Walmart Canada Eyes Cannabis Industry

Walmart’s Canadian unit might start selling cannabis-based products in the future, although there are no immediate plans in the works.

“Walmart Canada has done some preliminary fact-finding on this issue, but we do not have plans to carry CBD products at this time,” company spokeswoman Diane Medeiros told Reuters.

This month, Canada will become the first major economy to legalize recreational marijuana. The nation’s legal cannabis market is expected to target around 32 million adults by 2025 and drive about C$10.4 billion in retail market sales, Roth Capital Partners analyst Scott Fortune wrote in a client note. He added that Canada’s move to legalize might also inspire other countries to follow suit.

“An investment blueprint has been established in Canada that we believe will play out internationally very similarly,” Fortune said.

Other companies are also exploring the possibility of introducing cannabis-based products into their offerings. Coca-Cola is taking a close look at the cannabis drinks market, which uses the non-psychoactive chemical in marijuana to make wellness drinks. The company has allegedly met with Canada’s Aurora Cannabis to develop beverages, with one source saying these talks are “preliminary,” and that Coca-Cola was also speaking to other companies.

“The space is evolving quickly,” it said in a statement, adding that, “no decisions have been made at this time.”

Earlier this year, Constellation Brands, which owns Robert Mondavi, Corona and Svedka, took a stake in Canada’s Canopy Growth — an up-and-coming player in the blooming marijuana industry.

“It’s probably not worth getting in a big debate right now about whether it’s cannibalistic or complementary,” said Constellation CEO Rob Sands. “There’s just not enough information to really say how that’s going to affect beverage alcohol generally moving forward. What we do know is it’s going to be a big market worldwide.”