Hawthorne Gardening Company plans to take over sole control and ownership of the Kelowna, B.C. research and development facility that has been operated under a partnership with Flowr, a licensed Canadian cannabis cultivator, since its opening in October 2020.
The Kelowna Research Station is the first licensed R&D facility of its kind in North America solely dedicated to conducting research on cannabis cultivation. It is located in Canada, where cannabis is federally legal and regulated.
Hawthorne has agreed to purchase the facility outright from Flowr, with a targeted closing date in early summer, contingent upon satisfactory completion of due diligence and receipt of all necessary licensing approvals from Health Canada. Once that occurs, Hawthorne will expand its research trials and product development initiatives with the goal of driving more innovative growing solutions for cultivators.
The Kelowna facility has played a key role in Hawthorne’s R&D efforts to bring new products to market on numerous fronts. It not only researches cultivation methods and their impact on the plant, but the facility also is used to test Hawthorne’s branded LED lights, growing media, nutrients and other products, and to benchmark the results, directly on cannabis. Findings help validate product efficacy and inform future innovation to share with cannabis growers.
By becoming sole operator, under its own research license, of the facility, Hawthorne will expand its groundbreaking work that is advancing the cannabis industry in areas such as quality, yield, energy efficiency and sustainability.
The Kelowna Research Station also serves as a showcase for growers who are Hawthorne customers. Customers who have participated in facility tours have deemed the experience as overwhelmingly positive, a testament to the R&D work and Hawthorne’s commitment to collaborate on cultivation practices for the mutual benefit of the entire cannabis industry.
Learn more about the Kelowna site and other Hawthorne research centers here.
