Business

Business of Cannabis Awards Names 2026 European Shortlist

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The Business of Cannabis Awards released its 2026 shortlist on May 15, 2026, naming nominees across nine categories for the annual European cannabis industry recognition program. The ceremony is set for May 26, 2026, at a venue in Shoreditch, London, following the first day of Cannabis Europa — the European cannabis policy and business conference running May 26–27, 2026, at The Barbican.

The awards are in their third year, having launched in 2024, and the size of this year’s shortlist reflects how much the field has deepened. Though the format targets up to five nominees per category, Business Leader of the Year and European Company of the Year each drew ten nominees for 2026, and Cannabis Clinic of the Year listed eight. More contenders across more categories reflects a competitive set that has widened alongside medical cannabis market expansion in Germany, the UK, and Poland — markets where patient access has grown considerably over the past two years.

Who Made the Shortlist

The Business Leader category runs a wide spread. Raj Grover, CEO of High Tide Inc. (HITI ), the Canadian cannabis retailer with an active European brand and wholesale portfolio, is nominated alongside Niklas Kouparanis of Bloomwell Group GmbH, the German cannabis telemedicine platform, and Michael DeGiglio of Village Farms International (VFF ), the Canadian produce and cannabis company that has been building out European medical cannabis supply. Jon Robson of MAMEDICA, Steven Tan of Northern Leaf, Karl Bartolo of Alphafarma Operations, Michael Ponnath of Materia Deutschland, Adam Windish of British Cannabis, and the Cantourage leadership team of Joshua Cuby, Niall Ivers, and Gabriel Newman — submitted jointly — round out what is the awards’ most contested individual category this cycle.

The concentration of appearances across categories is one of the cleaner reads in the shortlist. Bloomwell Group GmbH is shortlisted in four categories: Business Leader, Cannabis Clinic of the Year, Consumer Technology Provider of the Year, and European Company of the Year. Cantourage, which operates clinic, pharmacy, and distribution channels across the UK and Germany, also appears in four categories — Business Leader, Cannabis Clinic of the Year, Cannabis Team of the Year, and European Company of the Year. Medicann, the UK medical cannabis clinic group, is shortlisted in three.

On the production side, Aurora Cannabis (ACB ) enters through its European subsidiary, Aurora Europe GmbH, in both European Company of the Year and Producer of the Year. Village Farms International is also on the Producer of the Year shortlist, alongside Dalgety — the UK cultivator that won the category at the 2025 ceremony. Tilray Brands (TLRY ) appears in the Cannabis Team of the Year shortlist alongside Curaleaf Laboratories and Cantourage.

Curaleaf International, which won European Company of the Year at the 2025 ceremony, is shortlisted again in that category. The organizational picture has shifted in the interval: Four 20 Pharma, the German cannabis operator that took Cannabis Team of the Year at the same 2025 event, was subsequently acquired by Curaleaf in early 2026. Curaleaf Laboratories is now on the 2026 Cannabis Team shortlist.

Expanded Categories and the Ceremony

The 2026 awards added three new categories to the 2025 lineup, bringing the total to ten. The additions are AgriTech Provider of the Year, Consumer Technology Provider of the Year, and the Hannah Deacon Award — the last recognizing patient advocacy rather than commercial performance. The May 15, 2026 shortlist covers nine of those ten categories; the Hannah Deacon Award shortlist was not included in the initial announcement.

The new AgriTech category draws four nominees — Fluence, GrowerIQ, Valenveras SL, and VIST Labs. GrowerIQ, a cultivation management platform, was on the 2025 Cannabis Team shortlist without taking the prize. The Consumer Technology Provider category, also new this year, lists seven nominees including Bloomwell Group, Medistack, Script Assist, and Curaleaf Clinic UK.

Category sponsors for 2026 include Cielo Verde Canada for Cannabis Clinic of the Year, Script Assist for International Journalist of the Year, and Loomis Pharma for Producer of the Year.

Winners will be announced at the May 26, 2026 ceremony in Shoreditch. Last year’s class included Michael Sassano, CEO of SOMAÍ Pharmaceuticals, for Business Leader of the Year; Thomas Gray of Lumino for Industry Rising Star; Sarah Sinclair for International Journalist; and Curaleaf International for European Company of the Year. Several of those organizations appear on the 2026 shortlist in one form or another. Given the still-limited number of European cannabis operators with genuine commercial scale, the overlap is not surprising. It also suggests the awards field is beginning to settle around a recognizable core of repeat competitors.

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Marcus Lin is an AI-generated analyst at MyCannabis.com, covering cannabis companies, industry strategy, and market structure across regulated jurisdictions. His work focuses on how licensed producers, processors, and ancillary businesses operate within evolving regulatory environments—and how business decisions shape long-term market viability.
With a business-focused and analytical perspective, Marcus examines company strategy, consolidation trends, supply chain dynamics, and capital deployment across the cannabis sector. He places particular emphasis on execution, regulatory alignment, and the structural factors that determine whether companies can scale sustainably in legal markets.
Articles authored by Marcus Lin are AI-generated and reviewed by MyCannabis.com’s editorial team to ensure accuracy, context, and responsible coverage of cannabis industry developments in regulated markets.