Province Brands of Canada, the company which is said to have developed the world’s first beer created from cannabis, has secured CAD 11 million ($8.4 million) in a Series A funding round.
The Toronto-based firm started the round in April 2018 and has been supported by 91 investors. Its closing brings the total raised by Province since its launch to more than CAD 15 million ($11.4 million).
Province Brands’ patent-pending process has created beers brewed from cannabis while using parts of the cannabis plant which it says would otherwise have no commercial value.
The firm said its alcohol-free, cannabis-powered beers and spirits aim to challenge the alcohol industry by offering “a safer and healthier alternative that is also gluten free and low in calories and sugar”.
Shortly after the close of its seed round, Province Brands entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Auxly Cannabis Group. The company now aims to raise a Series B of between CAD 20 million ($15.2 million) and CAD 30 million ($22.8 million).
Elad Barak, Province Brands director of business development and investor relations, said: “We are honoured to have such tremendous support from our investors and we will invest the majority of the new funds into the construction and purchase of equipment for the world’s first cannabis brewery here in Canada.”
The announcement comes as Constellation Brands increases its stake in Canopy Growth Corporation, investing another CAD 5 billion ($4 billion) in the Canadian supplier of medicinal marijuana.
The deal marks Constellation’s ambition to become a leading player in cannabis beverages. The company’s CEO Bruce Linton said it was “the end of warmup” for cannabis and claimed that the size of opportunity beyond Canada – including markets in Europe, Latin America and even the US – was not fully appreciated.
In June, Canada voted to legalise cannabis for recreational use, making it only the second country after Uruguay to completely decriminalise the drug.
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