N.B. cannabis producer rebrands, seeks larger international market

Organigram, a cannabis facility in Moncton, is critical of what it calls an unfair tax.

One of the largest cannabis players in Canada keeps growing and growing.

Organigram, which recently rebranded to Organigram Global to penetrate the American and International markets, currently employs more than 700 people in the Greater Moncton area.

“We’re the fourth largest employer in the private sector and the ninth overall in the province,” said Nathalie Kubrick, executive vice president of operations at Organigram Global. “In terms of impact, we employ 725 people, that’s 725 families.”

Those employees work inside a 550,000 square-foot growing and distribution operation in the Moncton Industrial Park which cost close to half a billion dollars to build.

Yearly operating expenses total around $80 million, and the monthly power bill is $1 million.

Business is strong, but Kubrick said they are heavily burdened by an excise tax.

“It represents 30, 40 per cent of our revenue so a lot of companies in Canada are diverting their kilos to international because you don’t have to pay that excise tax when you sell internationally,” said Kubrick. “And because of that heavy burden on excise tax, profitability is an issue for a lot of companies in Canada.”

Domestic sales are the main market with Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia being the biggest buyers, but the international market is increasingly becoming a larger part of Organigram’s portfolio.

“We sell to Germany, the U.K. and Australia, Israel and we’re really focusing on growing our footprint primarily in Europe where some of the regulations are changing,” said Kubrick.

When driving by the massive facility in the city’s west end, the production smell can be noticeable at times.

City of Moncton Councillors Daniel Bourgeois and Charles Leger said they’ve received complaints from citizens about the smell emanating from Organigram.

“This odour situation has been ongoing for many years,” said Leger in an email. “The municipality has also contacted Organigram with concerns.”

Kubrick said there is still a bit of a stigma around cannabis.

“We want to be a good neighbour. We want to do the right thing every time. We have invested quite a bit in the last two years in terms of mitigating the smell,” she said. “We’re always willing to invest in making sure that we are a good neighbour. We do harvest every day so it smells every once in a while but we have invested in recirculating the air indoors in order to really minimize the smell as much as we can.”

• In Pictures: Inside a Moncton cannabis facility

As far as competing with the illicit market, Kubrick said they focus on quality, everything is regulated, and that’s what sets them apart.

“To be fair, the legal market is much more controlled. The cannabis plant is a fascinating plant. It absorbs pesticides and heavy metals from the earth, so you really don’t know what you’re getting when you’re buying from the illicit market,” said Kubrick. “Everything that comes out of here is tested heavily and that’s how we win against the illicit market.”

As far as the future goes, Kubrick said the focus will be on global expansion.

“We started selling beverages in the U.S. and really focusing our growth in the international market and bringing our own brands, Organigram brands, into the international market while maintaining our market share leadership here in Canada which is really important to us because it’s our base,” said Kubrick.

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