Europe Emerging As Overlooked Opportunity In Global Cannabis Expansion, Says SOMAÍ Founder

Ahead of the Chicago Cannabis Capital Conference, we spoke with SOMAÍ, a medical cannabis manufacturer from Lisboa, Portugal, about global expansion, supply chains, and international investment trends shaping the next phase of the cannabis industry.

For Michael Sassano, founder, chairman, GR, and interim CEO of SOMAÍ, global reach and vertical integration define winners.

“Global reach and vertical integration will be the defining factor in global winners,” Sassano told IgniteIt in an interview. “It’s not enough to be delivering to one country, and it’s not enough to say you don’t own the distribution and sales in that country.”

It’s also important to be versatile, to have the ability to supply consistently at scale while adapting to the regulatory and clinical realities of each market, he added. The key is to be flexible and “able to supply consistently while adapting to each market’s rules.”

The IgniteIt Cannabis Capital Conference will take place from June 14 to June 16, 2026, at the Marriott Chicago Downtown Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois.

As more countries adopt medical cannabis programs, Sassano expects the industry to evolve into a hybrid model, a globally integrated pharmaceutical supply chain alongside distinct local markets, each with its own regulations, products, and distribution systems.

“It is both scenarios; there can be one supply chain feeding multiple distribution points with different rules, products and channels,” he said. “Each country has its patient base that has elevated to a specific point of product understanding because of regulatory constraints.”

That tension between global supply and local regulation is also shaping where the most overlooked opportunities are today.

According to Sassano, that’s Europe.

“Just like any state, you must own your own cultivation and manufacturing, and those assets must feed the various dispensing countries just like the US models,” he said, referencing the cannabis space in Europe. “The nuance is regulatory diversity; the similarity is direct access to all countries as they develop.”