Canadian-based Sol Global Investments is an international investment company that has developed its focus on the hemp and cannabis industry through subsidiaries and investments. More recently this includes the Heavenly Rx brand, which Sol launched in early 2019. Heavenly Rx is a privately held company that invests in all stages of the wellness-based CBD industry.
But it’s not just Heavenly Rx that has earned investment firm and private investor attention. Other publicly traded cannabis companies have been making big waves in the CBD and hemp industry, and by all estimates, many of these brands are staged to reap the rewards of what promises to be a booming industry for years to come.
Heavenly Rx Takes on Promising New CEO
In early June it was announced that Paul Norman, the former President of Kellogg North America at Kellogg Co. would be taking the helm as CEO of Heavenly Rx. Norman has been with Kellogg in various roles since 1987 and has been President of Kellogg North America since 2015. He announced his retirement from the $13B commercial food giant in February and will now be switching to the newer realm of the CBD industry with Heavenly Rx.
This shift from a company like Kellogg with its worldwide recognition and mainstream products to the growing cannabis industry is not unique these days. Another CBD company based in Colorado called Charlotte’s Web also picked up a former Kellogg executive. Adrienne Elsner joined the CBD manufacturer following her tenure as President of the United States snack division with Kellogg. Partnered with developing infrastructure and larger acquisitions, these high profile appointees into the field show that the cannabis industry means business and is intent on growing from here.
About Sol Global
Sol Global is focused on the cannabis industry and is involved in many aspects of legal cannabis markets and research around the world. They are involved in several research and development projects with organizations like the University of Miami where they are engaged in researching the effect of CBD on sport concussions. They are also working with a biopharmaceutical company in Ireland that is focusing on using “cannabinoid formulations to target a range of disease areas” as explained on Sol Global’s website.
With such a focus on the cannabis industry, Sol Global could not readily be left out of the growing CBD industry. CBD and CBD based products have become a crucial part of the cannabis and wellness market that Sol is looking to focus on it with Heavenly Rx. Heavenly Rx plans to both acquire ownership of companies in the industry and develop their own line of products and stores. CBD products have become very diverse, including “oils, tinctures, balms, and vape-ready products” as acknowledged in their press release. Heavenly Rx has recently acquired a majority stake in Blühen Botanicals, a company based in Tennessee that cultivates and produces hemp products.
Heavenly Rx Investing in Blühen
Heavenly Rx will be investing $30.6 million in total in Blühen, and owns 50.1% of their membership interests. Blühen is dedicated to sourcing and crafting a very high quality and diligently cultivated products. Blühen also has a physical retail location in Knoxville dedicated to hemp products. It is likely that Heavenly Rx will be taking advantage of Blühen’s developed processes and will be using them as a quality-insured supplier for their own products. This will be important to them in a growing market that has so many products available. Consumers are beginning to look out for and value higher quality products as the industry grows and continues to be commercialized and capitalized on.
More Companies are Moving into the CBD Space
Heavenly Rx is not alone in their interest in developing their own products. People are incorporating CBD into their everyday lives and wellness routines, so if these businesses can provide a quality product that consumers trust, they will have a dedicated customer base. A company based in Chicago called Cresco Labs is also jumping into the market and is opening its own line of CBD products. Their line, called Well Beings, will include offerings from hemp-based wellness products to CBD candies that will provide them access to customers outside of the dispensary.
As laws and legal restrictions relax around cannabis and cannabis-derived products in the United States and around the world, companies like Sol Global are looking to develop their product lines to claim as much of a market share as possible. Heavenly Rx is playing an important role in furthering this expansion. The business world will be watching to see if more experienced executives make a switch to cannabis companies, and how the industry will expand and develop from here.