Nevis Brands (CSE:NEVI)' cannabis beverage product Major is now available for purchase in another US state: California.
The company announced this week that Major can be purchased at Los Angeles, San Diego, and Northern California locations and that it has received a wholesale purchase order for 50% of its initial production run in the state.
Nevis Brands (CSE:NEVI) CEO John Kueber joined Proactive to discuss these achievements and the opportunities it sees in California’s sizeable cannabis market as well as providing updates on the rollout of Major in two other states, Missouri and Ohio.
Proactive: Give me an update on what’s going on in California with your Major brand.
JK: We’re super happy to be in California after operating already in five states with successful product reception. California is the biggest market in the world for cannabis, so to be able to launch there and also have 50% of our production already allocated and purchased it’s really indicative of the demand for Major. Knowing that it’s a nationwide brand, distributors in California are pretty excited to be able to have it.
And you expect to see revenue from this in your next financial report?
We are very successful in Washington our biggest state, but truly California could surpass the numbers that we’re already doing.
To add, we’re able to do this expansion without having to invest new capital or raise capital to get into these markets. We’re funding this expansion through cash flow and we’ll continue to do so in the states that follow.
Tell me about your updates in other states, Missouri and Ohio.
The federal government might put the brakes on us getting into all 50 states, but we are going pretty quickly with the ones that are available. In Missouri, we have a great partner Stash House Brands. They’ve been able to navigate the regulatory process quickly, which sometimes can be a challenge. We’re getting ready to have Major off the line in mid-March and hopefully to consumers’ hands by the end of March but we think April is a safe bet for that.
Then in Ohio, we are expanding the Major line. Typically, our licensees start with five flavors and see how the market receives them and then continue to take on other products. We know how we’ve gone from five products to now an additional flavor and three more different products that are under the Major brand. So, nine products in total.
That follows the model of us expanding within existing licenses within the state then adding new states and starting that process from scratch. Two ways to expand. We’re really happy in Ohio to see that market continue to develop with it going recreational later this year. We’ve been operating within the medical market and think recreational is going to give a significant boost as well.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and style