The president of Crosby's Molasses has confirmed he's launching a separate company to get into the cannabis edibles business.

James Crosby says the company, EYG Consumables, has applied for a licence with Health Canada and purchased a property in the McAllister Industrial Park in Saint John.

"We are looking to take our extensive food manufacturing experience into the cannabis-infused food space," Crosby said Wednesday in a statement to CBC. "This will be a separate facility at a separate location."

Crosby is the son of Jim Crosby, the owner and chair of Crosby's Molasses.

The new company is not part of Crosby's Molasses.

EYG Consumables Ltd., listing the younger Crosby as director, was incorporated in August 2018.

The company purchased a one-hectare (2.4 acres) lot in the industrial park in January.

Crosby Molasses Company was started in Yarmouth, N.S., and was moved to Saint John in 1897. It has been a fixture on what is now Rothesay Avenue in east Saint John since 1911 and is a well-known national and international brand.

Crosby said the edibles project involves other partners. More details could be available in March.