Always Pure Organics Ltd (APO), a wholesaler and white label manufacturer of cannabis-based products, has launched what it describes as a “new Asia foothold”.
APO’s strategy is to create a base in Japan from which its business can expand further into Asia. It has been trading in Japan since 2019, and in that time has achieved revenues of more than £2.5 million, according to a company report.
The CEO of APO, Gavin Ogilvie, comments, “When operating in the EU, APO is afforded the freedom to distribute its goods duty and tax-free throughout the EU on a next day basis. However, in Japan, the customs clearance process slows this down dramatically and results in lengthy lead times. By establishing ourselves in Japan and building on our experience from the previous two years, our clients are able to benefit from our new, faster, local-based service.”
APO describes one of the connections it has established in Japan:
“Since June 2020 APO has been engaged with Green Zone Japan in joint pre-clinical studies called ‘Midori-no-wa (Green Circle)’ for children with intractable epilepsy in Japan. Green Zone Japan is a Japanese medical cannabis advocacy group focusing on bringing evidence-based, accurate and up-to-date information on medical cannabis to Japanese medical professionals and the public.
“By now being based in Japan, APO is in a stronger position to further support Green Zone Japan and other organisations researching the benefits of CBD and other cannabinoids.”
In August, this connection brought APO products before viewers of the Japanese TV programme, Speed Wagon’s Monday Night. APO reports that Dr. Yuji Masataka, a representative of Green Zone Japan, and other guests discussed cannabis and other major drugs, differences of drug policies between Japan and other countries, how dangerous drugs are, and the medical use of drugs. The guests sampled APO isolate, distillate and gummies.