Tilray Brands, Inc. Chairman and CEO Irwin D. Simon joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the company's earnings and expectations, consumer demand, growth, and the outlook for cannabis legalization.

AKIKO FUJITA: Well, shares of cannabis company Tilray popping in the session, now up roughly 12% on the back of its third quarter results. Tilray posted revenue of $152 million in the quarter, a 23% jump year on year, with an increase driven by strong sales in cannabis and its alcohol business.

Let's bring in the CEO and chairman of Tilray Brands, Irwin Simon joining us today. And Irwin, this is a really interesting quarter because it points to that diversification you've really been touting for the company. Cannabis revenue up 32%, but alcohol seeing a 64% growth. Talk to me about what this says about the direction, this evolution of the company, moving away strictly from cannabis.

IRWIN SIMON: So I think moving away from cannabis-- and I don't think we're moving it all the way from cannabis-- I think the big thing is upon legalization, the adjacencies, what our spirits and beer business would have with cannabis in the US.

As we sit back and wait for legalization to happen in the US, Akiko, it's building out our spirits and our beverage business here. And again, we see tremendous consumer demand for spirits and beverage, but I also come back and think one day, with infused bourbons or tequilas with THC or infused beers, there's going to be tremendous demand there, and we'll be ready for it.

BRIAN CHEUNG: Irwin, it's Brian Cheung here. Great to have you on the program. So kind of in that vein, you have a lot of partnerships with some of these products. I know that you just recently announced a partnership with Whole Foods to get some hemp products in the stores there.

In the United States markets, at least, how are you kind of envisioning the rollout of possible federal legalization? We know that that has not necessarily come to fruition, as some had hoped for in November of 2020, but it seems like you're still trying to position yourself for, someday, that happening, at which case, what, do you just take those products and turn the hemp into THC?

IRWIN SIMON: So, hi, Brian, and I think what it shows is [INAUDIBLE] the former-- not the former-- the founder of Hain Celestial, which was Whole Foods's biggest supplier of foods, it shows how they've moved into the evolution of foods that are infused with hemp and how consumers want hemp, either for higher protein, keto diets, et cetera. And I think that's important that consumer demands and how we're looking at cannabis in so many different ways-- you can use it as adult use, as medical, use it as part of drinks.

And stepping back, I mean, a bill just passed in the legislature to approve cannabis federally. From a legal standpoint, it still has to go through the Senate. By 2023-- by 2030, you know, it's a $100 billion business out there. And even if it didn't go legal, it's still a good-sized business. So consumers want cannabis legalized. 63% want it federally. 90% want it medical.

So we need to be positioned for it when that happens. I've talked about a $4 billion plan. And to get to that $4 billion plan, US has to be a big part of it. And I need $2 to $3 billion of sales here in the US. So I just can't sit back and wait for it to happen. And how do we make that happen? Well, we got our own consumer products good companies because what it's looking to build here is a consumer products good company that has product categories that, upon legalization, you can infuse them with THC or CBD.

Today, we own notes within MedMen, which we own about 25%. Upon legalization, you know, ultimately, would we look to buy 100% of MedMen, or the opportunities to buy other MSOs in the US? So we need to be ready. And the other big thing, Brian, is this here. As one of the largest cannabis growers and providers in Canada today and of the largest in Europe, with our expertise, we'll be ready for the US.

AKIKO FUJITA: Let's talk more about that revenue target you just alluded to, $4 billion by the end of fiscal 2024. You've highlighted a number of products you're looking at, but what does the portfolio look like when you hit that target? I mean, how much of this is going to be about cannabis? How much of it is about what you've described as adjacencies? What do you see?

IRWIN SIMON: It's a great question. I wish I could look into a crystal ball and said, hey, July 30, which is my birthday, that cannabis would be legalized here, but I can't really do that. But I think the big thing is we know that there's $100 billion market here in the US and we know ultimately what we can get a share of. We also know today we grow about 265,000 kilos in Canada. If free trade was allowed, we would have plenty of product to ship into the US.

And today, we have a good headstart in the spirits business and the beer business, which are adjacencies. So there's three businesses right there. There is our alcohol business. There would be our infused drinks business. And then we would have the distribution through distributors to go ahead and be able to sell that. Today, we sell our Riff beer, our Good Supply beer, our Broken Coast brands, which are cannabis brands in Canada. And we sell them in our beverage business in the US.

So we're circling it. We're being limited to what we can do because of legalization. But we do have aspirations and a plan of how they get to $4 billion. The thing is, too, Brian and Akiko, we were going to have to pull different levers if it doesn't happen. But we have the balance sheet, we have the knowledge, we have the infrastructure, and we have the people to get to that $4 billion if legalization does happen.

BRIAN CHEUNG: So Irwin, am I kind of reading it right that you'd be kind of leaning on M&A to maybe get some of these state, for example, producers and distributors that have already kind of built up infrastructure in the absence of federal-- legal federalization to buy them up and kind of get into those markets? You talked about MedMen. Are there other types of approaches that you would have in terms of just buying up companies that have already maybe had a footing in some states?

IRWIN SIMON: Absolutely, M&A is a big part of this here. Organic growth is a big part of it. What I've said in Canada to get to that billion dollars, it would be growing to a 14% or 15% market share ourselves. And we would need about a $200 to $300 million in M&A and maybe $100 million in other consumer products. But in the US, to get to a half a billion dollars in consumer products, we need about $200, $250 million.

And to get to that billion, billion and a half in cannabis, it would be buying other MSOs. We cannot own today and don't own any cannabis companies in the US today because it's not federally legal. We trade on the NASDAQ, on the Toronto Stock Exchange. So that's not part of our portfolio. So, yeah, it would have to be M&A. And there's a lot of great companies out there, multistate operators, and taking our expertise on a global basis, our knowledge, and with the combination, I think would be some great acquisitions.

AKIKO FUJITA: Well, we'll be continuing to watch the progress there. Irwin Simon, chairman and CEO with Tilray Brands, great to talk to you today. Appreciate the time.