3 Key Highlights From AxisWire's 2019 Cannabis Trend Report

The third annual Cannabis Trend report from cannabis-centered newswire and PR platform AxisWire is out.

The booklet reviews "the ways in which the cannabis industry is changing and disrupting market paradigms," according to AxisWire, which worked with The Green Market Report on the document. 

Number Of Female Execs Falls Over 20% In 4 Years

In 2015, the percentage high-ranking positions in the cannabis industry held by women was 36%, according to the report.

Today, that number is approximately 17%.

The report points to the introduction of institutional capital into the industry as a reason for why new male executives may be pushing women out of leadership positions.

Workers in the industry as a whole are 38.6% female, a higher proportion than the number of female workers in both the tech and agriculture sectors. 

Although the number of women executives has dramatically dropped, 2019 saw the very first cannabis company led by a female CEO begin trading on the Nasdaq — Akerna Corp KERN and CEO Jessica Billingsley — as well as the first female-led company to trade over-the-counter to trade on the OTC — Item 9 Labs INLB and CEO Sara Gullickson. 

More Spending On Branding

The report highlights a growing need for cannabis companies to invest in branding efforts in order to stand out from the competition.

Examples from 2019 include Green Thumb Industries Inc GTBIF acquiring the luxury cannabis brand Beboe in an all-stock deal.

Cannabis luxury brand Coda Signature closed a $24.4-million round of Series A funding, and the luxury brand Canndescent announced it would invest $25.8 million to expand operations.

Tilray Inc TLRY signed a $100-million revenue-sharing agreement with Authentic Brands Group in an effort to leverage the latter’s established brand image by allowing ABG to market and distribute Tilray products.

Further Investments In Manufacturing Equipment

With the rise of sales and acceptance for cannabis-derived products, the industry has a growing need to develop and purchase manufacturing equipment.

Acreage Holdings ACRGF bought cannabis manufacturer Form Factory in an all-stock, $160-million deal this year.

Tilray announced that it would add 203,000 square feet to its existing facilities with a $32.6-million investment dedicated to expanding manufacturing operations.

Photo by Matteo Paganelli on Unsplash.