Innexo closed the latest edition of its Acceleration Day with a clear message for the industry on October 3rd. The event, hosted at the company's research greenhouse, brought together more than one hundred industry stakeholders people from twelve countries, including the United States, Costa Rica and Thailand. The audience ranged from growers to scientists and well known figures such as Jorge Cervantes, all sharing what CEO Dominique van Gruisen describes as a level of expertise that creates real value for the sector.
"Unique about this edition was not only the number of participants, but also the sense that it represented the end of an era for us at Innexo," says Dominique. Innexo is about to launch a new platform, and future Acceleration Days, will look very different.
© Innexo
From greenhouse tour to hands on science
The day opened with amazing talks by Dr.Robert Tietz (CEO Lemnatec) and Dominique about the impact of using advanced technologies to help with early disease detection and pharmaceutical quality control, and of course, Innexo's latest tech service: Seed Fingerprinting. It drew strong interest from attendees who understood the implications for breeding and consistency.Visitors were also introduced to Innexo's dedicated seed phenotyping greenhouse department, which is powered by Fohse. The name for the department was unveiled: See-D Future (see the future).. "At Acceleration Day the emphasis is always on showing and experiencing, not only talking," Dominique stressed.
© Innexo
Then there was time for a tour of the greenhouse, where Innexo walked visitors through its no veg cultivation strategy, its work on energy efficiency and the latest results from its propagation research. The focus was on refining no veg from clone for wider implementation. Impactful research on propagation was shared by HAN Student Timo Hoofwijk, who finished his internship at Innexo. The no veg method is promising but unforgiving. "If something goes wrong at the start, the entire cycle suffers," Dominique points out. "If everything is done properly, growers can see shorter cycles and reduced labor. There's no need to defoliate, and labor can be allocated more efficiently and where it matters the most."
A new phase for Acceleration Days
The next chapter of Acceleration Days will adopt a more focused and exclusive format. Innexo plans to scale its platform so trials can be run more efficiently, making long term research agreements more cost effective for cannabis companies. "Each edition of the new Acceleration Days will bring at least twenty licensed producers into the room, alongside technology partners. Even competitors will be present, sometimes from the same product category," he explains. According to Dominique, Innexo is the one place in Europe where competing companies can sit together, look each other in the eye and contribute to moving the industry ahead. "There is room for everyone as the market is still maturing."
While Innexo offers consortium style visibility, every research program remains individual. "Partners receive their own trials and results, without compromise," Dominique says. "In typical consortium settings, disagreements can force middle ground solutions. At Innexo, each company is treated like a star athlete and receives its own tailored program."
© Innexo
Responding to a changing market
Dominique also sees the broader market entering a more mature phase. Price compression and oversupply are part of the natural evolution of agricultural commodities as markets emerge and mature. In this environment, both suppliers and licensed producers are looking for ways to stay competitive. "Many suppliers are increasingly willing to help producers with strategies and knowledge, even though they are not pure consultants," Dominique notes. "For producers, the key levers are cost reduction and increased yield while standardizing quality, which are exactly two of the main areas our research is focusing."
This is where no veg and inter canopy lighting approaches come in. "Every product tested at Innexo is tested in no veg conditions, meaning results are directly applicable for producers planning to adopt the method."
A growing community steps into a new stage
For Dominique the most striking moment of the recent Acceleration Day was seeing many attendees from the first event in June 2023 return. Over time the audience has grown more international, with bigger names and brighter scientists joining the conversation.
"What began as a family like gathering has grown into a one hundred person event that still retains the same sense of purpose," he says. "Several attendees said they joined because they follow me on social media, or heard about Innexo, and wanted to see first-hand what we cook up in the lab. For me, this growing curiosity is a sign that the company is on the right path to contribute meaningful and impactful change across this global industry."
The shift to a new platform also means future editions will no longer be free for the general audience. Dominique acknowledges that this change may disappoint some, but stresses that joining the platform brings clear value for those incorporated into it. "The intention is not to close the door but to grow the community in a way that supports more research and more implementation across the market."
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