Tilray acquires Smith & Sinclair to develop a range of edible CBD products in the United States and Canada

Tilray has acquired gummy candy maker Smith & Sinclair to create a range of edible CBD-based products, the Canadian pot company announced Tuesday.

The British company Smith & Sinclair infuses alcohol in food products to create twists on sweet treats. The company sells gummy jellies and alcoholic lollipops, edible perfumes and tablets that turn a standard badtail into a soft drink. Tilray will work with the company to create new edible products impregnated with CBD and distribute them in the United States and Canada.

The agreement gives Tilray another way to develop new cannabis-based products as companies try to differentiate themselves and attract new customers who might not want to smoke a joint. US consumers are thirsty for products containing CBD, a non-psychoactive cannabis compound that is now legal at the federal level, thanks to Congress's adoption of the Farm Bill at the end of last year.

Tilray's CEO, Brendan Kennedy, told CNBC that he had met the Smith & Sinclair team about a year and a half ago. He said "love" the product's marketing and product innovation teams, especially the opportunities offered by edible products impregnated with CBD. He decided that the teams would bring a "perfect complement" to Tilray's growing portfolio, which includes the Marley Natural jar brand and the Manitoba Harvest hemp seed brand.

"In the last nine years, I've met most of the cannabis-based edible product companies, and this team was very different from anything I'd seen in the hemp space." and the CBD, "said Kennedy. "Based on the R & D they performed, we thought that they could create innovative products."

Smith & Sinclair Executive Director and co-founder Melanie Goldsmith has won several awards for her work with the company. The company's mission is to make "adults more fun", saying "in one word: Willy Wonka for grown-ups". Goldsmith said in a statement that Tilray's support would allow Smith & Sinclair to "boost" his efforts.

"This acquisition will mark a turning point in Smith & Sinclair's journey, which will help us strengthen our international footprint and bring more innovative products and ranges to market," she said.

Smith & Sinclair's best known products may be the "Trump Sucks" alcoholic lollipops created in 2017 in response to President Donald Trump's ban on federal funds for international groups that practice or provide information about abortions. The candies are Trump's face mussels affixed to a stick. Smith & Sinclair donated the money raised to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Tilray declined to say what kind of products he could develop with Smith & Sinclair, which will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Tilray. The company also refused to disclose the terms of the deal, claiming only that Tilray had acquired all outstanding and issued securities.

The lines between pot manufacturers and traditional consumer product manufacturers are blurring. Kennedy added that Tilray continues to attract the interest of traditional US companies that are under pressure from retailers to offer CBD products.

Late last year, Tilray partnered with the Anheuser-Busch InBev mega-fritter to create a joint cannabis research venture. The company has also signed an agreement with Authentic Brands, which owns brands such as Nine West, Prince Sports and Juicy Couture, to develop CBD-based consumer products.

Correction: This item has been corrected to indicate that CBD products will only be sold in the United States and Canada, not in Europe.