Transcription of The Stock Network Interview with ECS Botanics (ASX:ECS), Managing Director Nan-Maree Schoerie
Lel Smits: ECS Botanics is a Victorian medicinal cannabis grower and manufacturer that turned EBITDA and operating cash flow positive in FY26 as its branded sales doubled. The company has just inked a deal with Curaleaf Laboratories to supply into the UK following its launch in Germany. And ahead of presenting at TIPS conference, I’m joined by ECS Botanics Managing Director Nan-Marie Skuri to discuss production costs and international expansion.
Nan-Marie, welcome to The Stock Network.
Nan-Maree Schoerie: Thank you very much. It’s a pleasure to be here.
Lel Smits: Now, ECS cut its cost per gram by about a third in its growing enclosures as the local market became more price competitive. Where do your costs sit against other Australian growers and also imports?
Nan-Maree Schoerie: So we have to be competitive, obviously, in the Australian landscape, labor is an issue. The cost of labor is significantly higher than, say, Thailand.
But I think the way we’ve managed to get there is the way we grow. So we grow outdoor and also in what we call PCE, so using the sun. Energy is the largest cost, energy and labor are the two big ticket items.
And we’ve managed to get our energy costs really low so we can compete on a global scale. It’s one of the advantages Australia has, it’s a wonderful climate.
Lel Smits: Absolutely. And in terms of taking Australian-grown medical medicinal cannabis into the UK and Europe, under the Cura leaf deal, ECS keeps ownership of its product until it sells and earns a share of the sale price. But why choose that structure? And also, which markets do you think will be coming next after the UK?
Nan-Maree Schoerie: So actually, we’ve gone into Germany before the UK and with the same market, with the same model. And the reason why we’ve chosen this model is about two years ago, we moved from being a B2B or a white label manufacturer in Australia to having our own brands.
And those brands have been incredibly successful. And more than 70% of our revenue is now coming from our own brands in Australia. So it’s a logical thing to take those brands into new markets because we know having our own brand has demonstrated a lot of value.
In addition to that, I think, and maybe it’s me and it’s going to be proven, but I think there is an affinity for Aussie brands in the UK and Europe, especially when you think about medicinal cannabis. There’s something there that they’re going to, oh, let’s try this, it’s Australian. So I think that will also bring us new patients and get us more business.
Lel Smits: So thank you so much for the update from ECS Botanics and look forward to hearing more when you’re on the stage at TIP Group’s conference.
Nan-Maree Schoerie: Thank you. It’s been lovely chatting to you.
Ends