While many might think that the cannabis market is crashing, the ups and downs are normal for a new industry. In fact, the cannabis market is growing, according to Timo Bongartz. “First, there’s a hype, then it goes down, and then it stabilizes. So, the current developments are actually a good thing, it means that the industry is maturing,” Timo explains. Excited about the future of the cannabis industry, Timo recently decided to make a career change. After being the General Manager for Fluence, it was time for a new cannabis endeavor: Chief Commercial Officer at the Swiss software company Cannavigia.
Timo Bongartz and Luc Richner from Cannavigia at customer Swiss Extract
Career switch
Timo started working with Osram in 2017, where his horticulture adventure started. “After building up the horticulture segment within the company, Osram bought Fluence, after which Signify acquired Fluence. After two acquisitions and building the company to where it is today, I realized that I’m more of a builder than a manager. I felt like I had achieved my goal at Fluence and wanted to build something new,” Timo explains. During his time in the horticulture lighting business, Timo experienced the legalization of cannabis and the growth of the industry all over the world. “I understand the industry well and have built up a broad network. That’s why it was a natural fit to join Cannavigia.”
According to Timo, the cannabis market continues to grow in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. “It may seem at a standstill, but it just used to be overhyped. Everybody had such high numbers in their heads as they were building their businesses on dreams, but that was not realistic. That’s why it now seems like a downturn in comparison, but the numbers show that the markets are still growing.”
But with the revenues lower than they used to be for cultivators, those markets are in need of getting their operational costs under control. “Cannabis companies are very asset-heavy, they use a lot of equipment and have relatively high operating costs. Now that the revenue has dropped, they need to get their operational costs under control to be able to operate in these slim margins. That’s why software is a great solution: it supports operators to become more productive and efficient,” Timo explains.
Timo Bongartz at ICBC Berlin 2023
Making a grower’s life easier
That’s where the Cannavigia software comes in. The Swiss company is based in Zurich, with offices in Portugal, Germany, and Bangkok. On top of supporting cultivators to be compliant with pharmaceutical standards, the software gives growers the data to improve their profitability and efficiency. “That’s what makes this software special compared to other track and trace platforms that governments make growers use. It shouldn’t just be an obligatory platform you need to use to fulfill the standards, it should also make the grower’s life easier.”
Especially the cannabis industry can use the extra help when it comes to documentation. “In traditional horticulture, companies are often well-organized and have everything structured and documented. In the cannabis industry, on the other hand, we are often dealing with people who have a background in the legacy market and are not used to documenting anything. It’s a regime change to go from not documenting anything to having to document everything. Luckily, cannabis companies can be supported in this by using management software, helping them to make informed business decisions,” Timo says.
Data to support legalization
Moreover, having data is a key part of accelerating legalization, Timo explains. “When a new market legalizes, they don’t just let everyone do what they want. New markets start with experiments, as can be seen in The Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. The fact is that not everyone is supportive of cannabis legalization. So, you need the data to prove that it’s beneficial, that the product is better and that the black market gets suppressed.” In Switzerland, Cannavigia has a 10-year contract with the Federal Office of Public Health to be the preferred traceability partner for the nationwide recreational cannabis pilot trials. “The software makes sure that everything is traceable and compliant according to EU GACP standards, with live reporting to the government. We’re proud to play this role in the experiment and hope to further support other new markets as well.”
For more information:
Cannavigia
www.cannavigia.com