That's it for this year's edition of ICBC Berlin. The two days followed a pattern familiar to anyone who has attended the show before: a slow start on day one, quieter-than-expected foot traffic on day two, and the kind of energy that tends to migrate from the show floor to the hotel lobby by mid-afternoon. The parties, by all accounts, did not help morning attendance.
© Priscilla Heeffer | MMJDaily.com
© Priscilla Heeffer | MMJDaily.com
What the floor lacked in crowds, it made up for in substance. The conversations happening across the booths were serious ones, centered on a European market that is moving, if not always in a straight line. Germany remains the undisputed anchor, with its regulatory framework setting the tone for the rest of the continent. Portugal continues to draw interest as a production base, though cautiously. Denmark is gaining quiet credibility. And for anyone still looking to enter the market, the message from those already in it was consistent: differentiation is no longer a nice-to-have.
© Priscilla Heeffer | MMJDaily.com
© Priscilla Heeffer | MMJDaily.com
Germany's cannabis social clubs drew some of the most animated discussion of the show. With more than 40 licenses granted and an estimated 13,000 needed to meet national demand, the gap between where the market is and where it could go was not lost on attendees. The model is becoming more structured, the compliance path more defined, and the economics, for those willing to do the work, increasingly difficult to ignore.
