The European medical cannabis market has been transformed over the last five years, evolving from a fringe, start-up-dominated industry into a thriving international ecosystem breaking into the forefront of the political and social zeitgeist.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the UK and Germany. Both markets are regional frontrunners, and both are at the top of the list for any operator chasing expansion. Yet, both are on very different paths.
While the UK has seen consistent but steady growth, Germany has seen an explosion in patients, products, and new operators, many of whom have ridden this wave all the way to the bank.
As the conversation turns to German consolidation and retraction, UK medical cannabis clinic Releaf sees an unmissable opportunity.
Tim Kirby, Releaf’s CEO, told Business of Cannabis: “A lot of operators in Germany are drinking their own champagne. It’s very easy to feel successful when there’s huge demand, but that doesn’t mean you’re good at it.”
“We’ve forensically gone through the back ends of their websites, their marketing setups, their SEO authority structures, and they’re like school projects compared to what we’re building.”
Releaf is a relative newcomer in the UK medical cannabis market, having officially ‘opened its virtual doors’ on February 01, 2024.
Despite this, over the last 18 months, the tech-focused clinic has rapidly evolved into one of the country’s largest players, and is now the fastest growing clinic in the market, serving over 300 patients a day and drawing 300,000 unique visitors to its site every month.
“In the UK, we had 1.2 million unique visitors to our website in July and August. Our nearest competitor had less than half that, despite spending more than €300,000 a month on marketing. We spent €25,000. The difference is our digital ecosystem,” Kirby explained.
This digital ecosystem, developed, road-tested, and proven in the UK, is now set to be rolled out in the highly competitive German market.
Last month, Business of Cannabis reported that Releaf had announced the launch of a new global expansion strategy, acquiring Releaf.com to act as its ‘launchpad for global growth’.
At the time, Jon Dunn, Marketing Director at Releaf, said that this site was ‘not just a domain’, but ‘our passport to every market we enter’.
“It gives us instant credibility, makes our brand unforgettable, and ensures patients worldwide know exactly where to find us.”
Next week, Releaf is poised to roll out its ecosystem in Germany, having focused on laying the groundwork since June, and is confident in its ability to replicate its success in what is undoubtedly the most exciting market in Europe.
“We’re paying 100% attention to the look, feel and functionality of our German website,” said Peter Zownir, Brand Director at Releaf.
“Most of our local competitors are either pseudo-recreational or purely transactional in their approach, but Releaf is now an international healthcare company, and our digital experience reflects that.”
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The team’s experience in e-commerce and marketing, specifically the successful ‘UK Meds’ brand, which recently sold for £41m following its expansion into Germany and the Nordics, has enabled Releaf to see a clear gap in a market where many others would tread cautiously.
“Because of the way Germany operates, it’s essentially an e-commerce market, and any e-commerce market is a marketing competition. We’ve got the track record and the data to prove we can win that competition anywhere in the world,” Kirby explained.
“Our user experience will be far superior. The UX will be off the hook. Patients will stay on the website longer, the conversion funnel will perform better, and we’ll rank higher across every search term.”
Kirby continued that it’s not just Releaf’s market-tested platform that gives it the upper hand, but the lack of investment in its specialist area from other operators.
During a recent industry conference in Germany, attended by the biggest and most successful operators in the market, he said that ‘you could sense everyone in the room thought they were doing well’.
“But they’re not successful because of excellent execution, they’re successful because there’s huge demand. That’s a very different thing.”
“There’s a real lack of investment in the kind of digital ecosystems that we built in the UK. In Germany, demand is so high that anyone can open a website, put up a questionnaire, and people will find it. But that’s not sustainable.”
“Most German clinics are as suboptimal in their digital execution as the UK operators were before we entered that market. Everyone’s posting on LinkedIn, congratulating themselves on their success — but the truth is, the market did the work for them. They just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
“We’ll absolutely cannibalise a large portion of the market held by clinics that are executing poorly. We’ll take existing volume and the lion’s share of new growth, just as we did in the UK.”
Its platform, according to Kirby, will also offer benefits over its competitors for both patients and pharmacies, and its ‘patient-centric’ approach will continue to be a cornerstone of its approach.
“We’ll use as many independent reference points as possible to validate the quality and value we deliver — whether that’s patients, pharmacies, or digital feedback forums,” he said. “We always focus on bringing the voice of the patient or customer forward. That’s how we build trust.”
This philosophy, central to its UK success, will extend to both its engagement and brand positioning, prioritising perceived value rather than competing on cost, in a market increasingly hampered by cost compression.
“We’re not trying to buy patients with discounts or free consultations,” he said. “You can shout ‘free consultations’ as loudly as you like into an empty room, no one’s listening. It’s all about value.”
For pharmacies, Releaf says its commercial model is one they are ‘desperate for’ because it works with a ‘single transaction.
The patient doesn’t have to pay the clinic and then wait for the pharmacy to call them up for card details, but all happens in a single step with Stripe Connect, splitting the payment between the clinic and pharmacy, enabling both to determine how much goes to each, recieving payments within three days without the need to chase invoices or payments.
Its dedicated German team now has three lead developers, two of which helped build the UK platform, and Kirby assured the expansion into new markets will not impact its existing operations in the UK.
With 14 pharmacies already integrated into its new platform, including two in Berlin and Düsseldorf, already ‘capable of serving the whole country’, Releaf is planning to stamp its mark on the market even more quickly than it managed in the UK.
“If we’re not in the top three clinics in Germany within three to six months, that’s failure. If we’re not number one, that’s abject failure. Because if someone’s doing marketing better than us, I haven’t met them yet.”
“We’ll outrank every other clinic in Germany within three months. That’s how long it takes Google’s algorithms to recognise authority, and we can transfer some of the authority we’ve built in the UK to power our German site.”
Looking ahead, Releaf’s plans for expansion don’t stop in Germany. With the model it has developed for the German market, Kirby says his ambition is to ‘roll out three new countries per quarter’.
The post UK Clinic Releaf Expands into Germany, Aiming for Top Spot Within Six Months appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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Nowhere is this more apparent than in the UK and Germany. Both markets are regional frontrunners, and both are at the top of the list for any operator chasing expansion. Yet, both are on very different paths.
While the UK has seen consistent but steady growth, Germany has seen an explosion in patients, products, and new operators, many of whom have ridden this wave all the way to the bank.
As the conversation turns to German consolidation and retraction, UK medical cannabis clinic Releaf sees an unmissable opportunity.
Tim Kirby, Releaf’s CEO, told Business of Cannabis: “A lot of operators in Germany are drinking their own champagne. It’s very easy to feel successful when there’s huge demand, but that doesn’t mean you’re good at it.”
“We’ve forensically gone through the back ends of their websites, their marketing setups, their SEO authority structures, and they’re like school projects compared to what we’re building.”
Success does not necessarily mean good business
Releaf is a relative newcomer in the UK medical cannabis market, having officially ‘opened its virtual doors’ on February 01, 2024.
Despite this, over the last 18 months, the tech-focused clinic has rapidly evolved into one of the country’s largest players, and is now the fastest growing clinic in the market, serving over 300 patients a day and drawing 300,000 unique visitors to its site every month.
“In the UK, we had 1.2 million unique visitors to our website in July and August. Our nearest competitor had less than half that, despite spending more than €300,000 a month on marketing. We spent €25,000. The difference is our digital ecosystem,” Kirby explained.
This digital ecosystem, developed, road-tested, and proven in the UK, is now set to be rolled out in the highly competitive German market.
Last month, Business of Cannabis reported that Releaf had announced the launch of a new global expansion strategy, acquiring Releaf.com to act as its ‘launchpad for global growth’.
At the time, Jon Dunn, Marketing Director at Releaf, said that this site was ‘not just a domain’, but ‘our passport to every market we enter’.
“It gives us instant credibility, makes our brand unforgettable, and ensures patients worldwide know exactly where to find us.”
Next week, Releaf is poised to roll out its ecosystem in Germany, having focused on laying the groundwork since June, and is confident in its ability to replicate its success in what is undoubtedly the most exciting market in Europe.
“We’re paying 100% attention to the look, feel and functionality of our German website,” said Peter Zownir, Brand Director at Releaf.
“Most of our local competitors are either pseudo-recreational or purely transactional in their approach, but Releaf is now an international healthcare company, and our digital experience reflects that.”
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Releaf’s secret weapon
The team’s experience in e-commerce and marketing, specifically the successful ‘UK Meds’ brand, which recently sold for £41m following its expansion into Germany and the Nordics, has enabled Releaf to see a clear gap in a market where many others would tread cautiously.
“Because of the way Germany operates, it’s essentially an e-commerce market, and any e-commerce market is a marketing competition. We’ve got the track record and the data to prove we can win that competition anywhere in the world,” Kirby explained.
“Our user experience will be far superior. The UX will be off the hook. Patients will stay on the website longer, the conversion funnel will perform better, and we’ll rank higher across every search term.”
Kirby continued that it’s not just Releaf’s market-tested platform that gives it the upper hand, but the lack of investment in its specialist area from other operators.
During a recent industry conference in Germany, attended by the biggest and most successful operators in the market, he said that ‘you could sense everyone in the room thought they were doing well’.
“But they’re not successful because of excellent execution, they’re successful because there’s huge demand. That’s a very different thing.”
“There’s a real lack of investment in the kind of digital ecosystems that we built in the UK. In Germany, demand is so high that anyone can open a website, put up a questionnaire, and people will find it. But that’s not sustainable.”
“Most German clinics are as suboptimal in their digital execution as the UK operators were before we entered that market. Everyone’s posting on LinkedIn, congratulating themselves on their success — but the truth is, the market did the work for them. They just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
“We’ll absolutely cannibalise a large portion of the market held by clinics that are executing poorly. We’ll take existing volume and the lion’s share of new growth, just as we did in the UK.”
Top five within six months
Its platform, according to Kirby, will also offer benefits over its competitors for both patients and pharmacies, and its ‘patient-centric’ approach will continue to be a cornerstone of its approach.
“We’ll use as many independent reference points as possible to validate the quality and value we deliver — whether that’s patients, pharmacies, or digital feedback forums,” he said. “We always focus on bringing the voice of the patient or customer forward. That’s how we build trust.”
This philosophy, central to its UK success, will extend to both its engagement and brand positioning, prioritising perceived value rather than competing on cost, in a market increasingly hampered by cost compression.
“We’re not trying to buy patients with discounts or free consultations,” he said. “You can shout ‘free consultations’ as loudly as you like into an empty room, no one’s listening. It’s all about value.”
For pharmacies, Releaf says its commercial model is one they are ‘desperate for’ because it works with a ‘single transaction.
The patient doesn’t have to pay the clinic and then wait for the pharmacy to call them up for card details, but all happens in a single step with Stripe Connect, splitting the payment between the clinic and pharmacy, enabling both to determine how much goes to each, recieving payments within three days without the need to chase invoices or payments.
Its dedicated German team now has three lead developers, two of which helped build the UK platform, and Kirby assured the expansion into new markets will not impact its existing operations in the UK.
With 14 pharmacies already integrated into its new platform, including two in Berlin and Düsseldorf, already ‘capable of serving the whole country’, Releaf is planning to stamp its mark on the market even more quickly than it managed in the UK.
“If we’re not in the top three clinics in Germany within three to six months, that’s failure. If we’re not number one, that’s abject failure. Because if someone’s doing marketing better than us, I haven’t met them yet.”
“We’ll outrank every other clinic in Germany within three months. That’s how long it takes Google’s algorithms to recognise authority, and we can transfer some of the authority we’ve built in the UK to power our German site.”
Looking ahead, Releaf’s plans for expansion don’t stop in Germany. With the model it has developed for the German market, Kirby says his ambition is to ‘roll out three new countries per quarter’.
The post UK Clinic Releaf Expands into Germany, Aiming for Top Spot Within Six Months appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
Continue reading...
