Martha Stewart attends the 2017 Glamour Women of the Year Awards at the Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
February 28, 2019
(Reuters) – Marijuana producer Canopy Growth has roped in lifestyle guru Martha Stewart as an adviser to help develop a line of new pot-based products for both humans and animals, it said on Thursday.
Cannabis companies in Canada including Ontario-based Canopy have been pouring cash into their businesses to both fend off competition and develop new products, especially after the country approved the use of recreational marijuana in 2017.
Canopy, the world’s largest pot producer, also has a deal with Corona beer maker Constellation Brands for the alcohol company to invest more than $4 billion in Canopy to develop various drinks.
Canopy announced Thursday’s agreement with Sequential Brands Group Inc, which owns the Martha Stewart brand of media and merchandising properties. Shares in Sequential surged 51 percent to $1.81 in early trade after the news.
“I’m especially looking forward to our first collaboration together, which will offer sensible products for people’s beloved pets,” Stewart, made famous by her cooking shows in the 1990s, said in a statement on Thursday.
She currently hosts a show with rapper Snoop Dogg, who made headlines last year for smoking pot in front of the White House. Stewart is also well known for championing animal rights.
Canopy has also announced plans to invest between $100 and $150 million in a hemp industrial park in New York State.
(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)
