Myrna Gillis, CEO of Aqualitas. The cannabis producer, based in Brooklyn, has been sold to a British firm. (Aqualitas photo)

Queens County cannabis producer Aqualitas has been sold to a British company.

The Brooklyn-based firm has been bought by the London-based Cannaray Limited. Aqualitas will become part of Cannaray’s medical cannabis division, Therismos, which operates in Germany and the UK.

Co-founder and CEO Myrna Gillis said Thursday the deal started being hashed out three years ago. She said jobs are safe at the plant in Brooklyn.

“It’s a great thing for the plant here in Brooklyn,” she said in an interview.

“We have expansion plans that had been on the books for a while, because we effectively had more demand than we had supply or capacity to meet. And we have funds that are earmarked now under this agreement for expansion, so we’re going to have expansion in the Liverpool facility. It enhances our position in relation to jobs and we don’t have any expectation of any layoffs. We expect to be in a position of expansion and growth because of it.”

Gillis would not disclose the value of the deal. But she said the two companies combined for sales last year of $75 million.

Gillis was a lawyer in Bedford when she co-founded Aqualitas in 2014. The company set up its grow-op shop in the Port Mersey Commercial Park, at the site of the former Bowater Mersey pulp and paper mill in Brooklyn in 2017. It employs between 75 and 85 people.

It quickly became recognized around the world for its environmentally friendly aquaponic growing system that uses the nutrient-dense waste of more than 3,000 koi carp fish as fertilizer.

Its products can be found around the world, in the U.S., Australia, Israel, Germany, Portugal and Poland.

The privately held company is certified organic and has won numerous awards and certifications since it was founded. It has also been on the forefront of research into PTSD, insomnia and pain.

“When I look back at that and I think of everything that we’ve accomplished, it’s an incredible story,” Gillis says. “So I’m really proud of what we’ve done, I’m really proud of what I was able to contribute to the team.”

Gillis said the time was right for the marijuana merger. Prices domestically have been going down, while export markets are still paying top dollar for their product. And Germany is set to legalize marijuana on April 1, opening up the international market even more.

“When we got into this industry we were licence No. 87. Now there are more than 950 licences with Health Canada. We had too many companies, too much supply in the domestic market, too many people doing the exact same thing.

“I always had the vision that I wanted to do an exit with a global company because you need to be globally competitive to guarantee your growth and access to markets.”

Gillis will continue as chairwoman of Aqualitas and she will be a member of Cannaray’s board.

Chief operating officer Josh Adler will take over the daily operation of Aqualitas and the current management team will stay in place, Gillis says.

“I think this is good for the community, it’s good for Aqualitas and it’s good for the industry.”

As for Gillis herself, she says she will still be busy with the company she founded with friends almost 10 years ago.

“I have a third act, I’m sure. But right now, there’s a lot happening here during my tenure. But there’s a third act for sure.”

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Aqualitas Top Grower, Jake Ward. Photo courtesy Aqualitas

When the pandemic began slowing business around the world, apparently no one told Aqualitas.

The Brooklyn-based cannabis producer is having a banner year by any standard, garnering national awards and forging international partnerships.

Earlier this year, Aqualitas master grower Jake Ward beat out licensed producers from across the country to earn the title of Canada’s top grower from Grow Opportunities magazine.

CEO and co-founder of Aqualitas Myrna Gillis calls the recognition for Ward one of the happiest days she’s had with the company.

“We do things the hard way. We grow organically, we’re certified organic. We do living soil and living water. We have a complex design with the aquaponics,” said Gillis. “There’s only one other company doing that right now in Canada. It was setting a high bar but we did it because we knew that it would matter in the quality of the product.”

Gillis said the company’s success comes from the hard work of a lot of amazing people.

Since launching in 2014, Aqualitas has grown to 80 employees in the Brooklyn production facility and 11 in their Bedford offices.

Gillis was pleased to say they were one of the few cannabis companies who hired through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Those positions come as Aqualitas is finding its way into new markets. Gillis said in January 2020, just before COVID hit, the company was selling six SKUs (or distinct products) in three markets. Now they have 26 SKUs being sold in seven markets and are listed to sell medical cannabis on the Shoppers Drug mart site.

“It’s been tough. We took it on the chin just like everybody else did in a couple of those months but overall, when we look at where the year will end and where it began, we have a lot to be proud of,” said Gillis.

And the year is ending with big news for Aqualitas. The local producer has teamed up with U.S.-based edibles producer Sunderstorm to manufacture and distribute their Kanha line of gummies across Canada.

Gillis said funding from the national Industrial Research Assistance program and Nova Scotia Business Inc allowed them to pursue research into keeping the amount of THC consistent in edibles through water-soluble powders.

“Making a gummy, in and of itself, is not particularly complex,” said Gillis. “Making a really good gummy is very complicated.”

Gillis said they will be the only Nova Scotian producer making edibles, setting them up in a David versus Goliath scenario against larger edible producers out of Ontario.

“Our home province is, without question, our most loyal and our most important market to us. So, certainly it will help us here, but I think the quality and the brands outside of the province is what will drive it,” said Gillis.

She calls the partnership with Sunderstorm a great match for both companies.

While she has more big goals set for 2020, Gillis wants her team to take some time to recharge over the holidays.

“I’m hoping that everybody on the team tries to get a little downtime over the holidays because everybody has been just, it’s been such a Herculean effort by everybody.”

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson