The multinational company, Flora Growth, dedicated to the production of cosmetics and medicines based on Cannabis announced this past week the expansion of its CBD-based products –Cannabidiol– to the Costa Rican market.
At the same time, the company informed that it will export three of its brands to the United Kingdom. These include Mind Naturals, which was developed by partner and former Miss Universe, Colombian Paulina Vega. The other two are Almost Virgin and Mambe. Precisely, the latter will be the line of products with which Flora Growth, also owned by Canadian and American capital, will enter Costa Rica, explained in a press release.
Most of the articles developed by the multinational are based on the cannabinoid known as Cannabidiol (CBD). Between 2016 and 2020, the global market for CBD products – Cannabidiol – was estimated at $ 5,609 million, according to a study presented by the Foreign Trade Promoter (Procomer), last year.
Expanding market
By 2027, analytics firms such as Market Research Future and Fortune Business Insights estimate that it will reach $ 40 billion annually. Half of this would be concentrated in the United States. This, according to the BDS Analytics company that estimates that local market at $ 20 billion by 2024, as reported by Forbes.
Currently, in the country there are bills to regularize this market. Among them, the most prominent is the file 21,338 “Law of Cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use and of hemp for food and industrial use”, promoted by the independent deputy, Zoila Rosa Volio. However, the government has stalled the discussion despite the fact that the president himself, Carlos Alvarado, promised to promote the initiative more than a year ago.
The arrival of Flora Growth on Costa Rican soil is thanks to a distribution agreement signed with GMD Latin America, a Costa Rican food and beverage provider. In the first instance, the products will be marketed in Puerto Viejo, at Limón.
Growth in Central America
From there, the company will carry out its expansion to the rest of Central America. This was confirmed by the company’s general manager, Luis Merchan, who added that this step is a strategic part of the company’s action plan.
“The expansion, not only to the UK, but also to Central America, is perfectly aligned with our strategy of carrying out an aggressive expansion into new markets. This, as we continue to position our luxury brands internationally,” he said. Merchan added that they expect to continue growth in both markets over the next few months.
Regarding the product portfolio, Merchan highlighted that Mambe is the company’s food division. It combines CBD with native Amazonian fruits in the Colombian jungles to develop, mainly, new beverages. They also have a line of chocolates.
Miss CBD
Despite winning the Miss Universe pageant in 2014, Paulina Vega chose to change the runways and the world of modeling to develop and found her own brand of CBD-based cosmetics. In addition to Mind Naturals, Vega founded the company Ô.
The success of both drew the attention of Flora Growth, which incorporated her as a founding partner of the cosmetics division in October 2020. In fact, Vega will be in charge of leading the team that will carry out the expansion on European soil.
According to Merchán, the company has invested $ 25 million to date. The company was founded in 2019. Announcements of the expansion come shortly after the company goes public on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
