Barcelona, 24 Feb. Former artistic swimming champion Gemma Mengual is the first athlete to bet on the medical marijuana business in Spain, and together with her partner David Fayos they want to continue developing the company, Cannabity Healthcare.
Company CEO David Fayos founded the company in 2016 “after some personal ailments” and partnered with Gemma Mengual in mid-2022 when they decided to create the first physical store in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona), where the businessman and the former Catalan swimmer spoke with EFE. Their roadmap includes opening a new store in Madrid and expanding the range of cannabis products, as they now only sell a cream and a few drops.
“These are products for anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic and analgesic use, although they are also very useful for anxiety and nerves,” explains Mengual, who claims to use these products on a daily basis.
“I use the cream for contractures and the sublingual drops to sleep,” says the former swimmer who, during her career, won 19 World Cup medals, 17 in Europe and two other medals – both from silver- at the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
After several months of use, Mengual feels very satisfied: “I sleep very well, it helps me rest and I fall asleep super fast.” Both partners emphasize that clients are generally satisfied if they are consistent with treatment.
The market for CBD, the first active ingredient in cannabis to be decriminalized by the World Anti-Doping Agency, is booming worldwide, and at Cannabity Healthcare they want to position themselves strongly in the market.
And David Fayos argues that they have obtained “a grant from the European Fund for the digitalization of the company”, with which they are already working. Fayos believes that they will be “the first in Europe to use it” and explains that they are already developing “an application based on artificial intelligence”.
“Based on the history we have of the customers (age, weight, condition), we will cross-reference the data with the app so that workers in other stores who do not have sufficient knowledge enter the data and know what parameters to follow to prescribe the products,” explains Fayos.
“It will serve to have better customer service and to develop successfully,” adds Gemma Mengual, who is betting a lot on CBD in this new stage as an entrepreneur.
Aaron Fernandez