Cannabis Europa London returns on 26-27 May 2026, bringing together operators, investors, clinicians, and policymakers from across the global cannabis industry for two days of main-stage debate, exhibition, and networking. This article is part of a series published by Business of Cannabis ahead of the event, drawing on the perspectives of Cannabis Europa’s leading sponsors and speakers, the figures setting the commercial, clinical, and regulatory agenda for cannabis in Europe and beyond.
We spoke with Rebecca Allen Tapp, Product Manager at Paralab Green, which offers a complete range of instrumentation for cannabis producers, about the race for market differentiation and the demands of EU-GMP in a constantly shifting regulatory landscape.
26–27 May 2026 · Barbican, London Cannabis Europa Two days of policy, capital and clinical strategy at the Barbican — convening operators, investors, regulators and clinicians from across the European cannabis market.
Get Your Ticket Now →
“Cannabis Europa in London gives us a natural opportunity to step back and assess how the European cannabis market has developed.
“The UK is navigating an ongoing debate around the appropriateness of how medical cannabis products and clinics are being marketed, and whether current approaches are keeping within the standards expected of prescription medicines.
“In Germany, the initial 2025 national import ceiling of 122 tonnes was exhausted, prompting BfArM to raise that ceiling to 192.5 tonnes, reflecting the scale of demand driven largely by the growth of telemedicine and online pharmacy models, even as recreational legalisation progresses.
“In Portugal, the narrative in 2025 was largely shaped by Operation Erva Daninha and the scrutiny that followed, with media attention continuing to track every license adjustment made through Infarmed. The uncertainty has weighed on the supply chain, and patient growth has remained flat despite a modest expansion in available prescription SKUs, fueling the rise of alternative service providers in emerging markets eager to reduce the industry’s dependence on Portuguese producers.
Rebecca Allen Tapp, Product Manager, Cannabis Instrumentation, Paralab Green
“In terms of production and manufacturing, the most significant development is the race for market differentiation through novel product formats. Gummies, now available by prescription in both the UK and Germany, are a strong example. There is also a clear push to retain margin by bringing previously outsourced processes in-house, with a growing number of companies expanding their service offerings or internalising steps that were once dominated by a handful of GMP service hubs across Europe.
“We are also seeing strong interest in decontamination alternatives to irradiation, consumer-ready packaging solutions, and automation, creating real opportunities for emerging markets such as Poland and the Czech Republic to capture business that has traditionally flowed through Portugal and Spain.”
“While flower remains the dominant format in European medical cannabis markets, patient demand is clearly shifting toward alternative delivery methods. Recently, Curaleaf announced it will become the UK’s first licensed manufacturer of medical cannabis suppositories and pessaries, a significant regulatory milestone that signals growing openness among authorities and patients toward novel delivery formats. On the German market, JellyMed medical cannabis gummies are pioneering this space through a number of high-profile distribution partnerships.
“The drivers behind this shift are worth noting. Patients are increasingly seeking formats that offer greater discretion, more precise dosing, and alternatives to inhalation – whether for personal preference or medical suitability. This is creating a sense of urgency among producers to broaden their SKU offering and remain competitive in an increasingly crowded market.
“Among the trends emerging in response to this demand, we are seeing growing interest in solventless extraction methods, driven by patient and consumer appetite for cleaner, more natural products with fewer residual solvents. Alongside this, demand for filling equipment for gummies and vapes has increased steadily over the last year, reflecting the investment producers are making to bring these formats to market efficiently and at scale.
“For equipment suppliers and service providers, this represents a significant opportunity. The race to diversify product formats is translating directly into capital investment in new production capabilities across the European market.”
“GMP certification is increasingly the baseline for serious participation in European cannabis markets, but it does not have to be an immediate barrier to entry. For producers not yet ready to build their own GMP capabilities, third-party service providers offer a viable path to market, handling the processing and certification steps that allow the product to reach pharmacies in markets like Germany and the UK.
“That said, for those with ambitions to operate independently, it is significantly easier and more cost-effective to build with GMP in mind from the outset than to retrofit compliance onto an operation that was not designed for it. The cost of getting it wrong later, through redesigned facilities, revalidated equipment, and failed audits, far exceeds the investment of doing it right from the beginning.
“The most common mistake companies make is prioritising speed to market over getting the foundation right. The pressure to generate revenue quickly is understandable, but cutting corners at the foundation stage creates problems that compound over time and are far more disruptive and expensive to resolve than they would have been to avoid.
“Second, equipment decisions are often made in isolation. Procurement teams select machinery based on price or availability without fully understanding the validation requirements that come with it, or whether it integrates properly with the rest of the production line. In a GMP environment, every piece of equipment needs to be fit for purpose, properly documented, and validated to perform consistently. Buying the wrong equipment is not just a financial mistake, it can set an entire operation back by months.
“This becomes even more complicated when there is employee turnover during the project lifecycle. Knowledge is lost, priorities shift, and new team members are often left trying to piece together why certain decisions were made without having the original context. That disconnect can create further delays, misalignment between departments, and costly changes later in the process.
“Third, and perhaps most importantly, compliance is treated as a destination rather than a practice. GMP is not something you achieve and move on from. It requires continuous monitoring, internal audits, and a genuine culture of accountability at every level of the organisation. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are only as effective as the people following them, and building that culture takes time, investment, and proper leadership.
“With 34 years of experience supporting manufacturing technology and compliance-driven industries, Paralab understands the importance of making informed decisions early in a project lifecycle. Our cannabis division is composed of field experts with strong technical understanding, combined with practical knowledge of the evolving regulatory landscape across Europe.
“The companies that tend to succeed are those that engage experienced partners early, make equipment decisions with a full understanding of validation and integration requirements, and view compliance as a core pillar of their business strategy rather than an afterthought.
“In our experience, the cost of non-compliance, poor integration, or incorrect equipment selection is always far greater than the cost of getting it right from the beginning.”
The post Voices of Cannabis Europa: Rebecca Allen Tapp, Product Manager, Paralab Green appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
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We spoke with Rebecca Allen Tapp, Product Manager at Paralab Green, which offers a complete range of instrumentation for cannabis producers, about the race for market differentiation and the demands of EU-GMP in a constantly shifting regulatory landscape.
26–27 May 2026 · Barbican, London Cannabis Europa Two days of policy, capital and clinical strategy at the Barbican — convening operators, investors, regulators and clinicians from across the European cannabis market.
Get Your Ticket Now →
As we head into Cannabis Europa, what do you see as the most significant developments shaping the European cannabis industry right now?
“Cannabis Europa in London gives us a natural opportunity to step back and assess how the European cannabis market has developed.
“The UK is navigating an ongoing debate around the appropriateness of how medical cannabis products and clinics are being marketed, and whether current approaches are keeping within the standards expected of prescription medicines.
“In Germany, the initial 2025 national import ceiling of 122 tonnes was exhausted, prompting BfArM to raise that ceiling to 192.5 tonnes, reflecting the scale of demand driven largely by the growth of telemedicine and online pharmacy models, even as recreational legalisation progresses.
“In Portugal, the narrative in 2025 was largely shaped by Operation Erva Daninha and the scrutiny that followed, with media attention continuing to track every license adjustment made through Infarmed. The uncertainty has weighed on the supply chain, and patient growth has remained flat despite a modest expansion in available prescription SKUs, fueling the rise of alternative service providers in emerging markets eager to reduce the industry’s dependence on Portuguese producers.
Rebecca Allen Tapp, Product Manager, Cannabis Instrumentation, Paralab Green
“In terms of production and manufacturing, the most significant development is the race for market differentiation through novel product formats. Gummies, now available by prescription in both the UK and Germany, are a strong example. There is also a clear push to retain margin by bringing previously outsourced processes in-house, with a growing number of companies expanding their service offerings or internalising steps that were once dominated by a handful of GMP service hubs across Europe.
“We are also seeing strong interest in decontamination alternatives to irradiation, consumer-ready packaging solutions, and automation, creating real opportunities for emerging markets such as Poland and the Czech Republic to capture business that has traditionally flowed through Portugal and Spain.”
Rui will be joining the Beyond Flower panel on day two. Paralab operates at the manufacturing and formulation end of the supply chain, from that position, how do you see demand shifting between flower and alternative formats, and where is the market heading?
“While flower remains the dominant format in European medical cannabis markets, patient demand is clearly shifting toward alternative delivery methods. Recently, Curaleaf announced it will become the UK’s first licensed manufacturer of medical cannabis suppositories and pessaries, a significant regulatory milestone that signals growing openness among authorities and patients toward novel delivery formats. On the German market, JellyMed medical cannabis gummies are pioneering this space through a number of high-profile distribution partnerships.
“The drivers behind this shift are worth noting. Patients are increasingly seeking formats that offer greater discretion, more precise dosing, and alternatives to inhalation – whether for personal preference or medical suitability. This is creating a sense of urgency among producers to broaden their SKU offering and remain competitive in an increasingly crowded market.
“Among the trends emerging in response to this demand, we are seeing growing interest in solventless extraction methods, driven by patient and consumer appetite for cleaner, more natural products with fewer residual solvents. Alongside this, demand for filling equipment for gummies and vapes has increased steadily over the last year, reflecting the investment producers are making to bring these formats to market efficiently and at scale.
“For equipment suppliers and service providers, this represents a significant opportunity. The race to diversify product formats is translating directly into capital investment in new production capabilities across the European market.”
READ MORE…
Voices of Cannabis Europa: Rebecca Allen Tapp, Product Manager, Paralab Green
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GMP-certified manufacturing is increasingly the price of entry into serious European markets. What does it actually take to build and maintain that standard in cannabis, and where does the industry still fall short?
“GMP certification is increasingly the baseline for serious participation in European cannabis markets, but it does not have to be an immediate barrier to entry. For producers not yet ready to build their own GMP capabilities, third-party service providers offer a viable path to market, handling the processing and certification steps that allow the product to reach pharmacies in markets like Germany and the UK.
“That said, for those with ambitions to operate independently, it is significantly easier and more cost-effective to build with GMP in mind from the outset than to retrofit compliance onto an operation that was not designed for it. The cost of getting it wrong later, through redesigned facilities, revalidated equipment, and failed audits, far exceeds the investment of doing it right from the beginning.
“The most common mistake companies make is prioritising speed to market over getting the foundation right. The pressure to generate revenue quickly is understandable, but cutting corners at the foundation stage creates problems that compound over time and are far more disruptive and expensive to resolve than they would have been to avoid.
“Second, equipment decisions are often made in isolation. Procurement teams select machinery based on price or availability without fully understanding the validation requirements that come with it, or whether it integrates properly with the rest of the production line. In a GMP environment, every piece of equipment needs to be fit for purpose, properly documented, and validated to perform consistently. Buying the wrong equipment is not just a financial mistake, it can set an entire operation back by months.
“This becomes even more complicated when there is employee turnover during the project lifecycle. Knowledge is lost, priorities shift, and new team members are often left trying to piece together why certain decisions were made without having the original context. That disconnect can create further delays, misalignment between departments, and costly changes later in the process.
“Third, and perhaps most importantly, compliance is treated as a destination rather than a practice. GMP is not something you achieve and move on from. It requires continuous monitoring, internal audits, and a genuine culture of accountability at every level of the organisation. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are only as effective as the people following them, and building that culture takes time, investment, and proper leadership.
“With 34 years of experience supporting manufacturing technology and compliance-driven industries, Paralab understands the importance of making informed decisions early in a project lifecycle. Our cannabis division is composed of field experts with strong technical understanding, combined with practical knowledge of the evolving regulatory landscape across Europe.
“The companies that tend to succeed are those that engage experienced partners early, make equipment decisions with a full understanding of validation and integration requirements, and view compliance as a core pillar of their business strategy rather than an afterthought.
“In our experience, the cost of non-compliance, poor integration, or incorrect equipment selection is always far greater than the cost of getting it right from the beginning.”
The post Voices of Cannabis Europa: Rebecca Allen Tapp, Product Manager, Paralab Green appeared first on Business of Cannabis.
Continue reading...
