Namaste Technologies looks to become the ‘Amazon of cannabis’ with its integrated, intelligent cannabis experience

• Operates the largest global cannabis e-commerce platform with over 30 websites in more than 20 countries
• Cannabis marketplace CannMart at the heart of operations
• Flushed with $23 million in capital as it starts US operations

What Namaste Technologies does:

Namaste Technologies Inc (CVE:N) (OTCMKTS:NXTTF) is a cannabis-focused e-commerce technology company with lofty ambitions - to own the world of cannabis e-commerce and become the one-stop-shop for everything a cannabis user needs.

The Toronto-based company, which has been described as the “Amazon of cannabis,” operates the largest global cannabis e-commerce platform with over 30 websites in more than 20 countries under a variety of brands. 

In addition to its product offerings of vaporizers, glassware, accessories, and CBD products, the company also owns subsidiary, CannMart Inc, which is a key part of its operations that sells online medical and recreational cannabis.  

Namaste holds a 49% equity interest in Choklat Inc, a craft chocolate manufacturer that has a processing license from Health Canada to produce cannabis-infused chocolate bars, drink mixes, and sugar. It also has an identical stake in Pineapple Express Delivery Inc, a same-day delivery service platform for customers. 

Tech-wise, Namaste is involved in artificial intelligence (AI) and cannabis strain research as well. And the company has developed a number of technology platforms, including its global telemedicine app NamasteMD as well as its CannMart.com online and mobile app. 

As well, it has developed the Uppy Cannabis Journal that allows medical cannabis users to track the effects of different cannabis strains on whatever symptoms they may be looking to address. That data is then fed into Namaste AI, which employs machine learning to give consumers cannabis strain recommendations. 

How is it doing:

Flush with $23 million in capital after a recent bought-deal financing offering, Namaste has finally entered the US market, where its plans to expand its footprint.

In late February its CannMart.com website went live using the company’s VendorLink platform, offering American consumers US hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) and smoking accessories. 

The company isn’t exporting products from Canada into the US but is growing its role as a facilitator using CannMart.com and VendorLink. US and other companies that wish to sell legal products in the US can now use the platform to conduct business similarly to Amazon’s marketplace.

The company plans to focus its VendorLink platform on US wellness “frontiers” including new nutraceutical products and it hopes to add cannabis to the platform – should the US Senate pass a national legalization bill.

Namaste also last month announced plans to broaden its total addressable market and to evolve into a pre-eminent wellness company to connect consumers to their wellness needs via additional pathways beyond cannabis. 

As result, the board has approved the launch of a nutraceutical division in fiscal year 2021 headed by COO Faraaz Jamal. And the company is taking steps to win a Health Canada license to study and manufacture psychedelics for clinical trials.  

Its wholly-owned subsidiary CannMart Labs Inc plans to engage a regulatory consulting firm to advise on the company’s upcoming application to Health Canada for a Controlled Drugs and Substances Dealer’s Licence. Such a license would allow the company to engage in a number of activities relating to controlled substances, including the research and manufacturing of controlled substances such as psilocybin and psilocin, and the sale of controlled substances to researchers and companies undertaking clinical trials.

CannMart Labs also received its Health Canada process license last month, which means Namaste can now leverage its existing sales licence through CannMart to bring its manufactured products to Canada and expects to do so by the end of the second quarter this year.

The Cannabis 2.0 products the company initially has planned include shatter, live resin, badder, and it can enlarge future distillate product offerings to include vape cartridges, gel capsules, tinctures, and edibles.

The company continues to expand its medical cannabis platform on CannMart.com in Canada with the addition of well-known licensed producer HEXO Corp. It has also announced the addition of Auxly and The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD) products.

Looking at its finances, Namaste anticipates fourth-quarter 2020 gross revenue to be about $8 million, a 100% year-over-year increase, and a 21% rise from the $6.3 million it recorded in the 3Q. The company also expects its fiscal 2020 gross revenue, including cannabis revenue, to climb by 59% year-over-year to about $27 million.

Namaste is targeting continued revenue growth throughout 2021 as the company moves to complete the integration of CannMart Labs and bring new and higher-margin products to market, which will be introduced through new brand lines starting with ‘Roilty’. 

Inflection points: 

• Position company as top global cannabis and wellness company
• Expand US footprint and push into international markets
• Increase penetration into recreational markets
• Eyes continued revenue growth in 2021

What the boss says:

“With ever stronger signals that the regulatory landscape in the USA is evolving, our entry into the jurisdiction through the sale of hemp-derived CBD and accessories will position us strategically to begin capturing new market share and build a first-mover advantage if and when cannabis becomes legalized federally,” Namaste CEO Meni Morim has said.

“This development also further validates our investment in technology, as the expansion will be facilitated via our marketplace technology. We look forward to building on this positive momentum as we continue to execute our strategy to position Namaste as a leading global cannabis and wellness company.”

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Story by ProactiveInvestors