Debra Borchardt
Dixie Brands, Inc. began trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) on Thursday following the completion of a reverse takeover (RTO) of Canadian public company, Academy Explorations Limited. Dixie shares opened at C$1.05 and the shares traded as high as C$1.18 and as low as C$0.76.
Dixie History
Dixie was an early pioneer of cannabis branding beginning with a feature on 60 Minutes at a time when few cannabis product companies existed. It began with one product, the Dixie Elixir, a THC-infused soda, and the company has built up its portfolio to include more than 30 different categories across more than 100 individual products.
In 2018, Dixie entered into a Canadian license agreement with Auxly Cannabis Group Inc. (CBWTF), a vertically integrated global cannabis company. Under the agreement, Auxly will work with Dixie to create products for the adult-use recreational market in Canada. Those products will be developed and manufactured at Dosecann in the BioCommons Research Park in Charlottetown, PEI and Dosecann will serve as Dixie’s hub of cannabis research and innovation.
With regards to its domestic business, Dixie is currently operating in four states (Colorado, California, Nevada, and Maryland) and plans to expand into four to six additional states in 2019 through partnerships with licensed and regulated producers in each state. The company has recently expanded its hemp-based offerings by introducing Aceso Wellness, a human dietary supplement line, and Therabis, a pet food supplement portfolio, at the end of 2016.
Past Management
Dixie has seen a change of management over the past couple of years as one of its original founders moved on to another company. Tripp Keber founded Dixie Holdings with Chuck Smith in 2010 in Colorado in the early stages of cannabis legalization with the THC-infused soda. In 2017, Co-founder Tripp Keber is resigned in order to take a new position that partnered Dixie with Rose Capital based in Miami, Florida. At the same time, Keber, also resigned from the board at MassRoots (MSRT) as that company’s founder Isaac Dietrich reclaimed his company.
