Top Players in the Cannabis Space

Investors and entrepreneurs alike would be hard-pressed to find another industry with growth potential as promising as cannabis. Between the years of 2014-2018, global cannabis sales tripled.  According to Wall Street forecasts, throughout the next decade, cannabis sales are expected to grow another 400-900%. 

While the trend of every-growing sales has excited investors, cultivators, and dispensary owners, it’s important to recognize that dried flower isn’t the only product fueling this expansive industry.   

Rather, product subcategories (such as extracts and edibles) are contributing to annual, compounding growth for the top players in the cannabis space. One example of this is the sale of cannabidiol, or CBD, as most refer to it.

CBD: The Biggest Growth Trend in the U.S. Cannabis Market 

Cannabidiol is extracted from the marijuana plant, does not get users high, and is praised for its number of medical and therapeutic benefits. While CBD can be discovered in and pulled from cannabis plants, it’s abundantly found in hemp plants.   

Naturally, hemp produces small quantities of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the cannabinoid responsible for delivering a high.  Also, hemp is considerably cheaper and more efficient than cannabis to grow.  For these reasons, hemp has become the preferred source for CBD-product manufacturers. 

Also, it’s important to highlight that in December of last year (2018), President Donald Trump signed into law the Farm Bill. This historic bill legalized the industrial production and manufacturing of hemp, in addition to hemp-made products.  While marijuana continues to be an illicit drug at the federal level, they have opened the pathway for nearly anyone to produce and sell CBD products that don’t contain THC, so long as they are not beverage or food additives. 

According to Brightfield Group (a cannabis and CBD research firm), by 2023, hemp-sourced CBD is forecasted to expand into a $23.7 billion dollar industry.  This indicates compounded, 100% year-to-year growth between the years of 2018 and 2023. 

This stumps annual growth rates in other cannabis-market segments, exactly why investors and all major cannabis stocks want a piece of the pie to come in just a few year’s time.

The Competitors

As one would expect, there are many cannabis stocks and brands angling their strategies to leveraging the explosive industry that will soon become a $24 billion dollar market (in only four years from now). 

Here are some of the top players in the cannabis space making bold strides to dominate this ever-growing industry:

Charlotte’s Web 

Charlotte’s Web is one of the most well-known CBD brands in the field. While the CBD market share is pretty fragmented, Charlotte’s Web is currently the largest CBD market shareholder in the U.S.  Charlotte’s Web, in 2019 alone, has over doubled their retail locations; they now have over 8,000 stores. 

From 2018 to 2019, the brand’s hemp production increased by 187%.  In 2018, they cultivated hemp on 300 acres of land, today, this has increased to 862.   

Adding to their already successful establishment, they recently reached a partnership with Kroger.  This agreement will put Charlotte’s Web products in over 1,350 stores.

Canopy Growth

Canopy Growth is currently the biggest marijuana stock by market cap, globally.   

They’re also striving to become the biggest market share leader in the U.S.-CBD market.  While Canopy Growth is focused most on growth in Canada (their domestic territory), they were issued the Hemp Processing License from New York State in January of this year. By the end of 2020, they’re expecting to be in a total of six states. 

By narrowing efforts to the CBD market and by having a Hemp Processing License in a half-dozen states, Canopy Growth will be able to effectively establish the framework for the manufacturing and distribution of CBD products on U.S. soil.  Canopy Growth could then expect explosive growth if or when marijuana becomes legal on the federal level. 

Being one of the other top players in the cannabis space brings us to Neptune Wellness Solutions; a CBD-extraction service. 

The brand has been a major benefactor towards the push for CBD products.  With having some of the best scientists and cannabis scholars on their team, Neptune Wellness Solutions has become the go-to middle man for extracting cannabis biomass and hemp for the production of resins, concentrates, or specific cannabinoids for cultivators to create high-profit, CBD-derived products.