MEDICINAL marijuana player Creso Pharma (ASX: CPH) has announced its entry into the edibles industry, launching two major partnerships with global manufacturing partners.
Creso has entered into a joint venture with Canada's LGC Capital Ltd and the UK's Baltic Beer Company to develop cannabis and hemp derived drinks.
The three companies will create a range of unique cannabis and hemp derived alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, allowing Creso to expand its offering into the edible and lifestyle markets.
This announcement marks yet another milestone for the Australian and Switzerland based marijuana company who recently broke into the Chinese market.
Research and development work has already begun into creating these hemp based beverages.
The groups are working on creating a premium craft beer range containing unique mixes mimicking the terpenes of the cannabis plant.
For the uninitiated, terpenes are essential oils found in plants that carry flavour and aroma. The terpenes in the beer will carry the characteristic odour and fragrance of cannabis with the same taste and feel but will not contain THC or CBD.
The first batch of beer will land on shelves in June or July 2018.
The recent legalisation of hemp seed-based food and drink products in Australia have opened the country up to a variety of new and exciting hemp based edibles.
Earlier in the week, one of the ASX's biggest cannabis players, Queensland Bauxite, announced it will release its flagship hemp foods brand to the market early next month.
QBL's subsidiary Medical Cannabis Limited will launch its VitaHemp product range including VitaHemp honey, Hulled Hemp Seeds, Raw Cold Pressed Hemp Seed Oil, Hemp Seed Protein Powder, and Hemp Seed Flour Blends.
Like Creso Pharma, VitaHemp is doubling down on the beverage market, and launching a hemp based milk product designed to replace dairy milk.
John McMullen, CEO of LGC Capital says the cannabis beverage industry will only get bigger and bigger.
"The cannabis infused beverage industry is an emerging and growing industry and we see a lot of potential value in this market," says McMullen.
Shares in Creso Pharma are currently trading up by 5 percent to $0.06 per share at 12.05pm (AEDT).
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