10 minute read
Big Ideas, Smart Packages
Founders of Influential Cannabis Companies Talk Sustainability
By Taylor McLamb
If being more sustainable was at the top of your New Year’s resolution list this year, achieving that goal could be a bit daunting when buying cannabis at a dispensary. Breaking through the layers of plastic when opening you favorite edibles or flower is not only time consuming, it’s wasteful. The nonrecyclable material, extraneous labeling, and paper waste all come at a heavy cost to the environment.
Cannabis could save the world, but if each company doesn’t do their part to focus on sustainability, then this industry could diminish all of the benefits that the plant brings. Let’s take a look at a few companies striving to create a greener future.
Cole Gibbs, Founder and CEO of Dama Distributing
Colorado-based Dama Distributing develops sustainable, home-compostable, plant-based packaging for a variety of industries, including cannabis. Dama creates its child-resistant packaging products using recyclable materials, such as glass, bamboo, and hemp plastics.
“The child resistant (CR) packaging side of things is kind of the biggest hurdle, more than anything. We don’t necessarily need CR packaging for every single cannabis product. So that makes it very difficult, especially when you get into dry flower and all the new drinks that are coming out and making those CR. Also, making it out of a sustainable package as well is kind of difficult.
So luckily they’ve eliminated all these exit bag rules and double packaging rules and even implemented some new sustainability laws in several states, which allow consumers to take back their cannabis packaging to the dispensary. And that can either be washed or sanitized and reused or shredded and turned back into a multi-use item like a rolling tray or a Frisbee or anything of that nature. So, there are some great things moving in the cannabis industry, but I think due to the rules and regulations, the biggest thing more than anything else is labeling.
Usually, you have a label for who produced it. You have another label of the company that’s selling it. Next, you have your compliance label when you actually sell the product at point of sale. So there’s a lot of labeling that goes into it. And a lot of those labels are produced via thermal print, which are not recyclable or compostable. So, I think eliminating a lot of this extra labeling and marking would help the sustainability aspect of the packaging as well.”
Bill Ludlow, Founder, President, and CEO of Crativ Packaging
Crativ offers packaging solutions for the cannabis industry focused on durability, science, compliance, and sustainability. Crativ uses recycled plastic, chemical-free recycled foam in its inserts, and owns its own supply chain, which decreases the company’s carbon footprint.
“Research shows that 80% of littering is intentional and performed by individuals, that’s you and me, that’s us, that’s the consumer. We have to take control, we have to be a part of the solution. Should we ban plastics to protect ourselves from the idiots that we are? It’s not the
answer.
Cole Gibbs and Dama Distributing's products.
Bill Ludlow of Crativ Packaging
If we were to ban plastics and replace them with today’s alternatives, such as glass, paper, and aluminum, the amount of materials required, energy required, and resulting CO2 emissions would explode… So, be critical about plastic, but don’t go blindly to war on plastic, just because they’re the most visibly littered material. The answer is you. We’ve all got to come together, we must focus on how to keep plastics in the materials loop, you have the power, you are the consumer, you can drive the market to sustainability if we do it together.
Check your facts, be a hero, not a hater.”
Crativ Packaging Products Erica Halverson, Tiny E Paper Company
Erica Halverson, Founder and CEO of Tiny E Paper Company
Tiny E Paper Company produces 100% pure hemp paper made out of hemp stalks and pre- and post-extraction waste from CBD.
“We make hemp paper specifically for business owners within the cannabis industry, with the goal to get the entire industry to use hemp paper for all their packaging, labeling, B2B paper, to stop using trees and switch over to hemp. Sustainability is what my company is all about, and I want to be a model and make the cannabis industry a model to every other industry of what sustainability actually means.
I don’t go through the day without saying [sustainability] at least 20 times. It is my entire business model, it is the entire model. I’ve always said this from the start, I am on a hemp movement. This is about more than paper. My sustainability message comes from the fact that I have so many different ways that, by just making paper, I am able to sustain a lot of different aspects of the cannabis industry. Number one is sustaining our farmers. I’m going to need as much raw material as possible because I’m creating all my paper on a commercial scale. I need as much CBD waste as I can get. This is the fastest growing segment of the fastest growing industry in the world, and they need a place for their garbage to go. Well, guess what? I’m a place for that.
We have a really awesome opportunity and responsibility right now, and we cannot squander that by doing it the wrong way. We have a chance to really be a model for the world right now in what sustainability means, and what it means in practice, rather than just saying it. If we don’t do this the right way, and understand how we can make each other better in that process, then we are probably going to fail.” ❖
Tiny E Paper Company products
Our highly energy-efficient cooling and humidity systems are custom engineered for the cannabis industry. We offer the following services to help you achieve better results:
Fastest Lead Times in the Industry!
◆ Modulating, full energy recovery reheat Dehumidification ◆ Modulating compressors ◆ Air Cooled and Water Cooled packaged units and Heat Pumps ◆ Open protocol DDC controls ◆ Pre-Fabricated Chilled Water, Pumping and Heat
Transfer Systems ◆ Energy Recovery Air Handlers ◆ High Efficiency and Electronic Filtration Systems ◆ Humidification Systems ◆ Odor Abatement Systems
Why Now is the Time to Invest in Cannabis
By Jeff Finkle
It’s an exciting time to invest in cannabis as a generational wealth creation opportunity. The legal cannabis industry is projected to grow to $100 billion in 2030, and the investment opportunities are enormous.
Key Reasons to Invest in Cannabis Now
Cannabis is a market where consumer demand already exists, but there is a lack of professional venture capital to support business growth. As a result, cannabis businesses are actively looking for investors, which equates to significant opportunities for smart angel investors.
Consumer Demand Already Exists
Because demand exists, investors are essentially investing in the transition of a $75 billion (U.S.) annual illicit (“informal”) market to a legal (“formal”) market. In the United States, legal cannabis sales are forecasted to reach $23.6 billion in 2021, less than a third of the estimated amount sold annually in the informal market. Growth is assured as users look to change their purchasing habits and embrace the quality control of the formal market.
Lack of Professional, Institutional Venture Capital Funds
A lack of institutional investors, loan capital, and professional venture capital in the cannabis industry creates a supply and demand imbalance which results in a buyer’s market.
Today, there are approximately 35 early and growth-stage funds with an aggregate approximate $700M AU.M. Additionally, there is some family-office capital pursuing this sector. While angel investors, private equity, and venture capital are increasing, they’re still a small share of what is required to finance the industry.
Where to Focus as an Angel Investor Right Now
Savvy cannabis investors are looking at many opportunities. Here are five areas of focus:
1. Cannabis Consumer of the Future The future of the cannabis industry isn’t limited to consumers who already consume. Additional growth will come from consumers who are not consuming yet.
Think of the health-conscious soccer mom who trades her evening glass of wine for a low microdose cannabis-infused drink that has fewer calories and no sugar. Smart investors are looking at companies serving these new consumers with innovative product experiences and new form factors.
2. Single or Dual-state Operators
Investors are focused on high-performing operators with footprints in one or two states that will likely get acquired by larger multi-state operators.
Top publicly held multi-state operators (MSOs) have been acquiring cannabis businesses across the country while dramatically increasing revenue and becoming profitable. Second-tier MSOs are aggressively expanding their footprints, and mergers and acquisitions are happening with increased frequency. All of this adds up to more opportunities for cannabis investors.
3. Defensible Positions in the Supply Chain
Investment opportunities can be found across the cannabis supply chain, and investors are looking at companies with competitive advantages that are not easily duplicated.
These companies have developed a unique process, product, or service that gives them a position which is easy to defend. Such a company likely has valuable intellectual property — patents, trade secrets, trademarks, or copyrights — that ensure it has an exclusive right to protect its competitive advantage for a significant period of time.
4. Re-definition of Medical Cannabis
The medical cannabis market is being threatened by the adult-use market and the pharmaceutical industry, which wants the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to consider cannabis a drug.
However, smart investors predict that medical cannabis will be redefined and create a growing over-the-counter (OTC) business.
As a result, investors are looking at how the repositioning of the medical market could create growth and investment opportunities.
5. Northeast
In the near future, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Virginia will all have operational adult-use markets open and thriving. High population density ensures the Northeast will represent the next dominant cannabis market.
Companies in these states are scrambling to raise money and new brands will debut soon, which will bring huge opportunities for investors.
Cannabis Investing Opportunities Abound in 2021
As we near the end of 2021, all signs point to now being the time to continue, or begin investing in cannabis companies. Yes, there are challenges in investing in this sector, but the growth should outweigh those risks. of it this way. Market growth is coming in the short-term as more states roll out new medical and adult-use programs, and significant projected growth is coming in the long-term through federal legalization, social normalization, and expanded state programs.
The picture is clear. Now is the time to invest in cannabis ❖.
Photo: iStockphoto.com/JuSun
About the Author
Named one of the “25 Angel Investors in New York You Need to Know” by AlleyWatch, Jeff Finkle has been a venture investor for ten years and an angel investor for eight years. Jeff is presently CEO of the Arcview Group and Arcview Ventures and co-founder of the Arcview Collective Fund, the first member-managed fund in cannabis. He also serves as Chairman of the Evaluation Committee and Treasurer of the Angel Round Capital.
