MONCTON, New Brunswick, Oct. 10, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — One of Canada’s leading medical marijuana producers says it is ready to take advantage of the sale of cannabis edibles and concentrates.

Organigram Holdings Inc. (TSX-V:OGI) (OTCQB:OGRMF) (the “Company” or “Organigram”) says the recent announcement that the federal government will likely approve the production and sale of edibles for the recreational market will give it opportunities for rapid growth. “We have the infrastructure and capabilities in place to produce significant quantities of edible and concentrate based products,” said Greg Engel, CEO, Organigram. “This means we will be able to diversify our product offerings providing consumers with a wide-range of traditional and new product choices when they are approved for use,” he said.

Engel said Organigram anticipated the evolution of the recreational marijuana market would eventually include edibles and concentrates. To ensure Organigram would be ready for the market growth from edibles, the company entered into an exclusive agreement last year with TGS Colorado (TGS), a vertically integrated seed-to-sale conglomerate generally regarded as having the best-in-class technological expertise in extract technology. This arrangement focuses on leveraging TGS’s product development knowledge and provides exclusive Canadian access to industry-leading intellectual property, technology, engineering, retail design, product formulations and packaging. “This strategic partnership certainly gives Organigram a significant competitive advantage in the developing Canadian market,” said Engel.

TGS operates over 300,000 sq. ft. of indoor production space, 16,000 sq. ft. of greenhouse, 25 acres of outdoor production and 14 retail locations across Colorado. The company also has operations in four other US states. TGS sells over 400 regulated products through its retail operations in Colorado. (The entire TGS product catalogue is available to view here.) With access to this impressive product portfolio, Organigram has been working with TGS closely on preparations for the Canadian market for over a year.

“Our working relationship with TGS means we are able to bring products to market quicker than others who don’t have this level of infrastructure in place,” said Ray Gracewood, Organigram’s Chief Commercial Officer.

Investment in technology allows for product innovation

Engel also noted that Organigram has invested heavily in its own operations. We expect to commission the company’s industrial scale CO 2 Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) System this week. CO 2 extraction provides the highest-quality extract for edibles and extract product manufacturing and will significantly increase Organigram’s extraction capacity in preparation for the adult recreational market. The new unit has the highest processing capacity of any CO 2 extraction system currently in use in Canada for marijuana extraction. Using the new technology, Organigram’s Moncton operation will be able to process a minimum of 5,000 kilograms of starting material annually with a single day shift five days a week. The processed concentrate and edible products will have a potential retail market value of between $40 and $50 million annually.

“When you pair a best-in-class team with best-in-class tools, you can’t help but discover new and exciting ways to re-imagine our products and industry,” said Engel. “Having this kind of equipment in-house means we are able to continue fostering an environment of innovation and leadership.