As the global pet care market continues it seemingly never-ending rise, year after year all things point to the fact that CBD infused products will be among the winners in the race to revenues. Given the sheer size of this industry, it's no wonder cannabis companies are expecting CBD-for-pets to garner a large share of the market. Here are some background projection numbers for the overall pet care market: Statista.com presents a forecast in pet store revenue in the United States from 2018 to 2023. It is projected that U.S. pet store sales will grow from around 19.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2018 to approximately 22.39 billion U.S. dollars by 2023; and according to a report by Grand View Research the global pet care market is expected to reach USD 202.6 billionby 2025.  Rise in the adoption of pets and growing demand for premium care products are few factors expected to drive market growth. The global pet care market size was estimated at USD 131.7 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow with CAGR of 4.9% from 2016 to 2025. U.S. held the largest share in market in 2016 due to rising animal healthcare expenditure and growing awareness of animal health in the country. Active companies in the industry making moves to ready that include:  Choom™ Holdings Inc. (CSE:CHOO) (OTC: CHOOF), Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX-V: FAF) (OTC: FFLWF),  Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (OTC: CURLF) (CSE: CURA) Trulieve Cannabis Corporation (OTC: TCNNF) (CSE: TRUL), Cannabis Strategies Acquisition Corp. (NEO: CSA.A) (OTC: CBAQF).

A report focused solely on the CBD pet market says: "Pet-and-animal product sales are estimated to reach USD 125 million by 2022, representing a 5-year CAGR of 57%, among the fastest-growing sectors in the CBD market," and it's easy to see why cannabis companies are pouncing on the opportunity. While traditional dog or cat products currently predominate, those targeted for equine and other domesticated animals are on the horizon. As pet-and-animal sales have focused on treat supplements and food additives, CBD with anti-anxiety and anti-inflammation properties remain the top-selling segment.

Choom™ Holdings Inc.  (CSE:CHOO) (OTCQB:CHOOF) BREAKING NEWS:  Choom™, an emerging adult and medical use cannabis company that has secured one of the largest national retail networks in Canada, is pleased to announce that it has signed a memorandum of understanding ("MOU") with Better Choice Company, Inc. for the exclusive Canadian distribution rights to Better Choice's cannabidiol ("CBD") Bona Vida brand of products targeted for animal health and wellness once approved for sale in Canada. The terms of the MOU are not material.

According to the American Pet Products Association, U.S. pet owners are estimated to have spent over $70 billion in 2018 on pet supplies, treatments and veterinary care.  As CBD pet products become more readily available and accepted, well positioned suppliers and distributors will be able to exploit the tremendous opportunities for growth in the CBD pet sales.

Better Choice Products

Under its Bona Vida brand, Better Choice offers a suite of CBD pet focused products in the form of oils and soft chews with several formulations designed to aid the state of good health and well-being in pets.  Bona Vida has formulations which specifically target animals Relaxation & Heart Support, Muscle & Joint, as well as, Skin & Body.

"We are excited that Better Choice has chosen us as their exclusive distributor in Canada for their pet focused CBD products," states Chris Bogart, President and CEO of Choom. "We recognize the importance of growing our brand portfolio and having the sole distribution rights for Better Choice products helps us achieve that in an entirely new market on the horizon in pet use products.  From what we know of in the United States, the CBD products for pet use market has proven to be a high margin business. As the normalization of cannabis-based products in Canada grows, consumers will begin to shift towards these new natural alternative treatments for their pets."  Read this and more news for Choom™ at:  https://www.financialnewsmedia.com/news-choo/ 

Additional industry related developments from around the markets:

Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. (TSX-V: FAF) (OTCPK: FFLWF) has had a successful first month of operations of its cannabis Click & Collect service.  The Click & Collect service allows age-verified adult-use cannabis consumers to reserve cannabis and accessory products for pickup at stores across the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. The service was launched as part of the company's mission to curate the world of cannabis for its customers who seek a more convenient and informative buying experience. Certain cannabis products sell out rapidly, and the Click & Collect service ensures customers are able to reserve high-demand products and receive priority service when visiting a store.

Curaleaf Holdings, Inc. (CSE: CURA) (OTCQX: CURLF)  a leading vertically integrated cannabis operator in the United States, recently announced it has opened its 23rd Florida dispensary as the company continues to expand rapidly throughout the state. Curaleaf has the largest cannabis dispensary footprint in the United States, with 43 dispensaries across the country.

"As Curaleaf continues to deliver on its expansion strategy, we are well positioned to improve the quality of patients' lives by providing access to safe top-quality cannabis products," shared Joe Lusardi, Curaleaf chief executive officer.

Trulite, Inc. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCPK: TCNNF) a leading and top performing cannabis company in the United States, was the first medical marijuana licensee in Florida to make a sale of smokable cannabis. The sale took place at Trulieve's Tallahassee dispensary, the first dispensary to have opened in the state.

"We are excited about the opportunity to sell whole flower smokable products to patients in Florida and honored to be the first company in Florida to do so. Thank you to Governor DeSantis and the Legislature for taking up and approving smokable products in Florida and special thanks to the Department of Health and the Office of Medical Marijuana Use for their quick action to make (this) a reality for patients in need. Offering these whole flower products to our patients in their purest, most effective form is something we – and patients – have been looking forward to since we opened the doors of the state's first dispensary," said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers.

Cannabis Strategies Acquisition Corp. (NEO: CSA.A) (OTC: CBAQF) is pleased to announce that its shareholders have overwhelmingly approved its qualifying transaction to concurrently acquire the target businesses of Washoe Wellness, LLC, The Canopy NV, LLC, Sira Naturals, Inc., LivFree Wellness, LLC and CannaPunch of Nevada LLC (collectively, the " Qualifying Transaction ") at its special meeting of shareholders held on March 18, 2019. Over 99.9% of the votes cast by CSA's shareholders were in favour of the Qualifying Transaction, the amendment of CSA's articles (including the creation of the multiple voting shares and subordinate voting shares of CSA), and the continuance of CSA from Ontario to British Columbia, and over 93.4% of the votes cast were in favour of CSA's proposed equity incentive plan, in each case, as further described in CSA's management information circular dated February 19, 2019, which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com under CSA's profile.