Latest news with #HIGH
Business Wire
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Wire
Old El Paso Taps Keith Urban in ‘Castin' the Cowboy' to Crown the Voice of Taco Night
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cowboy-core is having a moment. Fringe is flying, boots are stomping, and belt buckles are back. Now, Old El Paso is dialing up the heat this summer, by turning taco night into a full-blown cowboy talent show. The Tex-Mex brand is debuting 'Castin' the Cowboy,' a playful take on the talent casting process, where country music superstar Keith Urban lends his judging experience to weigh in on a flavorful showcase of taco night contenders. Old El Paso is putting the spotlight on 10 musicians who bring flavor, fun, and flair to the table in the 'Castin' the Cowboy' content series. From taco ballads and fake guitars (and horses) to full-on cowboy-inspired performances, each hopeful is vying for a shot to take on the cowboy persona and lead Old El Paso's next taco-night era, with Urban adding his input. 'Watching our touring crew demolish a table full of tacos is like being at a huge family gathering,' said Urban. 'Good food, big personalities, and a great atmosphere – that's what being on the road is all about. So, when Old El Paso approached me with their 'Castin' the Cowboy' campaign, it felt like the perfect way to combine the two.' But this taco night casting call isn't something to scroll past. Urban is asking fans to follow along and cheer on their favorite audition. When all is said and sung, he will ultimately crown Old El Paso's newest 'cowboy' later this summer. A few lucky fans who guess the new cowboy will also have the chance to win exclusive prizes like a Keith Urban-signed Old El Paso cowboy belt buckle and taco-themed surprises including Old El Paso taco kits. 'There's never been a better time to bring western flair to the dinner table,' said Brand Experience Manager for Old El Paso, Jenny Jonker. 'With the current country-themed trend, it felt like the perfect time to tap into our own Tex-Mex roots. Old El Paso has always been about bringing bold flavor and fun to the table, and Keith brings the perfect mix of heart, humor, and star power to help us celebrate taco night in an unexpected way.' This summer, Urban will also be hitting the road on his HIGH AND ALIVE WORLD TOUR. Visit for ticket information and links to Keith's latest album HIGH. To stay in the loop and watch the 'Castin' the Cowboy' content series, follow @OldElPaso on Instagram and @ OldElPaso_Official on TikTok to get in the casting fun. About General Mills General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to boldly build its brands, relentlessly innovate, unleash its scale and stand for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names like Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Totino's, Annie's, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. General Mills generated fiscal 2024 net sales of U.S. $20 billion. In addition, the company's share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1 billion. For more information, visit About Keith Urban Keith Urban has spent the better part of his life harnessing a deep-seated passion for music. His authenticity, talent and driving musical inquisitiveness, helps to understand why he is one of the most successful and well-respected artists in the world. He's won 4 GRAMMY© Awards, 13 CMAs (including 2x Entertainer of the Year), fifteen ACMs (including the prestigious Triple Crown for winner Best New Artist, Male Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year), 3 AMAs, 2 People's Choice Awards, celebrated 9 consecutive gold, platinum or multi-platinum albums, which have produced more than 10 BILLION streams. His HIGH AND ALIVE WORLD TOUR will feature concerts throughout the United States, Canada and Australia and in October Urban will be the featured headliner on the new CBS music series, 'The Road,' which highlights his, and Blake Shelton's journey in search of the next big musician.
Malay Mail
18-05-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
Germany's medical cannabis boom: How it's transforming health care and raising legal debates
BERLIN, May 19 — At an undisclosed site in Germany's Bavaria state, pharmaceutical CEO Philip Schetter opens a 75-centimetre (30-inch) thick steel door that secures his wares: vast amounts of cannabis. 'Better safe than sorry,' he says during a visit to the compound run by Cantourage, a producer and distributor of cannabis-based medicinal products. Marijuana has been partially legalised in Germany, but the firm fears its wares from as far as Jamaica, Uganda and New Zealand could make it an attractive target for criminals. 'We are committed to the highest safety standards—for our employees as well as for our products,' Schetter told AFP. Inside the facility, staff wearing surgical gowns, hairnets and face masks were busy using small scissors to cut up dried cannabis flowers. The brownish-green buds are used to relieve chronic pain and sleep disorders, treat certain forms of epilepsy and offer support for cancer, HIV and palliative care patients. Medical cannabis has been a boon for the Berlin-based company whose website slogan says 'we love cannabis' and whose Frankfurt Stock Exchange ticker symbol is 'HIGH'. Last year it booked revenue of 51.4 million euros, a 118 percent increase on 2023. The company with 70 staff says it allows producers to enter the European medical cannabis market by processing and distributing their dried flowers and extracts. Competitors include the Netherlands' Bedrocan and Canada's Aurora, which also grows cannabis. In Germany, the pungent green plant has been available with a prescription since 2017. One benefit of laboratory-tested and certified medical cannabis is clarity about its origin, processing path and active ingredient content, said Schetter. 'If I went to the black market, the choice would be rather limited and I would be given anything, without knowing what it contains,' he said. 'And often the product is contaminated. You may even doubt that it is cannabis.' Frosted cookies Cantourage markets its medicines in eye-catching ways, naming them after their cannabis strains. Among its products are 'Frosted Cookies', 'Lemon Berry Candy' and 'Chemdawg', complete with colourful stickers that help build brand loyalty even if they do not appear on the packaging. 'Classical pharma firms do classical pharma marketing,' Schetter said. 'We're just young and creative,' he added, noting that the boundaries between recreational and medicinal drugs are sometimes 'blurred'. 'You can argue about when a product is recreational and when it is medicinal,' he said. 'Cannabis helps in the treatment of certain symptoms.' Most European nations have legalised medicinal cannabis in some form, but Germany has more liberal rules than most. The former centre-left government last year made it easier to get cannabis on prescription. It also legalised possession of up to 25 grams for personal, non-medical use and allowed households to grow up to three marijuana plants. 'The change in the law meant lots of people became aware for the first time that you can get cannabis from the chemist without being gravely ill,' Schetter said. 'That led to a surge in demand.' Pharmacies filled over 1,000 percent more cannabis prescriptions in December 2024 than they did the previous March, before the law was loosened, according to Bloomwell, an online platform that puts patients in touch with doctors for cannabis treatment. 'Shame for country' The legal change did not put everyone in high spirits, least of all Germany's conservative new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who during the election campaign demanded the legalisation be reversed. His ally, Bavarian premier Markus Soeder, last year charged that the loosening of the law was a 'shame for the country' and vowed his state would apply the law 'as strictly as possible'. Since Merz agreed to share power with the centre-left Social Democrats, his coalition government has taken a softer line, pledging only an 'open-ended evaluation' of the issue. Schetter said he was relaxed about the pending review, telling AFP that 'we're curious to see what comes out of this'. He acknowledged that 'regulatory risk does come up as a topic from time to time' in his talks with investors. But even a reversal of the latest change to the law should leave Cantourage's business model intact, Schetter said. 'We are a pharmaceutical company. We make medicines and deliver them to chemists.' He even dared to dream that the review could go the other way, meaning 'further steps will be taken to turn partial legalisation into full legalisation'. — AFP
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
High times for German cannabis firm amid medical boom
At an undisclosed site in Germany's Bavaria state, pharmaceutical CEO Philip Schetter opens a 75-centimetre (30-inch) thick steel door that secures his wares: vast amounts of cannabis. "Better safe than sorry," he says during a visit to the compound run by Cantourage, a producer and distributor of cannabis-based medicinal products. Marijuana has been partially legalised in Germany, but the firm fears its wares from as far as Jamaica, Uganda and New Zealand could make it an attractive target for criminals. "We are committed to the highest safety standards -- for our employees as well as for our products," Schetter told AFP. Inside the facility, staff wearing surgical gowns, hairnets and face masks were busy using small scissors to cut up dried cannabis flowers. The brownish-green buds are used to relieve chronic pain and sleep disorders, treat certain forms of epilepsy and offer support for cancer, HIV and palliative care patients. Medical cannabis has been a boon for the Berlin-based company whose website slogan says "we love cannabis" and whose Frankfurt Stock Exchange ticker symbol is "HIGH". Last year it booked revenue of 51.4 million euros, a 118 percent increase on 2023. The company with 70 staff says it allows producers to enter the European medical cannabis market by processing and distributing their dried flowers and extracts. Competitors include the Netherlands' Bedrocan and Canada's Aurora, which also grows cannabis. In Germany, the pungent green plant has been available with a prescription since 2017. One benefit of laboratory-tested and certified medical cannabis is clarity about its origin, processing path and active ingredient content, said Schetter. "If I went to the black market, the choice would be rather limited and I would be given anything, without knowing what it contains," he said. "And often the product is contaminated. You may even doubt that it is cannabis." - 'Frosted Cookies' - Cantourage markets its medicines in eye-catching ways, naming them after their cannabis strains. Among its products are "Frosted Cookies", "Lemon Berry Candy" and "Chemdawg", complete with colourful stickers that help build brand loyalty even if they do not appear on the packaging. "Classical pharma firms do classical pharma marketing," Schetter said. "We're just young and creative," he added, noting that the boundaries between recreational and medicinal drugs are sometimes "blurred". "You can argue about when a product is recreational and when it is medicinal," he said. "Cannabis helps in the treatment of certain symptoms." Most European nations have legalised medicinal cannabis in some form, but Germany has more liberal rules than most. The former centre-left government last year made it easier to get cannabis on prescription. It also legalised possession of up to 25 grams for personal, non-medical use and allowed households to grow up to three marijuana plants. "The change in the law meant lots of people became aware for the first time that you can get cannabis from the chemist without being gravely ill," Schetter said. "That led to a surge in demand." Pharmacies filled over 1,000 percent more cannabis prescriptions in December 2024 than they did the previous March, before the law was loosened, according to Bloomwell, an online platform that puts patients in touch with doctors for cannabis treatment. - 'Shame for country' - The legal change did not put everyone in high spirits, least of all Germany's conservative new Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who during the election campaign demanded the legalisation be reversed. His ally, Bavarian premier Markus Soeder, last year charged that the loosening of the law was a "shame for the country" and vowed his state would apply the law "as strictly as possible". Since Merz agreed to share power with the centre-left Social Democrats, his coalition government has taken a softer line, pledging only an "open-ended evaluation" of the issue. Schetter said he was relaxed about the pending review, telling AFP that "we're curious to see what comes out of this". He acknowledged that "regulatory risk does come up as a topic from time to time" in his talks with investors. But even a reversal of the latest change to the law should leave Cantourage's business model intact, Schetter said. "We are a pharmaceutical company. We make medicines and deliver them to chemists." He even dared to dream that the review could go the other way, meaning "further steps will be taken to turn partial legalisation into full legalisation". vbw/fz/rl/rmb/fec Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
