While the medical cannabis market in Europe is growing, local production is lagging behind in meeting the huge demand. Lots of imports are pouring into the Old Continent, especially from Canada. North America is, quite unsurprisingly, still dominating the market, but there are local EU companies that want a more Eurocentric cannabis industry.
Founded by CEO George Gallinos, a former security industry professional, Greece-based medical cannabis company Grecan was established with the goal of putting Greece – and Europe – on the cannabis cultivation map.
Building something European
In an industry often shaped by regulatory complexity and global supply chains, Grecan's bet is that a localized, collaborative, and craft-oriented approach can give European producers a competitive edge. "When you combine the agricultural strengths of southern Europe with the technological infrastructure of the north," says Americo Folcarelli, Director of Sales and Marketing at Grecan, "there's no reason Europe can't lead in cannabis production."
"We wanted to build something truly European," he continues. "Our equipment, knowledge, and investment are all sourced from within the EU. Even our funding came from European sources, including EU funds and the Greek government. No outside investors."
At its core, Grecan's strategy has been to emphasize quality, consistency, and regional identity. The company began by sourcing award-winning genetics, reflecting what Americo describes as a rich but often overlooked European cannabis tradition. "We wanted the best in Europe, so we asked ourselves: where's the best in terms of genetics? The answer is Spain." Grecan currently works with twelve genetics, each featuring two selected female phenotypes, and focuses on optimizing traits like cannabinoid profile, terpene expression, pest resistance, and yield.
"People often look to California or Canada when it comes to outstanding genetics," he points out, "but Europe has long been a hub of excellence, whether in wine, cheese, or fashion. We think cannabis too belongs in that conversation."
The company currently have 5 green houses and are a close system grow. "We use both high pressure sodium and LED lights. All of our nutrients and fertilizer is supplied from the Netherlands. Our lighting comes from Germany and the Netherlands. We also have 1 Mothering Room, 1 Nursery, 1 Curing Room and 1 Drying Room. Our GMP area has a Super Critical CO2 extraction system and is used it for extraction, bottling and packaging. We are able to also formulate various products for the medical market in this area. We have a state of the art QC room with the most advanced cannabis analytical equipment from Germany and the Netherlands. This allows us to have all QC, stability studies and analysis of product all in house. We are a vertically integrated EU-GMP facility which means that our facility integrates GACP, GMP 1 and GMP 2."
Grecan is currently producing around 400 kilograms of medical cannabis flower per month and is scaling toward 1,000 kilograms monthly. While Greece's domestic medical cannabis market remains limited, Grecan has already begun exporting to Germany and is in talks to enter the UK market. "One of the main characteristics of the Greek medical cannabis space is that imports are not allowed, and everything needs to be produced locally. The market here, however, is not that big. On the other hand, we can export. We are the first Greek company to export to Germany, and we are in talks to ship our product to the UK by the end of August."
One of the company's key differentiators is its commitment to sustainability and innovation in processing. "We don't irradiate our cannabis. Instead, we're working with academic partners, including the University of Crete, to implement alternatives like magnetic resistance to meet strict microbial standards," Americo notes. The company is also investing in solar energy to reduce operational costs and eventually become self-sustaining. "Greece, but also Spain and Italy, have the greatest energy source: the sun. We want to capitalize on that, and we are building to become completely self-sustainable by producing our own power."
Leveraging Europe's strengths
The rich and favorable agricultural landscape in Southern Europe is part of the equation to make the EU a top cannabis producer globally, according to Americo. "In the south, you have the perfect areas to grow anything, and you have the technological horti-giants in the north – in the Netherlands and Germany. If we as a European industry start combining these two, there's no part of the world that can beat us."
Grecan plans to expand into extracts and distillates while seeking joint ventures with companies that share its quality-first, EU-focused philosophy. Such a plan is also instrumental in bringing more products into the market and better catering to customers' tastes. "As growers, we need a lot of information coming back from the marketplace," he says. Getting feedback from the market is essential for an industry that is moving fast. "A lot of companies have to make do with whatever they can do." Looking at Canada, growers hardly get any first-hand feedback from the market as they have to sell their cannabis to a central agency, such as a given Liquor Board, which in turn distributes the products to retailers. If we look at the cannabis experiment in the Netherlands, one of the things many growers are looking forward to is getting feedback from coffee shops, as companies sell directly to retailers. This gives them the ability to better follow market trends, increasing the chances of being successful. "We're not a giant company," says Americo. "Getting first-hand feedback from the market gives us the agility to shift quickly based on real-time data and emerging trends."
As the medical cannabis space in Europe grows, this is the chance for local producers to step up and showcase what European innovation is truly all about, says Americo. "We are going to see a lot more growth. There's a lot of space for everybody. Some will inevitably make mistakes, but those who will win this business are those who can take the feedback from clients, transform it back into their operation, and produce those products that the market is demanding. The more knowledge you have, the more chances of being successful you have."
For more information:
Grecan
grecan.gr