Cannabis company Khiron Life Sciences has signed a distribution agreement with retail company Grupo Éxito to increase the former’s Kuida brand’s consumer reach in Colombia.

With a potential expansion planned across the country, the deal includes the initial sale of Kuida in five Éxito WOW concept stores and 16 traditional format stores.

Khiron CEO Alvaro Torres said: “Through our partnership with Grupo Éxito, Khiron continues to build on its strategy to generate Kuida revenue and market-share, delivering first to market CBD products to consumers across Latin America in an innovative and informed environment.

“We know that the more customers understand our product, the greater this translates into sales.

“This agreement with Grupo Éxito gives us an exceptional opportunity to do that and further strengthens Kuida’s consumer reach in Colombia.”

Kuida’s introduction to Éxito WOW stores is said to form a cornerstone product line for the retailer’s cannabis products category.

Éxito WOW stores will offer dedicated experience centers with skin expert consultants on-hand to support Kuida sales and brand awareness.

The stores will also educate consumers on the brand’s proprietary CBDERM technology, and its existing portfolio of seven skin and personal care offerings.

In 2018, Grupo Éxito introduced a new store format Éxito WOW to deliver innovative, digitally-integrated consumer experience all over the Cali, Bogotá, Medellín, and Barranquilla regions of Colombia.

With revenues of US$17 billion in 2018, Grupo Éxito is controlled by Casino Guichard-Perrachon and operates 1,533 stores across Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina, including 252 Éxito stores and nine Éxito WOW stores.

Khiron with core operations in Latin America is fully licensed in Colombia for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and international export of both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) medical cannabis.

  Alvaro Torres, Canada, Cannabis, Colombia, Éxito WOW, Grupo Éxito, Khiron Life Sciences