INTERVIEW: Daniel Kruse is Chief Government Officer of SYNBIOTIC SE, a publicly listed European holding firm primarily based in Düsseldorf, Germany. A serial entrepreneur, Kruse has based a number of hashish and hemp companies and brings almost 30 years’ expertise within the sector. He has served on the Board of the European Industrial Hemp Affiliation (EIHA) since 2013 and has been its President since 2019. Kruse can be Vice-Chair of the Federation of Worldwide Hemp Organisations (FIHO) and works carefully with the German Hashish Business Affiliation (BvCW).
Hemp At present: You’ve stated SYNBIOTIC expects to achieve break-even by the primary half of 2026 on the newest. What has put you on that trajectory?
Daniel Kruse: The primary decisive step was a radical cost-optimization program. We’ve got considerably diminished our working bills with out compromising product high quality and buyer orientation. In parallel, we relocated key operations to Düsseldorf, centralized logistics and synchronized the actions of our portfolio firms.
HT: You describe your method as “buy-and-build”. What precisely are you shopping for, and the way are you constructing?
DK: As a holding firm, we make focused investments in promising companies throughout the medical hashish and industrial hemp business. The intention is to unlock worthwhile synergies throughout all the worth chain. Take our acquisition of Ilesol Prescribed drugs in Croatia earlier this yr: it closed a niche in our provide chain by giving us in-house, EU-based manufacturing. We will now manufacture CBD isolates carrying a “Made in EU” label – an ideal match with our pan-European technique. The transaction not solely secures provide and boosts gross sales potential, it additionally makes SYNBIOTIC extra enticing to massive, strategic buyers from outdoors Europe.
HT: You will have built-in a number of firms lately. How has that accelerated your technique?
DK: The mixing of WEECO Pharma is a major instance. WEECO has dramatically strengthened our presence in medical-cannabis distribution. Acquisitions like this create instantaneous synergies and translate into income uplift virtually in a single day.
HT: What units SYNBIOTIC other than different publicly traded hashish teams?
DK: First, our purposeful diversification throughout all hashish and hemp subsectors and alongside each stage of the worth chain. We’ve got assembled a strong European portfolio of seasoned companies that seize progress whereas mitigating threat for buyers. Secondly, our total company technique is constructed on focused acquisitions and the seamless integration of latest enterprise areas, producing synergies in administration, manufacturing and gross sales. This provides our buyers the distinctive alternative to completely capitalize on these quickly rising hashish and hemp markets in Europe and Germany.
HT: How necessary is product innovation inside your medical hashish division?
DK: It’s completely essential. This yr we launched Germany’s first medical-cannabis pastille – a discreet, user-friendly format that resonates with sufferers. It’s a nice illustration of how SYNBIOTIC combines pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing with consumer-centric design. Because the market matures, improvements like it will give us a transparent aggressive edge.
HT: You will have introduced IRIS Capital on board as a strategic investor. What does that partnership add?
DK: IRIS Capital is a long-term progress investor with deep roots within the digital financial system. Their dedication validates our mannequin, and their data-driven experience sharpens our EU growth plans in anticipation of future regulatory openings. The capital is welcome, however the strategic perception is much more priceless.
HT: It appears to be like as if medical hashish will account for a rising share of your revenues. What’s your technique for that phase?
DK: Demand within the medical hashish sector is rising sharply following the partial legalization in Germany. Due to this fact, now we have a robust give attention to the fast-growing medical hashish market phase, backed by regulatory momentum and growing affected person entry. We’re focusing on each prescription-based therapeutics and rising OTC merchandise. Moreover, we see extra European nations following the German legalisation, these days Slovenia. Along with prescription and OTC merchandise, we provide a complete home-grow portfolio – seeds, cuttings and cultivation equipment – to serve sufferers preferring to develop their very own medication.
HT: SYNBIOTIC has unusually deep roots in hemp. How necessary is hemp inside your all-cannabis technique?
DK: Hemp is key. Our hemp and CBD companies at the moment generate about 40 % of group income. They provide sustainable uncooked supplies and completed items starting from cosmetics and meals to animal feed and equipment. These are mature firms (e.g. Hempro Worldwide and SOLIDMIND Group), well-established of their niches, able to scale as the broader hemp market re-accelerates. Regulatory advances, such because the anticipated German industrial hemp liberalization regulation and the EU approval of CBD as a novel meals, are opening up huge business potential. At the moment, demand for hemp meals and hemp feed alone is displaying a rise of 300 to 400 % this yr in comparison with final yr. In the meantime, our medical-cannabis unit, bolstered by the WEECO acquisition, is rising quickly and can play an more and more outstanding function.
HT: You now function in a number of EU member states. How important is the “Made in Europe” label?
DK: Extraordinarily. For instance, proudly owning Ilesol Prescribed drugs means we will have in-house, EU-manufactured CBD isolates, extracts and white-/private-label merchandise for cosmetics and meals dietary supplements. That ensures full regulatory compliance and powerful market acceptance, particularly in well being and wellness classes the place customers and regulators alike insist on clear, regional provide chains.
HT: What influence has Germany’s Hashish Management Act (CanG) had on SYNBIOTIC?
DK: CanG is a sport changer, already driving greater demand throughout a number of of our verticals. Our buy-and-build mannequin permits us to maneuver shortly and confidently to grab these new alternatives. With its clear give attention to two forward-looking markets, regulatory foresight and powerful operational positioning, SYNBIOTIC is excellently positioned to sustainably implement its deliberate progress and set up itself because the main funding platform within the European hashish and hemp business.
HT: There are efforts to take away of the so-called “intoxication clause”. What does that imply in apply and why is that this so necessary? Is the authorized panorama for CBD enhancing?
DK: Eradicating the clause will lastly carry a sizeable gray market into the authorized fold. CBD flower is massively common in Germany – consider it because the equal of low-alcohol beer – and the market is price a number of hundred million euros. As soon as the Industrial Hemp Liberalization Act is enacted, hopefully in 2026, hemp flowers might be marketed as natural smoking merchandise below the Tobacco Merchandise Directive, whereas preparations and formulations can even be coated. Traditional CBD oils will turn out to be totally authorized as soon as Novel Meals dossiers are authorized and sector-specific rules noticed. And let’s not neglect hemp leaves for teas and infusions – one of many largest untapped classes within the EU.
HT: You went by way of the CBD crash, and also you’ve been on the heart of the CBD “novel meals” course of in each Europe and the UK. How do you view that sector because it rebounds?
DK: The marketplace for hemp extracts and CBD isolates alone is a multi-billion-euro alternative. The cosmetics business has already embraced these components, and demand is rising. Ought to the European Fee approve the pending Novel Meals functions within the coming years, we anticipate demand within the meals complement phase to multiply.
HT: Lastly, what’s the progress potential for “true hemp” – the purely industrial, non-flower functions?
DK: Monumental. Sectors similar to meals, feed and building supplies are sometimes underestimated. Progress has been hampered in Germany by the intoxication clause, which restricted cultivation and processing, however change is on the best way and we’re nicely positioned. With the appropriate regulatory tweaks, industrial hemp can turn out to be a cornerstone of a sustainable bio-economy. It’s a sleeping big that’s simply starting to get up.
