Coca-Cola Abandons the Cannabis Market. Soft drink manufacturer Coca-Cola renounces a partnership with cannabis manufacturer Aurora Cannabis. They were in conversation to market infused drinks with cannabis.
That is what Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said.
In September, the soft drink giant stated the cannabis market was still “up close”.
Quincey gave no reason for renouncing the cooperation.
The cannabis market is becoming increasingly popular among (soft) beverage producers.
The Coca-Cola Company’s largest competitor, PepsiCo, is also considering entering the market.
“We are going to take a critical observation at it, but I am not yet able to share our plans,” said CFO Hugh Johnston in early October.
Earlier this year it was already known that the company behind the beer brand Corona invested more than 3 billion pounds in cannabis producer Canopy Growth.
The American brewer Lagunitas, owned by Heineken,
also launched the non-alcoholic cannabis drink Hi-Fi Hops in the US.
Profit growth for Coca-Cola
Quincey announced the news at the presentation of the quarterly figures.
Coca-Cola had a net profit of almost 1.4 billion pounds,
an increase of 30 percent linked to the same period a year earlier.
Turnover fell by 9 percent on an annual basis to 6.4 billion pounds.
This decrease can be attributed, among other things, to the recent sale of bottling activities.
Coca-Cola maintains its financial expectations for the whole year.
The company expects earnings per share to have increased by 8 to 10 percent at the end of this financial year.