NYSE | TSX: ACB
EDMONTON, Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - On the one-year
anniversary of consumer legalization in Canada, Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora") (NYSE
| TSX: ACB), the Canadian company defining the future of cannabis
worldwide, announced plans for the roll-out of vapes, concentrates,
and edibles when they are permitted for sale to consumers in
December. The Company has prioritized its resources to prepare for
a successful initial launch that will support an ongoing
replenishment strategy to help ensure consumers across Canada will have access to a diverse portfolio
of high-quality derivative products they want to buy.
You can watch a compilation of our commercial production of
vapes, mints, chocolates and gummies HERE. Photos are available on
Aurora's Investor website HERE.
"Aurora's Product Development and Insights teams have done
tremendous work to formulate new products in a variety of formats
that we think will exceed consumer expectations and drive category
growth," said Aurora CEO Terry
Booth. "Aurora has built industry-leading cannabis capacity
and scalability supported by our consumer research and retail
distribution bench strength to launch this next generation of
cannabis products into the Canadian market. We are ready to ship
product as soon as the regulations allow and are excited for
consumers and patients to finally have access to a greater
selection of product forms. We are already working on expanding the
range of new products beyond those that will initially launch."
To support the successful launch of vapes, concentrates, and
edibles products, and to continue to ensure sufficient supply for
domestic and international markets, Aurora has established
production hubs in Eastern and Western
Canada at Aurora River (Bradford,
Ontario), Aurora Vie (Pointe
Claire, Quebec) and at Aurora Sky (Leduc, Alberta).
These centres are intended to provide centralized production,
packaging, logistics and distribution capabilities. In total, they
comprise more than 450,000 square feet and are strategically
located to efficiently distribute Aurora's products to markets
across the country. In addition, Aurora Air, a 20,000 square foot
manufacturing facility near Aurora Sky at the Edmonton International Airport, will be home
to several of the new production lines for edible products.
Aurora's next generation products have been formulated to meet or
exceed all regulatory requirements. All new cannabis product forms
are subject to a legislated Health Canada 60-day review period that
begins on October 17, 2019.
New Product Categories
Vapes
Aurora's customized extraction
process uses a proprietary method that retains a high quantity and
quality of terpenes and contains no fillers or dilutive agents.
Aurora is bringing a new range of high-quality vape products to
market at various price points that are targeted to all major
consumer markets including closed-loop, 510 thread cartridges, and
disposable single-use units. Watch a video of Aurora's vape
production HERE.
Concentrates
From seed to extract,
Aurora grows, extracts and produces its concentrates with no
fillers or dilutive agents. Products are made completely in-house,
from 100 per cent cannabis-derived rosin, using a proprietary
extraction process. The Company intends to produce popular product
forms such as shatter, sugar wax and live rosin for purchase by
consumers in Canada.
Edibles
Aurora's new suite of edibles
products – which are intended to initially include gummies,
chocolates, baked goods, and mints – have been made in consultation
with food industry experts and food scientists to create
cannabis-infused edibles of the highest quality. Cannabis extract
is infused throughout the product to provide consistency, texture
and a great flavor.
To help ensure Canadian consumers receive the highest quality
products, Aurora has selectively partnered with a variety of
organizations across some of the edible product categories it
initially intends to focus on, including:
Gummies and Candies: TBA
Aurora has established key partnerships with two leading
companies to develop CBD and THC infused gummies and candies. These
technical partnerships have positioned Aurora to be a leader in the
edible category in Canada and in
other jurisdictions in the future as regulations allow.
Chocolates: JACEK Chocolate
Couture
JACEK Chocolate Couture ("JACEK") is an award-winning
Alberta-based luxury chocolate
manufacturer and retailer committed to innovation, artistry, and
sustainability. Known for launching seasonal chocolate and
confectionary collections, JACEK spreads joy through fine,
fashionable chocolate. Aurora has entered into an exclusive
two-year global agreement to license JACEK's IP related to the
manufacturing and production of cannabis-infused chocolates.
Together, JACEK and Aurora intend to develop infused chocolate
squares and high-end decadent caramel filled chocolates.
Baked Goods: WG Pro-Manufacturing
& Touché Bakery
WG Pro-Manufacturing ("WG") specializes in custom co-packing and
co-manufacturing of food, confectionary, and other consumer
packaged goods. Touché Bakery ("Touché") is an experienced baked
goods manufacturer that works with WG to supply baked goods support
for co-packing and co-manufacturing. Aurora has entered into an
exclusive partnership with WG and Touché, whereby Touché will
produce cannabis-infused baked goods and WG will oversee the
co-packing and co-manufacturing services in partnership with
Aurora's team at Aurora River, located in Bradford, Ontario. Initial baked goods to be
launched include a vegan brownie cookie with additional product
formats to rapidly follow.
Watch a video of Aurora's cannabis-infused
mints production HERE.
Watch a video of Aurora's
cannabis-infused chocolates production HERE.
Watch a video of Aurora's cannabis-infused gummies production
HERE.
Anniversary of Consumer Legalization
On the one-year anniversary of consumer legalization in
Canada, Aurora acknowledges the
hard work and advocacy of patients, champions and the cannabis
community that ultimately led to the end of prohibition. Since
inception, Aurora has embraced the experience, knowledge, and
insight of experts from the cannabis community and has drawn on
that in every area of its business – including the development of
edibles and ingestibles for the consumer market.
In April, Owen Smith joined
Aurora's Corporate Social Responsibility team as a Stakeholder
Engagement Specialist for Western
Canada. A long-time cannabis trailblazer and activist, Owen
was arrested in 2009 for making cannabis-infused vegetable oil
products for medical patients, inspired by his sister who was in
the final stages of cancer. With the help of community funding, he
took his case to the Supreme Court of Canada that unanimously decided restricting
medical cannabis access to dried flower infringed upon patients'
right to make choices about their health.
"Because of that ruling, thousands of patients – and now
consumers – have the right to access cannabis products that come in
a variety of formats other than dried flower," said Jonathan Zaid, Aurora's Director of Advocacy and
Corporate Social Responsibility. "This is who we are at Aurora. We
support and embrace people who push the status quo and help move
the whole sector forward. We bring these worlds together to create
products people are looking for in the regulated market."
To stay informed of regular updates and insights into
operations at Aurora, visit the Aurora Insider, our
investor-focused blog
About Aurora
Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada with funded capacity in excess of 625,000 kg per
annum and sales and operations in 25 countries across five
continents, Aurora is one of the world's largest and leading
cannabis companies. Aurora is vertically integrated and
horizontally diversified across every key segment of the value
chain, from facility engineering and design to cannabis breeding
and genetics research, cannabis and hemp production, derivatives,
high value-add product development, home cultivation, wholesale and
retail distribution.
Highly differentiated from its peers, Aurora has established a
uniquely advanced, consistent and efficient production strategy,
based on purpose-built facilities that integrate leading-edge
technologies across all processes, defined by extensive automation
and customization, resulting in the massive scale production of
high-quality consistent product. Designed to be replicable and
scalable globally, our production facilities are designed to
produce cannabis at significant scale, with high quality,
industry-leading yields, and low-per gram production costs. Each of
Aurora's facilities is built to meet European Union Good
Manufacturing Practices ("EU GMP") standards. Certification has
been granted to Aurora's first production facility in Mountain View
County, the MedReleaf Markham facility, and its wholly owned
European medical cannabis distributor Aurora Deutschland. All
Aurora facilities are designed and built to the EU GMP
standard.
In addition to the Company's rapid organic growth and strong
execution on strategic M&A, which to date includes 17 wholly
owned subsidiary companies – MedReleaf, CanvasRX, Peloton
Pharmaceutical, Aurora Deutschland, H2 Biopharma, BC Northern
Lights, Larssen Greenhouses, CanniMed Therapeutics, Anandia,
HotHouse Consulting, MED Colombia, Agropro, Borela, ICC Labs,
Whistler, Chemi Pharmaceutical, and Hempco – Aurora is
distinguished by its reputation as a partner and employer of choice
in the global cannabis sector, having invested in and established
strategic partnerships with a range of leading innovators,
including: Radient Technologies Inc. (TSXV: RTI), Cann Group Ltd.
(ASX: CAN), Micron Waste Technologies Inc. (CSE: MWM), Choom
Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO), CTT Pharmaceuticals (OTCC: CTTH),
Alcanna Inc. (TSX: CLIQ), High Tide Inc. (CSE: HITI), EnWave
Corporation (TSXV: ENW), Capcium Inc. (private), Evio Beauty Group
(private), and Wagner Dimas (private).
Aurora's Common Shares trade on the TSX and NYSE under the
symbol "ACB", and is a constituent of the S&P/TSX Composite
Index.
For more information about Aurora, please visit our investor
website, investor.auroramj.com
Terry Booth, CEO
Aurora Cannabis Inc.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release includes statements containing certain
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking
statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan",
"continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate",
"estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other
similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions
"may" or "will" occur, and include, but are not limited to, the
successful production and launch of the Company's next generation
products listed in this news release and the associated time frame
for such products being available on the market in Canada. These statements are only predictions.
Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making
the projections contained in the forward-looking statements
throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based
on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the
statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and
uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or
results to differ materially from those projected in the
forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation, and
expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly
required by applicable law.
Neither TSX, NYSE nor their applicable Regulation Services
Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto
Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange) accept responsibility
for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
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SOURCE Aurora Cannabis Inc.