Click your heels Dorothy, you are not in Kansas anymore! Perhaps you meant to say, 2 or 3 players, but you can't possibly mean brands. I agree that, similar to every industry, there will be mass consolidation, but we are still in infancy stage in the US. In the late 1800's Ebeneezer Anheuser was a failing soap manufacturer (thus the term "suds") in the Bevo Building in St Louis, until his son-in-law Adolphus Busch rescued him from bankruptcy with a few family Bavarian brew recipes.
Point being, even the big dogs started out as "craft" beers. Look at AB Invev today...that is an entity created by a series of mergers from 4 continents (AB, Interbrew, and AMBev, & SAB Miller). MolsonCoors, Heineken, China Resources Snow...all have one thing in common: they buy global brands, and lots of them. How many brands/skus are in STZ's portfolio?
Today's consumer doesn't smoke only Marlboro Reds and drink Budweiser. Gen X, Y, and Z are not as brand loyal as your grandfather. They like choice, from toothpaste, to beer, to liquor, to weed. The total domestic beer market was down 1% in 2018, but craft beers were up 7%. Think of strains being built as brands...think Boston Beer Co (and check out SAM PPS)...Jim Koch helped foster the seasonal, regional, craft movement and he hasn't stopped acquiring (Dog Fish Brewery and others) other crafts...because they are more profitable, and they have regional appeal.
I think STZ and Canopy are excellent entities, but there will be room for more than a few money makers in the US weed industry, and globally, for that matter. My long bet is that APHA is one of them. GLTA
AI
