. would move forward with national legalization after President Joe Biden revealed he would review the status of pot as a Schedule 1 substance in 2022.

Schedule 1 controlled substances are considered to have a high risk of abuse and no accepted medical use. The group includes harder drugs such as heroin and LSD.

While the U.S. has moved toward easing federal financing restrictions for pot companies, national legalization is not on the immediate horizon, leaving Canadian companies that had poured cash into American weed prospects to look elsewhere for opportunities.

But Peter Simeon, co-leader of law firm Gowling WLGB次元官网网址檚 cannabis division, warned diversification doesnB次元官网网址檛 always work out.

B次元官网网址淟ook at BioSteel and Canopy. ThatB次元官网网址檚 a failure,B次元官网网址� he said, referencing Canopy Growth Corp.B次元官网网址檚 foray into the sports drink business, which recently wound up with BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc. filing for creditor protection and in debt to teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, even after Canopy advanced $366 million to keep the firm going.

B次元官网网址淭o go to other industries can be challenging, I think,B次元官网网址� said Simeon.

Yet executives like AuroraB次元官网网址檚 Martin are willing to take the risk.

When Aurora bought its stake in Bevo, its 800,000 square foot, high-technology greenhouse Aurora Sky was slated for closure. Instead, Bevo moved in, delivering big savings.

B次元官网网址淭o have a facility that could keep an orchid at that exact humidity and temperature (needed) would have been wildly expensive,B次元官网网址� said Martin.

B次元官网网址淚f you wanted to build it from ground up, it probably wouldnB次元官网网址檛 have made a lot of sense.B次元官网网址�

The facility near Edmonton International Airport, which previously grew weed destined for flower, pre-rolls, oils and edibles, could handle an orchidB次元官网网址檚 18-month growing cycle. Its close proximity to the U.S. border allowed the company access to a new market.

These buyers would have typically been served by growers in Southeast Asia, from where the bulk of North American orchids are shipped on ocean freighters, revitalized and then sent out to stores.

The delivery process from western Canada was far quicker when Bevo made its first sale of orchids a few weeks ago, and Martin is hopeful that will continue as successive rounds of the delicate flowers reach maturation.

Though heB次元官网网址檚 pleased with how Bevo has progressed, he insists AuroraB次元官网网址檚 core focus hasnB次元官网网址檛 shifted.

B次元官网网址淲e are first and foremost a Canadian-based medical cannabis company. ThatB次元官网网址檚 the vast majority of our profitability,B次元官网网址� he said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 the vast majority of our revenue. ItB次元官网网址檚 what we spend the most amount of time on.B次元官网网址�

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