Marijuana companies look to build big business in hemp

Two large cannabis companies said Monday they are investing in developing their own lines of hemp-derived products by opening subsidiary companies.

Chicago-based Cresco Labs, a vertically integrated, multistate cannabis operator, is opening Well Beings to offer a full line of hemp-derived products eligible for national distribution, as well as CBD versions of house-branded products that include Cresco, Remedi and Mindy’s Edibles.

The hemp-based wellness products will help Cresco Labs reach a new customer base outside the licensed dispensary channel, according to a news release.

The subsidiary will be led by chief experience officer, Scott Wilson.

“The cross-channel, consumer-centric opportunity for Cresco to build brand equity is transformative in the cannabis industry,” Wilson said in the release.

Cresco Labs will make a nonmaterial investment in the new subsidiary.

Meanwhile, SOL Global Investments Corp. is forming Heavenly Rx., an international hemp subsidiary focused on cultivating, processing and manufacturing a diverse range of CBD products, including oils, tinctures, balms and vape-ready products, according to Green Market Report.

SOL Global, a Toronto-based cannabis firm, plans to obtain a controlling interest in various assets through Heavenly Rx, including Knoxville, Tennessee-based Bluhen Botanicals, which will receive a $30.6 million investment from Heavenly Rx.

Bluhen, a hemp biomass processing and extraction company that aims to develop farming and distribution partnerships across the southeastern United States, will use the money to expand its research and engineering teams and develop and expand its retail operations in Tennessee and Florida.

“Heavenly Rx directly supports SOL Global’s continued hemp and CBD strategy in the U.S. and international markets and will serve as a critical launch pad for our hemp-related investment initiatives as hemp and related cannabinoid regulations continue to become more liberalized around the world,” SOL Global CEO Brady Cobb told Green Market Report.