Cannabis Market in the US Shows Signs of Movement Toward High-Quality Sector

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

Photo by Jeff W on Unsplash

Welcome to the fast-moving and rapidly changing world of cannabis growth and consumption in the US. Many cannabis companies, especially publicly trading ones such as Curaleaf CURLF, Aurora ACB, Cronos CRON, Trulieve TCNNF, and GreenThumbGTBIF, have entered the domestic cannabis market with a vengeance, showing some success in the initial phases of market development. 

The cannabis market has been bubbling under for decades and is now exhibiting exceptional growth rates. Nationwide legalization is advancing steadily, public acceptance has reached 76%, and the market is expected to snowball to $98 Billion by 2026, exhibiting a CAGR of 32.9% in the forecast period 2019 to 2026.

Most of the dominating cannabis companies in the US and Canada have established large operations and compete via high acreage capacity indoor and outdoor operations attempting to produce as much cannabis per square foot as possible. However, with a maturing market and a shortage of retail outlets, especially in California, this approach has not necessarily shown the success that some investors expected. Not only does this approach require large amounts of capital investment, but it often results in a mass-produced, commodified product and can create expectations for revenue and profit that may be difficult to meet. 

A Different Approach

A small number of dedicated companies in the US have taken a different approach. They focus on increasingly addressing the attributes demanded by the modern consumer, such as exceptional terpene profiles, potency, and quality; in other words, high-quality, handcrafted cannabis that meets the increasing demand for artisanal, organic branded products they can trust.

The Estrella Ranch "Estate Grown Weedery" project, is an example of the first cannabis cultivation operation of its kind. Livewire Ergogenics LVVV owns and manages this unique location in Paso Robles in Central California through its affiliate companies Estrella Ranch Partners and Estrella River Farms.

Estrella Ranch is a historic ranch property operated by Livewire in Paso Robles, in the center of the world-renowned Central California wine country. Livewire has begun to transform this stunning property into the world's first "Estate Grown Weedery'' to cultivate high-end cannabis products following organic guidelines. Estrella Ranch has a long-standing history and was owned by the King of Morocco and George Hearst, the eldest grandson of William Randolph Hearst. It is located in Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, and is surrounded by hundreds of world-renowned vineyards. Livewire is developing Estrella Ranch into the central hub for all its subsidiary and affiliate operations.

The team at Livewire’s Estrella River Farms specializes in state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation practices backed by academia and proven results with a long track record of success. They use a proprietary premium soil blend that is 100% organic living soil. This blend uses 60% less water, 50% less fertilizer, and no toxic pesticides, creating an ultra-efficient regenerative plant environment in strict compliance to standard operating procedures established for all operations on the Ranch. The team (at the Ranch and throughout Livewire) consists of experts in environmentally sustainable, sun-grown craft cultivation, as a testament to their legacy cultivation methods. 

The Green Method for Growing

This development for the cultivation of high-quality products following organic guidelines is supported by the effort for the origin and quality identification instigated by the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division (CalCannabis). The department is in the process of establishing appellations of origin, including standards, practices, and cultivars applicable to cannabis produced in a specific geographical area in California. The department intends to implement these new standards during the second half of 2021. Cannabis companies, like Livewire may, that get granted this certification will stand out and can set themselves apart from the competition. Livewire supports this effort and will apply for accreditation as soon as the program opens.

Overall, LiveWire is an innovative and quality-oriented company that focuses on acquiring, managing, and licensing well-qualified cannabis real estate locations to establish fully compliant and permitted facilities to produce cannabis-based products and establish services for the state-wide distribution of these products in California. This includes developing and licensing high-quality organic cannabinoid-based products and services and creating the high-quality "Estate Grown Weedery™" brand. For more information about LiveWire Ergogenics, you can visit www.livewireergogenics.com.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.