Alex Blumenstein heads Leaf Forward the country’s first business accelerator focused on the cannabis industry. Blumenstein believes the defining trend of 2018 is “diversification through consolidation.”

“As new licensing come on board, there will be diversified grows and products and shifts away from Licensed Producers as the dominant force in the industry. As the poll shifts away from the big grows, they’ll end up taking over the micro-grows.” – Alex Blumenstein

Blumenstein sees ancillary products as being a key segment of growth. “As the industry starts to mature, we’ll see more and more ancillary products come online and as we better understand what a provincial dispenser will look like, we’ll see more ancillary products and businesses come online and enter the market.” Blumenstein sees the biggest hurdle in the industry being knowledge and expertise. “That goes for everything: on the cultivation side there are not a lot of experts with large-scale cultivation experience. Those who have grown at commercial scales will be at an advantage.” Looking to the future, Blumenstein is fascinated with the market for infused products that has developed south of the border. “The most interesting thing in this moment in time is how infused products will be developed and brought into market. You look at the States and the branding is so cool. There’s so much creativity around that: packaging, design, and it will be great to see that and interesting to see how it changes consumption changes.”

Interview conducted by Harrison Jordan, Special Contributor, Business of CannabisShareFacebookTwitterLinkedIn