Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

EastWest Bioscience (EWB) is a vertically integrated wellness company with the infrastructure to become a global giant in the hemp consumer health market. With the legalization of CBD in Canada, they have already expanded their business activities into the United States and anticipate that CBD from hemp will be allowed in Health Food Stores in the Canadian market in the near future. EWB has established an extensive distribution network but it still struggles to generate the sales volumes it requires to generate positive cash flows. It hasworked with its distributors on in-house retail promotions and discounts to stimulate sales. However, in order to increase sales volumes, national advertising and marketing is required to build its reputation with a larger customer base. EWB's long term vision is to have a suite of products that include CBD and it is expected that its marketing and sales penetration will be much more easily achieved with these products. EWB is seeking to partner with Okanagan College to develop 5-6 key customer profiles ranging from single mothers to retirees, tosupport its First-to-Market sales strategy. Profiling provides customer descriptions based on a set of attributes that share demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral characteristics. These insights will helpEWB understand what their customers are interested in, and will be able to communicate with them moreeffectively. Results from this applied research will help EWB understand who their best customers are so they can develop a strategy to optimize their marketing budget and improve their return on investment. A successfulproject will help EWB grow its business by introducing new products to its customers, meet increasing demandfrom prospective customers and improve standards for the CBD industry across Canada and internationally.