Life here at Cannabis Products continues to gain momentum—and fast. It’s like the first time I drove my girlfriend’s beautiful white Corvette back in my teenage years. “Go easy … just give it a little bit of gas…” she said, cautiously, eying me sideways, a bit of fear in her voice… But who can give a Corvette just a little gas?...

Needless to say, I married that girl.

Just a little under two years ago, Mike Leonard, publisher of Cannabis Products and Prepared Foods, asked me to evaluate the B2B publishing environment surrounding development of legal cannabis edibles and beverages. It seems like only yesterday—but we’ve come quite a distance in a short period of time.

Nobody else in food industry publishing was tackling the comprehensive (and weighty…) subject of research, development and production of legal cannabis edibles and beverages—everything from business trends and legal perspectives to supply-chain necessities like ingredients, equipment, packaging, technology and more. Cannabis Products has boldly taken a leadership role in the new frontier of this lucrative industry, and now we’re ready to take our unique, practical perspective to you in person.

As we were launching this new publication, our good friends over at the Food Processing Suppliers Association (FPSA)—the group responsible for PROCESS EXPO—reached out and began discussions about having Cannabis Products provide an educational track at PROCESS EXPO, sessions focused on some key business, innovation and production aspects of developing legal cannabis edibles and beverages. We eagerly accepted this task, and look forward to these sessions come October. One highlight will be exclusive perspectives and insights from Mike Hennesy, director of innovation at Wana Brands, Boulder, CO, on establishing a world-class legal cannabis edibles business. We will also dig into hot topics like improving the supply chain, as well as best practices for QA/QC and food safety. PROCESS EXPO takes place October 8 to 11 in Chicago at McCormick Place. Visit www.myprocessexpo.com for complete details.

But PROCESS EXPO will just be an appetizer for the main course. Our big news is the launch of Cannabis Products Expo—CPX20—taking place at the Hilton Denver City Center on April 21 to 22, 2020. The event will have a very strong emphasis on education, with topics spanning the following areas:

• How to Enter the Industry
• Processing Best Practices
• Business Strategies
• QA/QC Equipment and Techniques
• Market Demographics
• Food Safety
• Product Development
• Packaging Materials
• Ingredients
• Packaging Equipment
• Manufacturing Equipment

Attendees will also get valuable face time with key ingredient, equipment, packaging, technology and other suppliers working in this fast-growing industry as we network and walk the trade show portion of the event. In a young and fast-moving industry like cannabis edibles and beverages, it’s vital to connect with the right people and information in order to foster long-term, sustainable success.

Visit the CPX page on www.cannabisproductsmagazine.com for more information on this pivotal event in the weeks to come.