Chenevia raises 3 million euros to build its medical cannabis production site

Chenevia, a Morbihan-based start-up now specializing in CBD, is in the process of raising 3 million euros to build its production site medical cannabis

This new financing, made up of bank loans, support from Bpifrance via the Inno Avenir program and 1 million euros from private investors (including Bretagne Sud Angels, Business Angels 35 and Gwenneg), follows an initial round of financing of 1.5 million euros focused on R&D.

«The aim was to set up different small-scale cultivation techniques to determine which one to develop in our future building,» explains Quentin Beauvais, co-founder and president of Chenevia, to Ouest France.

Currently operating on a 700 m² farmhouse, Chenevia plans to add a 2,000 m² installation to its 6 hectares of land. Construction is due to start in September, with opening scheduled for early 2026. The facility will house an indoor cultivation area and a treatment plant complying with pharmaceutical standards.

«In 3 to 6 years» time, the idea is to master the entire vertical chain, and in particular to transform the flower into oil. But also to have an integrated training center and identify new therapeutic solutions."

Chenevia's ambitions for growth have been slowed by political instability in France.

«The actions planned last year to launch the sector in January didn't take place, due to the government's dissolution and then censure,» notes Quentin Beauvais. Despite these setbacks, the company remains optimistic about its trajectory and aims to increase its workforce from 7 employees today to 13 by next year and 18 by 2028.

Pending’French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) to process flowers with a higher THC content, Chenevia has moved into hemp. It launched the «Le CBD breton» brand less than a year ago, and is now preparing to introduce the "Le CBD breton" brand. Cryobloom, a brand using an innovative drying and packaging solution.

It is also continuing its R&D on molecules derived from hemp in collaboration with the Stanipharm laboratory (Meurthe-et-Moselle).

«We're aiming for sales of between 500,000 and 1 million euros this year,» Quentin Beauvais sums up. He stresses, however, that wellness cannabis is only a stepping stone: in the long term, it should account for only 20% of Chenevia's business, with the remaining 80% devoted to pharmaceutical products.