Clever Leaves Looks To Cement European Operations While Expanding Into Australia, Germany, Israel, Brazil, And The US

Clever Leaves has operations and investments in the United States, Canada, Colombia, Germany and Portugal.

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Widespread legalization and innovation are reportedly driving the growth of the global cannabis industry. The Global Cannabis Report: Second Edition highlights that the global cannabis industry could be heading into a progressive period.

Prohibition Partners, painting a positive outlook for the industry, said the combined global sales of cannabidiol (CBD), medical and adult-use cannabis topped $37.4 billion in 2021 and could rise to $102 billion by 2026.

While this presents enormous growth opportunities for the industry, companies like Clever Leaves Holdings Inc. CLVR and Curaleaf Holdings Inc. CURA face hurdles in entering new markets because of different regulatory regimes scrutinizing their expansion drive.

However, Clever Leaves has built operations and investments in the United States, Canada, Colombia, Germany, and Portugal. The company has reported an effective distribution network and global footprint.

Excitement About New Markets?

This year, Clever Leaves is looking to aggressively cement its operations in Europe while expanding into untapped markets like Australia and Brazil. But getting into new markets can sometimes be a bumpy ride.

The international cannabis markets function very differently from the U.S. and Canada, where most people are more familiar with the industry. Some of these new markets have stringent quality standards that lean toward pharmaceutical use.

As the first cannabis company to secure European Union good manufacturing practices (EU-GMP) certification in Latin America and other quality standards, Clever Leaves is committed to the pharmaceutical approach in these markets. Recently, Clever Leaves began sales of EU-GMP cannabis extracts in Germany through its partnership with Ethypharm.

“Colombian products are now available for patients in German pharmacies under prescription. We are very proud that we are one of the first to successfully complete a commercial shipment of Colombian-manufactured high-CBD pharmaceutical products to Germany”, said Andres Fajardo, CEO of the company.

The company has themed 2022 as the year of “focus.” 

“In the last year or two, we’ve managed to export to about 15 different countries. For 2022, we are focusing on a specific set of key geographies and we are going to meet the regulatory needs of those respective markets to provide patients around the world with access to high-quality products,” Andrés Fajardo, told Benzinga.

He revealed that the company’s main focus this year will be Germany, Israel, Australia, Brazil, and the U.S.

Clever Leaves is excited about the four markets outside of the US because most companies pay little or no attention to them, especially when the population size of these countries, when combined, is at par with the United States. Clever Leaves counts with an immense infrastructure, tools and capacities to leverage the potential of these markets of interest.

“These countries are at the very beginning of their legalization. Australia has changed dramatically in the last couple of years. Two years ago, there wasn’t much cannabis flower sold in Australia,” Fajardo said. “Last year, more than half of cannabinoid sales in Australia came from flower. These markets are all growing very quickly, and we feel it’s very important to get into these markets early.”

Unlike the approach used by some other companies that target every part of the value chain, Clever Leaves will focus primarily on its business-to-business (B2B) model. For example, in Brazil, Australia, and Israel, the company won’t compete with its partners but rather supply them with low-cost ingredients. 

Even though the company might capture a lower share of the margin out of the value chain, it will sell more significant volumes. “Ultimately we want to bring the benefits of cannabis to patients around the world while we contribute to the sustainable development of the regions where we operate,” he added.

Looking ahead 

According to Fajardo, “moving into 2022, the cannabis industry should absolutely be focused on preparing to streamline the process of cannabis production to a potentially wider audience, while ensuring the quality and efficacy of the products.”

As much progress as the industry has experienced in 2021 in terms of legalization and social acceptance of cannabis, more education and de-stigmatization efforts are required, as consumers will start to demand a certain degree of uniformity and ease of use regarding labeling, packaging and dosage. “With an emphasis on continued dissemination of science-backed health benefits and the legitimacy of cannabis as a medical treatment method, we may see less hesitancy to move forward with opening the industry to an entire world of patients who may previously never have considered it,” finalized Fajardo.

Learn more about Clever Leaves at cleverleaves.com/en/home/.

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