There are plenty of do-it-yourself options in the cannabis space, and with the surging popularity of pot-infused gummies, it shouldn’t come as a surprise a company is now selling a DIY kit for consumers to create the chewy, THC-infused treats.
Victoria-based Paracanna has created a kit called Zen Zingers, which allows Canadian consumers to add legal cannabis oil to create gummies in as little as 10 minutes at home. Because the kit itself contains no cannabis, it is not regulated through Health Canada and is legal for sale, ahead of marijuana derivative products becoming legal and available in the country in mid-December.
The company suggests people start with using low doses of THC per edible (4-10 milligrams), and it designed the packaging to resemble tea products to avoid making them appealing to children.
Paracanna CEO and founder, Andrea Butterworth, said she wants to ensure the products are safe and mitigate risks.
Zen Zingers come in flavors like “Righteous Raspberry” and yield 15 gummies per package. Butterworth created the company in 2017, and she said the kits are sold in 300 stores, mostly in head shops, dispensaries and local grocery stores.
(Source: Paracanna)
Cannabis 2.0 won’t shrink demand, company says
Once second-wave cannabis products come online mid-December, the demand for Zen Zingers could potentially increase, the company said. The government’s strict rules for edibles will make the pre-made products more expensive than homemade, Butterworth said.
Health Canada warned the roll out for cannabis-infused edibles and other derivative products will be slow, and Butterworth expects it will take months for legal stores to be fully stocked. Until there’s adequate supply to bring prices down, consumers might be looking for cheaper alternatives, she added.
Also, in more mature U.S. legal markets, cooking with cannabis has grown in popularity. There are more cannabis cookbooks than ever today, allowing people to bake all sorts THC-infused goods.
But the one segment that may be underserved is gummy candies. That’s where Paracanna’s kits may have a broad reach for consumers who are looking to make the popular cannabis products.
Niche market companies may succeed over cultivators
Products like Zen Zingers are a unique way for companies to take advantage of the growing legal cannabis sector. Rather than trying to be just another cultivator, Paracanna may have found a valuable niche in what’s becoming a congested industry with many competitors offering cannabis flower and similar products.
Ultimately, that’s what companies may have to end up doing. Industry experts say supply will start to overcome demand sooner than later, which could lead to growers being put into some tough situations with revenues and margins taking a hit. Also, profits have been hard to come by in the sector, and pot firms often turn for help from the equity markets to access cash flow. As the industry evolves, this could make further turn a challenging situation into a dire one for some companies.
