Organigram will be one of several medical cannabis producers that will be supplying Shoppers Drug Mart’s online platform.
Ray Gracewood, Organigram’s SVP for marketing and communications, said in an interview with Huddle that the agreement is a “great opportunity” to get Organigram’s products to a larger market, as well as increase access for patients.
“We’ve started as a medical company, and our number one commitment is to our medical patients and I think any time that we’ve got an opportunity to work with an incredible company such as Shoppers Drug Mart to help with access for patients, it’s a great opportunity for us,” he said.
Shoppers’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry also brings “an awful lot to the table,” said Gracewood.
“They’ve got a view on where the market is going and I think that for us to be a brand of choice within their offering is obviously a great opportunity for us to get out products out there as well,” he added.
The deal is for a three-year term, with a possibility for renewal for another two years. Organigram will provide its dried flowers, oils and Cannabis 2.0 derivative products in the future for Medical Cannabis by Shoppers, the pharmacy chain’s online platform.
“Our approach at this point has been focusing in our most popular products, specifically our Shubie CBD oil, as well as our other THC oil products, a portion of our dried flower products, and we’re also in discussions on sort of Cannabis 2.0 products down the road as well,” Gracewood said.
The sales of the products can only be done online or over the phone as per the Cannabis Act, and registered patients will get their products shipped to their home. They won’t be able to walk into a Shoppers Drug Mart location to pick their order up, Gracewood explained.
Organigram will continue discussions to iron out quality assurance and on-site business with Shoppers Drug Mart, but the supply is expected to roll out later this year, Gracewood said.
The partnership has been a long-time coming, he added.
“We’ve had meetings with Shoppers for the better part of the last two years in terms of just understanding each other’s business and understanding how we see the market,” he said.
As the market evolved and it became clearer that the two companies were a cultural fit, “the timing is right for us to engage in some kind of a partnership,” Gracewood said.
Zenabis, Avicanna, Aurora Cannabis and MedReleaf have also announced their supply agreements with Shoppers Drug Mart in the past two months.
A version of this story was published in Huddle, an online business news publication based in Saint John. Huddle is an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
