SMITHS FALLS, Ontario, and NEW YORK—Circle K has partnered with Canopy Growth Corp. to launch its CBD vape at more than 3,000 locations, according to a press release.

Canopy Growth’s whisl, the company’s first CBD vape, includes three interchangeable pods consumers can use depending on their desired effect. The Smiths Falls, Ontario-based company said each whisl pod contains 200 mg of CBD isolate, a purified form of CBD sourced from licensed hemp providers within the United States and no THC.

“At Canopy Growth, we are pioneering the concept of using CBD to help consumers manage their moods at any given time of day,” said Andy Lytwynec, vice president, global vape business at Canopy Growth.

Canopy Growth’s exclusive partnership with Circle K will be its largest retail launch to date. Whisl will be available in stores October 1.

Circle K, owned by Quebec-based Alimentation Couche-Tard, has partnerships with other CBD firms to bring CBD products, including topicals, tinctures and vapes, to customers. In August 2020, Couche-Tard made a strategic investment in Fire & Flower Holdings Corp. a cannabis retailer based in Edmonton, Alberta. In reporting fiscal first-quarter results last month, Couche-Tard said it has increased its ownership interest in Fire & Flower to about 22.4%. Canada became the first major country to allow adult-use cannabis sales in October 2018.

In the U.S., the 2018 Farm Bill opened the door for hemp-based CBD to be sold at mainstream retail—albeit with major legal uncertainties as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) works to create an approval process for ingestible CBD. Despite the regulatory gray area, a number of convenience retailers have ventured into this category by experimenting with strategies specific to CBD as NACS Daily has reported.

In addition to Circle K, VERC Enterprises, based in Duxbury, Mass., and Sheetz, based in Altoona, Pa., are among the convenience retailers that have staked a claim in the growing CBD marketplace.

To learn more about how convenience retailers can leverage growing consumer interest in CBD, read “The CBD Wellness Era” in the January 2021 issue of NACS Magazine, and download the Convenience Matters podcast #203 to learn about CBD, hemp, THC and how to stay on the right side of the law.

Register to attend the 2021 NACS Show October 5-8 at McCormick Place in Chicago and take advantage of the education sessions on category management, including these sessions developed by retailers for retailers: 

• Private Label Trends
• Cold Vault in 2021: Trends and Takeaways
• Determining the Perfect Product Mix
• What’s New With Cannabis