Conducting a cannabis business in Europe can be tricky, as the regulatory approach to medical cannabis in different European countries varies significantly.
Still, companies like CBD of Denver Inc. CBDD are pawing their way toward establishing themselves as leaders, as Europe's cannabis sector is poised to take off.
Marcel R. Gama, CEO and chairman of CBD of Denver, discussed the European CBD market with hosts Patrick Lane and Javier Hasse on Benzinga's Cannabis Insider show on Tuesday.
CBD of Denver's European Saga
In February 2020, the company inked an agreement with the Swiss company I'M Canabiz AG for a reverse merger.
The deal allowed CBD of Denver - a full-line CBD and hemp oil company - to distribute its products in the European country and introduce Swiss products to the U.S. market.
In June, the Colorado-headquartered company purchased another cannabis business with operations in Switzerland and other European Union countries that have legalized both CBD and cannabis products.
Six months later, the company reported strong financial results, generating $4.9 million in the first sixty days of the fourth quarter.
"We had a quite good year behind us, ending at more than 16 million revenue in 2020," Gama said.
2021 started off even stronger with almost 7.5 million in first-quarter revenue, despite restrictions imposed by the current health crisis.
Proprietary Brands
In the U.S., CBD of Denver sells Black Pearl CBD hemp products consisting of 100% organic, THC-free CBD and hemp oil, and also owns CBD Social Network.
In Europe, it currently develops its main brand Rockflowr through its Switzerland-based Rockflowr GmbH subsidiary. The operations include the production of its proprietary products as well as retail and wholesale distribution of oil and isolates across Europe.
In July, Rockflowr started to implement its proprietary process to reduce the THC level in cannabis flowers, in order to be able to sell them in other European countries, which mandate a 2% or less THC content.
What's Next
"We're always looking for new distribution channels," Gama disclosed, referring to an idea to provide organizations like the military or police with its THC-free products.
"In Europe, in general, there is a huge move forward into the medical area of cannabis," which includes THC, he explained.
Obtaining a license to grow and sell THC in Switzerland and Europe is part of CBD of Denver's development strategy.
"We already have made first moves in this direction, and we are in the process to become one of these licenses," Gama said.
The company is currently redesigning and resetting its web presence, preparing to make the Rockflowr brand "well-known everywhere."
In addition, CBD of Denver has become one of the first companies within the space to accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as payment for its CBD wholesale business last month.
"Our plan is to accept cryptocurrency on all our platforms and webshops so that people can buy our products in cryptocurrency," Gama disclosed.
The company also intends to expand in Europe, including the U.K., the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Poland, France, and Italy.
Watch Cannabis Insider every Tuesday at 4:30 pm ET on Benzinga's YouTube Channel.
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