When Miguel Martin first visited Bevo Agtech Inc.91裸聊视频檚 Langley, B.C., greenhouse, he saw potential bursting from every corner.

Hundreds of trays of tomato seedlings stretched away under the glow of LED lights. Baskets of blossoming flowers hung from the rafters. And the company was convinced it already had its next big product line: orchids.

Martin is CEO of Aurora Cannabis Inc. and may have seemed like an unlikely buyer for Bevo, an agriculture stalwart still run by the Dutch family that founded it in 1986. But it was a good match: the Edmonton-based pot giant already had the hulking, temperature-controlled greenhouses Bevo needed to expand, while for Aurora, Bevo91裸聊视频檚 stability would provide some reprieve from the volatile weed industry.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a company that makes money. It91裸聊视频檚 a company that91裸聊视频檚 growing,91裸聊视频� Martin said in a September interview, a year after Aurora bought a 50.1 per cent stake in Bevo for $45 million.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a company that91裸聊视频檚 not broken. It doesn91裸聊视频檛 need us to do everything for them.91裸聊视频�

In the cannabis world, where facility closures, layoffs and multimillion-dollar writedowns have become the norm, 91裸聊视频済rowing91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频渘ot broken91裸聊视频� are crucial elements for survival.

Over the five years since cannabis was legalized in Canada, pot companies have been constrained by the strength of the illicit market, packaging and tax rules they see as too restrictive and U.S. regulators that have been slow to make national changes.

As the industry continues its slow crawl toward profitability, many are now heavily focusing on other parts of their companies to protect themselves from further upheaval.

For example, Village Farms International Inc., the Vancouver-based owner of cannabis companies Pure Sunfarms, Leli Holland and ROSE LifeScience, has a subsidiary growing tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

SNDL Inc., the Calgary-based firm behind the pot shops Value Buds, Spiritleaf and Superette, owns hundreds of liquor stores across Western Canada.

91裸聊视频淎 lot of cannabis companies have evolved and are different than maybe what they were before,91裸聊视频� said Martin.

That91裸聊视频檚 certainly true at Tilray Brands Inc., a Leamington, Ont.-based company whose chief executive, Irwin Simon, joked, 91裸聊视频淚 have four children 91裸聊视频� beer, cannabis, medical cannabis, Manitoba Harvest 91裸聊视频� and love them all equally.91裸聊视频�

Tilray began as a pure-play cannabis firm, but shortly after legalization it dropped $277.5 million on Manitoba Harvest, a purveyor of hemp-based foods, oils, and supplements with a history dating back to 1998.

As its buying spree continued, alcohol became Tilray91裸聊视频檚 new focus.

It first obtained exposure to beer through its merger with cannabis company Aphria Inc. in 2021. Aphria had paid US$300 million in 2020 for SweetWater Brewing Co., an Atlanta brewer best known for its 91裸聊视频�42091裸聊视频� beer that smells like weed but contains no pot.

Then, Tilray bought Colorado-based whiskey and spirits producer Breckenridge Distillery as well as California91裸聊视频檚 Green Flash Brewing Co. and Alpine Beer Co. in 2021, followed by New York91裸聊视频檚 Montauk Brewing Co. in 2022.

And it wasn91裸聊视频檛 finished. Over the summer, Tilray announced a deal with Anheuser-Busch Cos. that would see its beverage portfolio gain eight more brands 91裸聊视频� Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Co., 10 Barrel Brewing Co., Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Co., and HiBall Energy.

91裸聊视频淢ost of these eight brands were declining somewhat and we are glutton for punishment. We like a challenge,91裸聊视频� said Simon. 91裸聊视频淲e felt, 91裸聊视频楬ey, we can turn these around.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

The deal put Tilray on track to become the fifth-largest craft beer operation in the United States and gave the company a sizable share of a multi-billion-dollar industry Simon said has 91裸聊视频済ot a little stale.91裸聊视频�

He91裸聊视频檚 confident Tilray can 91裸聊视频渕ake craft beer cool again,91裸聊视频� but admits part of the reason why the company is even interested in the task is because other markets that were expected to welcome cannabis haven91裸聊视频檛 done so.

91裸聊视频淭he reason we91裸聊视频檙e diversifying, ultimately, is 91裸聊视频� the U.S. markets and the European markets,91裸聊视频� said Simon.

91裸聊视频淲e don91裸聊视频檛 see legalization from a recreational (standpoint) happening in the U.S. any time soon.91裸聊视频�

Canadian cannabis companies were hopeful the U.S. would move forward with national legalization after President Joe Biden revealed he would review the status of pot as a Schedule 1 substance in 2022.

Schedule 1 controlled substances are considered to have a high risk of abuse and no accepted medical use. The group includes harder drugs such as heroin and LSD.

While the U.S. has moved toward easing federal financing restrictions for pot companies, national legalization is not on the immediate horizon, leaving Canadian companies that had poured cash into American weed prospects to look elsewhere for opportunities.

But Peter Simeon, co-leader of law firm Gowling WLG91裸聊视频檚 cannabis division, warned diversification doesn91裸聊视频檛 always work out.

91裸聊视频淟ook at BioSteel and Canopy. That91裸聊视频檚 a failure,91裸聊视频� he said, referencing Canopy Growth Corp.91裸聊视频檚 foray into the sports drink business, which recently wound up with BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc. filing for creditor protection and in debt to teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, even after Canopy advanced $366 million to keep the firm going.

91裸聊视频淭o go to other industries can be challenging, I think,91裸聊视频� said Simeon.

Yet executives like Aurora91裸聊视频檚 Martin are willing to take the risk.

When Aurora bought its stake in Bevo, its 800,000 square foot, high-technology greenhouse Aurora Sky was slated for closure. Instead, Bevo moved in, delivering big savings.

91裸聊视频淭o have a facility that could keep an orchid at that exact humidity and temperature (needed) would have been wildly expensive,91裸聊视频� said Martin.

91裸聊视频淚f you wanted to build it from ground up, it probably wouldn91裸聊视频檛 have made a lot of sense.91裸聊视频�

The facility near Edmonton International Airport, which previously grew weed destined for flower, pre-rolls, oils and edibles, could handle an orchid91裸聊视频檚 18-month growing cycle. Its close proximity to the U.S. border allowed the company access to a new market.

These buyers would have typically been served by growers in Southeast Asia, from where the bulk of North American orchids are shipped on ocean freighters, revitalized and then sent out to stores.

The delivery process from western Canada was far quicker when Bevo made its first sale of orchids a few weeks ago, and Martin is hopeful that will continue as successive rounds of the delicate flowers reach maturation.

Though he91裸聊视频檚 pleased with how Bevo has progressed, he insists Aurora91裸聊视频檚 core focus hasn91裸聊视频檛 shifted.

91裸聊视频淲e are first and foremost a Canadian-based medical cannabis company. That91裸聊视频檚 the vast majority of our profitability,91裸聊视频� he said.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 the vast majority of our revenue. It91裸聊视频檚 what we spend the most amount of time on.91裸聊视频�

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