TGOD announces partnership for cannabis distribution in Canada

The Green Organic Dutchman (TSX:TGOD) (US:TGODF) announced a supply partnership with Velvet Management Inc. for sales and distribution to provincial liquor and cannabis boards across Canada. Velvet is a new company owned by the largest wine distributor in Canada, Philippe Dandurand Wines (PDW). This company has specialized in importing wines since 1968 and is the largest wine importer/agent in Canada. PDW manages over $625 million of retail sales across 1,600 stores and 4 million cases in annual volume. With over 115 employees and offices across Canada, PDW has the largest wine salesforce in the country. One in ten bottles of imported wine in Canada is sold by PDW.

This is important because Velvet Management was set up with the legal recreational cannabis market in mind and TGOD is the first cannabis partner and will be exclusive in the certified organic segment. It will use its experience and contacts in the provincial liquor branches across Canada to advance its cannabis products. Meanwhile, TGOD will be the brand owner for organic cannabis and responsible for brand marketing.

We believe this is a critical and timely step for TGOD. Although product shortages are the order of the day, this will change as it did in each of the four western states in the United States. When that happens, Velvet’s relationships and distribution capabilities developed over fifty years, will give them and TGOD a leg up in marketing to the provinces. It is a business model that runs parallel to the one that PDW has used with great success for decades. The future of cannabis will not be about planting and growing; it will be about sales and marketing.