San Francisco and Chicago to host the first international business show dedicated to the fast-growing cannabis edibles market in July and August 2020.

Summer 2020 will see San Francisco and Chicago graced with the first global event dedicated to the fast-growing cannabis food market.

The Cannabis Food Show will throw a spotlight on an industry that is now estimated to be worth over $1 billion in the US and Canada and could grow four times to be worth $4.1 billion in North America alone by 2022 (Source: ArcView/BDS Analytics).

The exhibition is set to bring the cannabis and food industries together with the first of a series of dedicated business to business events, and a mission to expand the fast-growing cannabis food category.

Two one day shows are planned for San Francisco’s South San Francisco Conference Centre on July 31, 2020, and Chicago’s Midwest Conference Centre on August 4, 2020.

It will be a chance for major cannabis players, brand owners, chefs, distributors, and retailers to analyze both the major trends that are driving the cannabis food category forward, whilst also assessing potential threats and challenges to a sector that has exploded in recent years.

The cannabis edibles sector is the largest of all cannabis markets for recreational use in the US where it is now legal in a number of states. Most noticeably in California, Colorado, Nevada, and Washington, with more states coming on stream all the time, including Illinois on January 2020.

With the Cannabis industry seeping into all the cracks across the globe, set to conquer the world -  Canada is set to widen its legalised cannabis rules to include edibles from October 2019. In Europe, the legal CBD cannabis products market is set to grow by 400% by 2023 (Source: Brightfield).

The legalisation of Cannabis has resulted in a surge of new cannabis edible products on the market - from gummies, cakes, brownies, and chocolates, all the way through to gourmet food - which, in turn, has opened up a whole new retail sector for distributors and retailers.

The Cannabis Food Show will also look at the opportunities for cannabis edibles in the restaurant sector and the emergence of new cannabis-dedicated dining concepts.

The event is being organised by the Beverage Trade Network and follows the success of the world’s first Cannabis Drinks Expo event held in San Francisco on July 2019.

It will also look to follow its winning formula of holding both an agenda-setting conference, featuring cannabis experts and leading speakers from across the sector, alongside a trade exhibition featuring the biggest producers, players, and brands in cannabis edibles. Giving distributors and retailers the chance to discover the fastest growing and leading cannabis food brands.

The Cannabis Food Show conference will be a combination of panel debates, offering practical business advice on how to grow your cannabis business from major players in the sector to TED-style leadership talks from some of the biggest names in this fast-growing market. The focus will be on sharing best practice ideas on how to make the most of cannabis edibles in different channels and the constantly changing legal framework within which producers and retailers need to operate.

Sid Patel, chief executive of Beverage Trade Network and founder of the Cannabis Food Show, said: “This is a very exciting opportunity to give the growing cannabis food market the event it deserves. It will be the first show to bring the food and cannabis sectors together to really get to grips with what is happening. Both on the brand and food production side of the cannabis edibles market, but also the huge opportunities there are now for retailers to bring these goods to market. Be it through new retail stores, but also online.

“The time is right for cannabis food to have its own dedicated event. After all, despite its fantastic growth, this is still a relatively fresh industry with new players who need the support that a networking, business event like this can deliver.

“The Beverage Trade Network has a proven track record of helping new industry sectors grow and prosper and, as with our Cannabis Drinks expo, we see cannabis as one of the most exciting and disruptive new business sectors to hit the consumables market since the smartphone.”

The Cannabis Food Show is expected to attract hundreds of exhibitors, including cannabis producers and brand owners, chefs, cannabis restaurants, across the two shows, mainly from the US, but also the thriving cannabis edible markets around the world.

Anyone interested in attending should register their intent now and take advantage of early discounts. This a trade event that is only open to buyers, but a limited number of tickets will be available for non-buyers within the food and cannabis sectors.