3 French Companies Betting on Cannabis… Abroad

In France, cannabis remains illegal, and promoting it is obviously a minefield for companies.

Just across our borders or on the other side of the Atlantic, however, the picture is very different. In the United States, Canada, and certain European countries, the rise of legal cannabis has created an entire market where French companies—some of them with a long history—sell their products.

Lighters, rolling papers, or fertigation systems: BIC, OCB, and Dosatron offer three very different examples.

BIC Aims to Boost Sales Through U.S. Cannabis

The most recent case is also the most explicit. On September 8, during the presentation of its new strategy, BIC openly identified U.S. cannabis users as a growth driver for its lighters.

«Marijuana use in the United States is growing much faster than it ever has in the Netherlands,» explained the group’s CEO, Rob Versloot of the Netherlands. For BIC, this means there is «a significant market share to be captured.».

This is no trivial matter. In the first half of 2026, lighters generated 351 million euros in revenue, accounting for about one-third of the group’s sales. And BIC is looking for a way to offset the structural decline in smoking in the United States.

Its new target: «smoke shops» and other specialty stores, which until now have been less of a focus than the major U.S. retail chains. BIC estimates their number to be between 15,000 and 20,000. Its new strategic plan specifically aims to increase the market penetration of its products and strengthen sales execution across different markets and distribution channels.

In reality, the company’s connection to cannabis culture had begun well before this announcement. BIC enlisted Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart as early as 2021 to promote its EZ Reach lighter. In 2024, the rapper, Martha Stewart, and Willie Nelson came together for a special campaign centered on «420,» April 20, a date that has become the unofficial celebration of cannabis. BIC itself billed it as a «herb-friendly» campaign and offered a 20% discount on its lighters for the occasion.

OCB is no longer content to simply suggest

For OCB, the merger seems even more natural. Founded in France and still produced primarily in Perpignan, the rolling paper brand has been owned by the Republic Technologies group since 2000. The group claims to distribute its products in more than 100 countries.

Depending on the market, however, OCB can adopt a much less ambiguous message than it does in France. On its U.S. online store, its Organic Hemp line is depicted surrounded by cannabis leaves and presented as made from «your favorite plant,» before inviting consumers to light it up. The U.S. site sells not only leaves but also joints pre-rolls, and grinders and trays.

Above all, the brand is now reaching out directly to the cannabis industry. In 2025, OCB announced on its own website that it would be participating in Expo Cannabis in Argentina, Cannafriends in Germany, and the Mary Jane Expo in Berlin, where it had set up an «OCB 420 Area.».

In the United States, she went even further. In September 2024, at the Hall of Flowers cannabis fair and festival in Santa Rosa, California, OCB claimed a record : Some 7,000 participants lit a joint simultaneously at 4:20 p.m. The event notably highlighted « Houseplant by OCB », a collaboration with the cannabis brand founded by actor Seth Rogen and his business partner Evan Goldberg.

The line between smoking accessories and cannabis-use accessories thus becomes particularly blurred outside of France. This even extends to the vocabulary used: for example, OCB’s official German online store offers a «4:20 Package» that is bluntly described as containing «everything to get you high.».

Dosatron, the French brand that helps you grow cannabis

A third example is at the other end of the spectrum. Dosatron, a company based in Tresses, near Bordeaux, sells neither lighters nor paper. It manufactures metering pumps that are used, among other things, to precisely inject fertilizers and nutrients into irrigation water—a process known as fertigation.

And through its U.S. subsidiary, Dosatron US (Clearwater, FL), the company also applies its technology to greenhouse and hydroponic cultivation—areas for which it is particularly well-suited—especially in the context of commercial cannabis operations.

In fact, on its North American websites, Dosatron makes no attempt to hide this market. An entire page is devoted to choosing the «best fertigation system for cannabis,» with recommended models based on farm size. The company explains that precise dosing allows growers to achieve greater consistency across varieties, batches, and harvests.

Its Canadian distribution network also draws directly on testimonials from the industry. Kings Garden states that it uses Dosatron direct-injection systems in nine cannabis cultivation facilities, particularly to reduce labor costs and human error. A Canadian distributor specializing in irrigation also markets Dosatron injectors directly in a section dedicated to cannabis irrigation systems.

So, three companies and three strategies. BIC is beginning to openly identify cannabis users as a target customer base. OCB is immersing itself in 420 culture and events in markets where it can do so. Dosatron is positioning itself even further upstream, working directly with the producers themselves.

The paradox is striking: none of these companies needs to sell cannabis to benefit from its legalization. They provide the accessories: everything needed to grow, roll, or smoke it. And it is abroad that this French expertise is finding new growth opportunities in the cannabis economy.