CNBC reports…….Tilray has acquired boozy gummy maker Smith & Sinclair to create a line of CBD edibles, the Canadian pot company announced Tuesday.
U.K.-based Smith & Sinclair infuses alcohol into food products to create boozy twists on sweet treats. The company sells alcoholic gummies and lollipops, edible fragrances and tablets that transform a standard cocktail into a fizzy drink. Tilray will work with the company to create new CBD-infused edibles and distribute them in the U.S. and Canada.
The deal gives Tilray another way to develop novel cannabis products as companies try to differentiate themselves and attract new customers who might not want to smoke a joint. U.S. consumers are hungry for products containing CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabis compound that’s now federally legal thanks to Congress’ passage of the farm bill late last year.
Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy told CNBC he met the Smith & Sinclair team about a year and a half ago. He said he “loved” the company’s marketing and product innovation teams, especially the possibilities for CBD-infused edibles. He decided the teams would make a “perfect addition” to Tilray’s growing portfolio, which includes pot brand Marley Natural and hemp seed brand Manitoba Harvest.
“Over the course of the last nine years, I’ve met most of the cannabis edible companies, and this team was pretty different from anything I had seen in the hemp space and the CBD space,” Kennedy said. “Based on some of the R&D they have done, we believed that they could create some innovative products.”
