Grüvi, a Colorado-Based, Alcohol-Free Craft Brewery, Launches New Beer Varieties, Encourages Consumers to Skip the Hangover this Year
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Grüvi, a Colorado-Based, Alcohol-Free Craft Brewery, Launches New Beer Varieties, Encourages Consumers to Skip the Hangover this Year
Family-owned Beverage Brand Positioned to Make a Splash in the Non-Alcohol Spirits Category
Denver, CO (January 25, 2021) – Coloradoans who crave craft beer, minus the alcohol, have a new choice when it comes to socially drinking without the buzz this year, thanks to Grüvi, a new non-alcohol brewery. This winter, the company plans to release its newest beer varieties – the Golden Lager and Juicy IPA. Both will be available at select stores along the Front Range soon.
Established in 2020, Denver-based Grüvi offers a line of artisan-inspired, alcohol-free beverages, featuring well-known beer varieties such as IPA, Lager, Pale Ale, Sour Weisse, and Stout. Grüvi also has an alcohol-free product line available for wine lovers, including a Bubbly Rose and Dry Secco.
Even though the company is only a year old, it is already positioning itself as a category disruptor in the alcohol-free spirits industry. “The non-alcoholic beer and wine category has been ignored for so long, and we saw a need for innovation, education, and new brands,” said Niki Sawni, Founder and CEO of Grüvi. “At Grüvi, our goal is to help people find their ideal moment for a non-alcoholic beer and delight them with our taste and quality.”
Award-Winning Taste
This past fall, Grüvi’s team took home the People’s Choice Award and 1st Place at Naturally Boulder’s 16th Annual Pitch Slam & Autumn Awards. Sawni and her team competed against ten other brands in the natural products industry. Each company presented a timed 3-minute business pitch, including a question-and-answer session with a panel of judges who ultimately voted for the best brand.
The first-place prize pack included a free booth at Natural Products Expo East in 2021 with a guaranteed opportunity to pitch at the Expo East Pitch Slam. Additionally, the first-place winner will receive a robust suite of business services from sponsors, such as free financial and legal advice, packaging design, strategy consulting, and more – a total package worth $100,000.
Get your Gruv On
Enjoy the best non-alcoholic craft beverages on the market and look for the product line in the following eight states: Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Michigan, Minnesota, and New Mexico. For more information about Grüvi’s products, including its store locator, visit getgruvi.com.
About Grüvi
Grüvi is a small, family-owned brewery based in Denver, working to make the best craft, non-alcoholic beers on the market. The current product offerings include an IPA, Pale Ale, Stout, Sour, Bubbly Rosé & Prosecco. The company is always working to create new and unique styles. At Grüvi, the mission is simple - help others be healthy and stay social, one drink at a time.
Contact
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, 303.807.1042, steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com
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Conscious Leadership: Join John Mackey on Compass Coffee Talk, February 25, 2021, 11:30am EST
Conscious Leadership
Join John Mackey, Co-Founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, for a rare natural products industry interview with Compass Coffee Talk.
Thursday, February 25, 11:30 am – 12:15 pm EST
Zoom, Admission is Free
Featured guest John Mackey, Co-Founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, joins Compass Coffee Talk. Mackey will discuss his latest book, “Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business,” a follow-up to groundbreaking bestseller Conscious Capitalism — revealing what it takes to lead a purpose-driven, sustainable business.
About John Mackey
John Mackey, Co-Founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, has built the natural and organic grocer from a single store in Austin, Texas in 1978, into a Fortune 500 company, which went public in 1992, and was purchased by Amazon in 2017. Today, Whole Foods Market is a top U.S. supermarket with more than 500 stores and 95,000 Team Members across the U.S., Canada, and U.K. While devoting his career to helping shoppers satisfy their lifestyle needs with quality natural and organic foods, Mackey has also focused on building a more conscious way of doing business.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS, ALLEGRO COFFEE AND PRESENCE MARKETING!
About Compass Coffee Talk™
Take a 30-minute virtual coffee break with Compass Coffee Talk™. Hosted by natural industry veterans Bill Capsalis and Steve Hoffman, Coffee Talk features lively interactive conversations with industry leaders and experts designed to help guide entrepreneurs and businesses of any size succeed in the market for natural, organic, regenerative, hemp-derived and other eco-friendly products.
Compass Coffee Talk™ is produced by Compass Natural Marketing, a leading PR, branding and business development agency serving the natural and organic products industry. Learn more.
Natural Products Leaders Share their Outlook for 2021
Photo: Pixabay
This article originally appeared in Presence Marketing's January Newsletter and New Hope Network's IdeaXchange
By Steven Hoffman
If hindsight is 2020, then it’s anybody’s guess what 2021 will bring. And yet, that’s exactly what we asked these natural and organic products business leaders. Because if we can’t learn anything from the tsunami of the year that was 2020, then what’s it all for, one might ask? Read on to help prepare for a coming year of challenge and opportunity.
The Natural Industry is Primed to Serve – Russ Forester, SVP, Analytics and Insights, Hain Celestial Group
Russ Forester is an 18-year veteran at the Hain Celestial Group where, as SVP of Analytics and Insights, he provides category management expertise and consumer insights to help drive the company’s growth strategy. The publicly held company, with more than $2 billion in annual sales, owns a number of leading natural and organic brands, and has benefitted from the pandemic-driven shift to at-home eating and the consumer’s renewed focus on health and wellness.
“This past year, we’ve seen a shift to e-commerce, but where we’re really seeing the growth is not in ship-to-home from UPS or FedEx, for example. It’s coming from ordering from local grocers; sales are shifting 10-15% to this model, whether it’s curbside pickup or Instacart-style delivery, even to the point where certain retailers’ in-store sales may be down, but when you add in the online ordering channels, the overall sales are growing,” Forester observed.
“To paraphrase the CEO of Instacart, what we thought would take five years of adoption rates happened in five weeks. The pandemic, while creating a financial crisis, is driven by health concerns, and our industry is primed to serve that. Food is medicine, and products with a functional or immunity benefit, such as the wellness tea category, are doing very well,” he said.
Forester noted that premium brands are doing well across all income levels. “People are not traveling or dining out as much, so they are treating themselves to premium food at home. For those who are doing well, they’ve got more disposable income. We’re also seeing lower income shoppers are increasing their dollars in premium products. People are trying to find new ways to keep their families fed and healthy,” he added.
For smaller brands, the pandemic has created greater challenges for product discovery. “How do you use marketing tools today to create trials?” Forester asks. “Traditional methods of trade and promotions may not be as impactful, making it harder to break out. It may be best to reach consumers through digital outreach,” he advises.
“Our industry has always looked to the health and wellness of consumers and the planet. The pandemic has brought health and immunity to the forefront, and it’s mainstreaming the natural and organic industry more than ever before…in a good way,” Forester said.
Back to the Future – Steve Hughes, Co-founder and CEO, Sunrise Strategic Partners
As Co-founder and CEO of Sunrise Strategic Partners, Steve Hughes guides investments in such leading healthy lifestyles brands as Vital Farms, Maple Hill Organic, Coolhaus Ice Cream, Kodiak Cakes, Little Secrets, Teton Waters Ranch, Pact, Kill Cliff and Califlor. The unprecedented pandemic has created a portfolio-wide inflection point for the company. “We sell eggs, milk, pancake mixes, comfortable clothing you buy online…we’ve seen some extraordinary acceleration in our portfolio – from growth of 50% over the past three years, the Covid-19 pandemic has added about 20 points of growth this past year,” Hughes said. “People are going back to the future, and that will have stickiness; our better-for-you brands in three months got 18 months-worth of trial,” he said.
“For many big-box retailers right now, it’s about in-stock, not innovation,” Hughes quipped. “We’re seeing cutbacks so they can spread out on the essentials. That will be a headwind for emerging brands in 2021,” he observed.
“With that said, the real game changer for the future is what’s happening with direct to consumer (D2C) sales. D2C gives the consumer the option to buy not just what they want, but also what they may have never heard about. It’s going to be triple or quadruple what the growth was last year,” Hughes predicted.
“It’s going to be harder for a brand to break into natural products retail the old-fashioned way in the next 12-18 months. However, the next generation of brands is more likely to happen online, and when they get to be $10-20 million online businesses, then they can go to Whole Foods Market or other grocers and say we have so many people buying in your respective markets. It’s a whole new innovation model,” Hughes said. “Brick and mortar used to be the channel that led. Now, people will order online, and brick and mortar will follow.”
People Remember How They Were Treated – Gabe Nabors, CEO, Mustard Seed Market
“People are going to remember how they were treated in these times,” said Gabe Nabors, CEO of the two-store independent, family-owned natural products retailer Mustard Seed Market in Akron, OH. “It could be the simplest thing of talking with someone or thanking people. At the end of the day, it’s about being transparent with your staff and customers.”
Mustard Seed has had to continually pivot to serve its community while responding to the pandemic and safety and public health demands. Known for outstanding foodservice offerings, the retailer temporarily closed its restaurant when the county heightened safety restrictions, and converted the salad bar to a grab and go bakery set in its downtown location when nearby offices closed and lunch business dropped off.
The independent retailer also has had to contend with a lack of consistent product availability, Nabors shared. “We were getting an insane amount of out of stocks, so we reset aisles based on what’s selling well and what’s available. Out of stock items are still a problem, but we’ve mitigated it by changing up the sets and finding comparable products – and by communicating constantly with our partners. I would say communications with manufacturers and distributors are at an all-time high right now. And what worked last month doesn’t mean it will work next month – you have to monitor your own in-store trends faster than you ever had to before,” Nabors said.
Not one to stand still, Mustard Seed recently launched MustardSeedWellness.com to expand its ecommerce presence, plus plans are in the works to remodel its flagship store. “The focus will be on fresh new floors, redesigned prepared foods areas to allow for more grab and go, and an expanded meat department. We’re investing in some store improvements in 2021,” Nabors added.
Building Resilience on the Shelves – John Raiche, EVP, Supplier Services, UNFI
“Coming out of Thanksgiving week, consumers saw the grocery shelves were much more resilient than earlier in the year when the pandemic hit,” noted John Raiche, Executive Vice President of Supplier Services at leading natural products distributor UNFI.
“Consumers have maintained pantry loads since the early days, so that may be a reason why the effect is more subdued. However, when consumers see a fully stocked shelf, they feel better than if they see empty shelf space, which may prompt them to panic buy. Going into 2021, we are seeing suppliers doing a much better job of meeting elevated in-home consumer demand,” Raiche observed. “Beyond that, the critical questions for our retailers will be what happens when in-home demand returns to more normal levels.”
Raiche, who shared he is responsible at UNFI for “looking at all the what ifs,” noted that everyone – suppliers, distributors and retailers – is working at elevated levels, allowing much less room for day-to-day hiccoughs, such as weather and delays. He shared his concern that worker health could impact supplier production. “Manufacturers are doing everything they can, but if community spread of Covid-19 is widespread, they can’t control what happens outside their walls,” he said.
To better prepare, UNFI has altered its targeted safety stocks, bolstered inventory and is in close communication with its suppliers, Raiche said. “We stand ready at a moment’s notice to pivot and give suppliers the ability to deliver product. We host cross-functional team meetings focused on service level and how can we solve today’s challenge. Also, we are personally giving presentations to our retail customers to share what we’re seeing and projecting in the next week, month, six months, etc., so our customers understand what we’re seeing in the moment.”
Raiche predicts that demand will steady and service levels will continue to improve. “This week and last week have been the best service levels from suppliers we’ve seen since March – that’s a good sign. The good news for our country is that the vaccines are rolling out, but we don’t see it as a light switch. There is going to be a lengthy transition, and the increased level of in-home demand will last well into 2021,” Raiche predicted. “In the long run, if more consumers get comfortable with cooking from home, that’s great for our industry.”
Changing Food Consciousness – Tracy Miedema, VP of Innovation and Brand Development, Presence Marketing
“Even though we’re still in the midst of the pandemic, we know now that healthy food is critical to our health and wellness going forward,” said Tracy Miedema, VP of Innovation and Brand Development at leading independent natural products brokerage Presence Marketing.
Speaking of the huge spikes in absolute dollar growth of such mature categories as produce, baked goods, meat and dairy (plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, too, enjoyed unprecedented growth in 2020), “It’s hard to overstate how massive these changes are – the taxing and pushing of the food system. But the system has been able to adjust, shift volume from other places and produce this much more. The feat involved to flex and adjust our grocery system at this scale to adapt to the pandemic should leave us all in a state of awe,” Miedema said.
“How people think about groceries has radically changed since the pre-pandemic days when 50% of our food dollars were spent away from home. People have plowed that money into grocery shopping, and it has changed their minds about what food is worth. To me, that’s more than a little bit of upside – it points the way toward a growing consciousness of food that is vital,” she said.
“In the past, food was dominated by a small number of conglomerates and we were forced to eat middling food with simple carbs and processed oils. However, there’s been a massive fragmentation in food types and brands that’s been part of a 20-year trajectory. That fragmentation has led to the creation of nutritionally dense foods with features and benefits tailored to the consumer. Some of these upstart brand are less resilient and are being severely challenged during the pandemic. They should take heart that long-term wellness trends are on their side.”
Miedema also said that smaller and emerging brands that can learn to navigate change – and that can adapt to become “digitally native brands” may find new ways to succeed. “If you’re a small brand, you’re hoping that the right person finds you on the shelf, but if you’re also online, that person is searching for you. It can flip the ‘foot traffic’ in your favor,” she advised.
View from a SuperNatural – Anonymous, from a Major Natural Retail Chain
“The tough thing about 2021 is that the first six to eight months are going to look very similar to 2020,” said a senior executive with a prominent natural products retail chain who asked not to be named. “The at-home trends are going to last, at least for that time, and the categories that went gangbusters are still doing well. Given that the next two to three months are going to be among the most challenging days of the pandemic, I don’t know if we’ll see the rush buying of the past, but retailers will see a solid January and February,” the individual said.
“However, the supply chain is still damaged, especially in paper and cleaning products,” the individual noted. Major cleaning products companies including Clorox, Seventh Generation and others have advised retailers and distributors that they may not see supply chain recovery until mid to late 2021. “The problem is compounded when a lot of these products are required for front-line healthcare needs,” the individual observed.
Also, of concern is an aluminum can shortage that will be an issue throughout 2021, the senior manager noted. “The reason being that for the last five years, the soda business has been declining and all the domestic can producers moved their production offshore. Right now, these companies are building out new plants in the U.S. to fulfill increased demand, but they will not be on line until late 2021 or 2022,” the individual projected.
“All of grocery is in a better spot today because we’ve been dealing with these elevated levels for so long, but it’s still a fragile ecosystem. Grocery stores were not designed to accommodate people eating 90% of their meals at home,” the individual said. “We are definitely trying to figure out how we can change the look of the stores to cater to the categories that are doing so well, such as baked goods, frozen foods, ethnic foods, spices and more. We’ve been going through this long enough that there will be muscle memory as we evolve. While we may know in 2021 what’s coming, 2022, however, is wide open in terms of how we emerge in the new normal.”
Serving Changing Distribution Needs – Jeremy Adams, Director of Category Management, KeHE Distributors
“As a distributor our goal is to service retailers and suppliers. Even with unprecedented demand, we were able to stabilize service levels in the summer and fall. As our industry spiked in demand, we were able to develop partnerships with food service distributors. As our demand increased and theirs declined, those partnerships to help with transport were key in helping us meet demand,” said Jeremy Adams, Director of Category Management for KeHE Distributors.
“Also, as we got more into the quarantine phase we witnessed the emergence of the home chef and home baristas. With restaurants and travel shut down, the only indulgence was things people could prepare at home. As such, we saw a huge spike in high-end foods, international cuisine, spices, premium coffee and more,” Adams said.
With a heightened winter demand for soup and broth and other pantry basics, Adams noted that suppliers are doing everything they can to catch up with demand. “Some were able to ramp up, depending on how they source, if they manufacture themselves, or work with a co-packer,” he said. Also, while interest in home cooking has grown, “there is a need for quick and convenient meal solutions. From research we’ve seen, 40% of shoppers are interested in trying meal kits sold in stores. In the fresh aisle, in particular, there was a major shift from salad and olive bars to pre-packaged. The biggest trend is that people want contactless options,” Adams observed.
Adams also noted, with an increase in pet ownership in 2020, the pet products category has seen a lift in sales. “The jump in pet ownership will bolster demand in 2021 not just for pet food, but for all related products, such as supplements and toys,” he said.
“We were already seeing growth in healthy products; the pandemic just accelerated that. In some cases consumers may have been forced to try new products due to out of stocks, the good news is they’re becoming repeat customers. Like never before, shoppers are looking at brands in terms of their mission and vision – are they sustainable, woman or minority owned, do they give back, etc. That will continue in the future,” he said.
Compared to What? Analyzing the Data – Jerry Stroobosscher, Director of Data Services and Analytics, Presence Marketing
After the initial panic buying peaks in March and April, both conventional and natural grocery stores have seen sustained growth averaging 10-15%, “and we are continuing to see this growth in both channels weekly as we compare year-over-year growth,” said Jerry Stroobosscher, Director of Data Services and Analytics for leading independent natural and organic products brokerage Presence Marketing. “As we know, people are staying at home more, cooking at home more, and while it is conversely affecting the restaurants, realistically, we are going to see this continue through the winter,” he said.
As a data analyst, Stroobosscher and his SPINS cohort Michael Murphy are warning decision makers not to “freak out when we see negative growth numbers as we cycle against this past year’s numbers come March and April.” Given all the unprecedented growth in 2020, comparing year over year growth in 2021 may be negatively impacted in both channels as the markets stabilize, they cautioned. “Once we start matching against a year ago, we are going to see some challenging numbers. The published growth rates may be worrisome to some, but understand that the channels themselves have expanded over this time frame, and we envision this to continue for a long time,” Stroobosscher said.
“The pandemic has broadened the definition of better for you products and how consumers look at the natural space in terms of building health and immunity,” said Michael Murphy, SPINS Onsite Manager with Presence Marketing. “We’ve seen a progression of consumers moving toward supplements, herbs and homeopathy.”
Of note, while data indicates that dietary supplement sales have dipped since March in the natural retail channel, conventional grocers have expanded their sales of vitamins and supplements. “Natural retailers may need to reevaluate their approach to dietary supplement sales as conventional grocers become a stronger player,” they advised.
The Challenge at Retail – Pat Sheridan, Interim President and CEO, INFRA
“One of the core reasons independent retail associations like INFRA (Independent Natural Food Retailers Association) and NCG (National Cooperative Grocers) exist is consolidating buying power. Our combined buying power certainly has been a differentiator during the pandemic,” said Pat Sheridan, Interim President and CEO of INFRA.
With 280 independent retail members across the country, “supply chain disruption has been one of the largest issues for members,” Sheridan said. “Regionally, things are different every day. It eased in the summer, but has been picking up again this fall and winter,” he shared.
INFRA has helped its members find product and alternatives to replace what’s missing. “We’re rounding out the year successfully, but there are still a lot of challenges. There’s light at the end of the tunnel, but realism and science say we have a ways to go, which means we’ll continue to see disruptions in the supply chain,” said Sheridan.
Sheridan shared that INFRA has a national supply agreement with KeHE Distributors for center store categories, “and we have other supplementary national agreements specifically in wellness, and we also have some regional relationships in place that allow us to negotiate and manage supply chain on behalf of a larger group. Most of our members would have little leverage otherwise,” he noted.
INFRA also focused on increased communications with members, including education, webinars and updates. “Our communications allowed us to hear which regions the pandemic was hitting early on to help our members better prepare.” In addition, the consumer’s focus on wellness presents an opportunity for independent retailers.
“Before the pandemic, we identified a number of stores that were at risk, and now they are still in business. My hope is that the pandemic provided a lifeline to these retailers where they have been able to adjust and grow and hopefully have a longer life span. Our job as a cooperative of independents is to provide the relationships and tools for our members not just to survive, but to thrive,” Sheridan said.
Meeting Demand, Keeping Workers Safe – Robert Agnew, SVP, Sales, Bob’s Red Mill
At Bob’s Red Mill, one of the nation’s leading providers of natural and organic pantry staples from baking flours to hot cereals, since the pandemic began, the company has been balancing 25-30% sales growth with worker safety and morale, said Senior VP of Sales Robert Agnew. “By February, we will have added six new production lines. While we are at an 80% fill rate, we plan to be back up in the 90-95% fill rate range by then,” he said. “Fortunately, we had been planning to get ahead of capacity; however, the demand was so great that it has been a challenge to keep up,” he said.
Regarding worker safety, “We take it very seriously and do everything we can to keep our workers safe. It does affect your efficiency; everything slows down with social distancing,” he said. However, Agnew pointed out that the entire factory has been retooled over the last six years and the company is designing its production lines to be more efficient. “With 400 SKUs, we paused some items to be more efficient, including slow movers and duplications in size,” he shared.
Anticipating that the in-home cooking trend will continue, “We are very transparent with our customers and distributor partners,” Agnew noted. “Our company is able to get through this because of the relationships we’ve built over the years. That comes from founder Bob Moore all the way through the organization. I manage the sales team and it’s important to keep morale high and be in close communications with my team and the entire company, reminding them that everything does pass and we’ll get through this together. It sounds trite, but it’s true,” he said.
Agnew also looks forward to a return to trade shows in the future. “I’m looking forward to sore feet and knees, and interacting with my customers, colleagues and industry friends again.”
Our People Are Heroes – Blair Kellison, CEO, Traditional Medicinals
Looking back at 2020, Blair Kellison, CEO of wellness tea brand Traditional Medicinals, referred to a quote in a holiday card he received from KeHE CEO Brandon Barnholt: “2020 was the year we learned our business is essential and our people are heroes.” “That quote summarizes the year for me,” Kellison said.
“If you’re a manufacturer, you were on the front line. Manufacturing businesses had to come to work every day – many of us could not work from home, we took no time off, and sales were skyrocketing. Whether it’s an economic downturn or the pandemic, when these things happen, people gravitate toward health and wellness products. When push comes to shove, people care about their health and are willing to spend money on it. That has supported our industry all these years, and when times are tough, it drives it faster,” Kellison said.
Kellison admits top brands are getting disproportionate attention from retailers right now. “Fill rates are important; retailers don’t have time and they seek reliability.” However, he also noted that for many companies, including Traditional Medicinals, it’s getting harder to introduce new products as retailers focus on best sellers and category leaders during the pandemic. “The hallmark of our industry is small companies, and yet it’s a hard time to launch innovation.” What Traditional Medicinals is doing is investing in IT and improving infrastructure. “You can’t get complacent; things will change back and you have to be ready,” he advised.
While Kellison anticipates that companies should prepare for more remote working in the future, he and Traditional Medicinals founder Drake Sadler have spent much more time connected and in the factory. “As the CEO, I began to work at the plant again, like the old days. Also, Drake and I were communicating much more, and being at the plant helped reinforce the connection with the front line workers,” he noted.
Kellison also predicted, “In-person appointments aren’t going away. They may be less often, but they’ll be more meaningful. As CEO, I would go on a lot of sales calls. I’ve flown, sat in lobbies for a 30-minute meeting. Now, with the digital tools at hand, I’m going on more sales calls than ever.”
Financing Soil Health – Robyn O’Brien, Co-founder, RePlant Capital
“Covid exposed vulnerability in the system and it is forcing us to build a better one. That starts with capital and how you deploy it,” said Robyn O’Brien, author of The Unhealthy Truth and Co-founder of RePlant Capital. Launched with co-founders David Haynes and Don Shaffer, the $250 million fund is focused on providing loans direct to farmers and incentivizing adoption of regenerative agricultural practices that rebuild healthy soils and help mitigate climate change.
“Initially, we thought we’d create a fund to invest in projects from soil to shelf, but the more we understood the crisis in agriculture, not only can we provide financing for farmers transitioning to organic and regenerative methods, we can have a positive impact on financial, climate and human health. If, for example, a farmer transitions 7,000 acres in Indiana from chemical agriculture to regenerative, that farmer can save up to half a million dollars a year. Currently, we are working on an almond project in California’s Central Valley that will generate significant water savings. We need to do this at scale and with alacrity,” O’Brien said.
O’Brien pointed out that while 80% of consumers are trying organic products, only 1% of U.S. farmland is organic. “It became clear there’s a bottleneck in the supply chain, leading to manufacturers importing organic grains from such countries as Romania and Bulgaria. The majority of our farmland is chemically grown; the organic supply chain in America barely exists,” she said.
O’Brien shared that the lead investors in the RePlant fund are women – “From the food industry and the tech industry, most are mothers; also, some early investors, both male and female, are CEOs from the food industry. In addition, according to O’Brien’s research, “Five times more women than men are moving into regenerative farming. Also, parents are realizing that if they want their kids to come back to the farm, regenerative, organic agriculture and financial resiliency are ways to attract them. There hasn’t been a financial services firm focused on climate solutions through soil health. We want to focus on progress, not perfection, and meet the farmers where they are,” she said.
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Honor the Earth: Join Winona LaDuke on the Next Compass Coffee Talk, January 13, 11:30am EST
Honor the Earth
Join Winona LaDuke, Hemp Ambassador and Water Rights Protector, to discuss the possibility of a green economy, water rights, and her non-profit Honor the Earth, in addition to sharing her experience of protecting the land in her home state of Minnesota against the threat of corporate expansion.
Wednesday, January 13, 11:30 am – Noon EST
Zoom, Admission is Free
Featured guest Winona LaDuke, a globally recognized Hemp Ambassador and Water Rights Protector, joins Compass Coffee Talk. LaDuke will discuss the possibility of a green economy, water rights, and her non-profit Honor the Earth, in addition to sharing her recent experience of protecting the land in her home state of Minnesota against the threat of corporate expansion.
About Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke is a rural development economist and author working on issues of Indigenous Economics, Food, and Energy Policy. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota and is the Executive Director of Honor the Earth (HtE). She co-founded HtE with music artists, The Indigo Girls, as a platform to raise awareness of and money for indigenous struggles for environmental justice. She works nationally and internationally on climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice alongside Indigenous communities. She is the founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, one of the country's largest reservation-based non-profit organizations.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSOR, ALLEGRO COFFEE!
About Compass Coffee Talk™
Take a 30-minute virtual coffee break with Compass Coffee Talk™. Hosted by natural industry veterans Bill Capsalis and Steve Hoffman, Coffee Talk features lively interactive conversations with industry leaders and experts designed to help guide entrepreneurs and businesses of any size succeed in the market for natural, organic, regenerative, hemp-derived and other eco-friendly products.
Compass Coffee Talk™ is produced by Compass Natural Marketing, a leading PR, branding and business development agency serving the natural and organic products industry. Learn more.
Facing Future: Farmers, Processors, and Policymakers Chart Course for Hemp in 2021 at 3rd Annual Winter Hemp Summit Virtual Conference & Networking Event
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Facing Future: Farmers, Processors, and Policymakers Chart Course for Hemp in 2021 at 3rd Annual Winter Hemp Summit Virtual Conference & Networking Event
We Are For Better Alternatives (WAFBA) Kicks off the New Year with Release of Hemp Industry Opportunities Report, Insight and Trends at Virtual Series, January 14, 2021.
What: 3rd Annual Winter Hemp Summit Virtual Conference & Networking Event
When: Thursday, January 14, 2021, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
Register HERE: Tickets are $49 each.
Denver, CO (December 21, 2020) – How does an industry chart a course for the future of hemp in uncertain times? Find out at the 3rd Annual Winter Hemp Summit Virtual Conference & Networking Event, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Thursday, January 14, 2021. Produced by We Are For Better Alternatives (WAFBA) and powered by NoCo Hemp Expo and Let's Talk Hemp, the Winter Hemp Summit is a must-attend event for the community to stay informed and plan for the future.
From the elation of 2018, when hemp was legalized across the U.S., to an uncertain market in 2020, not to mention the coronavirus pandemic, the hemp industry's road to success over the past few years has been rocky at best, but certainly no less exciting than creating an entirely new market.
With new developments in Congress, along with groundbreaking rulings in Europe and the United Nations, 2021 holds much promise for those who continue to dedicate themselves to building infrastructure and advancing the market for this remarkable plant.
“Hemp’s legacy is riding on what our community does today. As we kick off the New Year, this is a pivotal time to discuss the future that includes innovative technology and opportunities for advancement,” says Morris Beegle Let’s Talk Hemp Media Co-founder and Producer of NoCo Hemp Expo. “It’s vital to understand the new rules and regulations and how the policies will impact everyone – from the field to the manufacturing facility to the consumer."
Beegle adds the robust lineup of industry experts and leaders will provide insight into hemp’s growth in the past year, new trends, solutions in the marketplace, and what to expect in 2021.
Notable Industry Speakers
The 3rd Annual Winter Hemp Summit Virtual Conference & Networking Event will feature industry experts including Kate Greenberg, Colorado’s Agriculture Commissioner; Wendy Mosher, New West Genetics; and Eric Steenstra, of Vote Hemp. Their expertise will include a detailed look at the regulated market for supplements, including Bill, H.R. 8179, the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020, and what it means for companies.
Panelists also will define current rules and regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Attendees will receive an overview of the Colorado Hemp Advancement & Management Plan (CHAMP) and hear how U.S. grown fiber is an integral part of the specialty products' supply chain. Further discussions will include genetic development and what's on the horizon for farmers, processors, and distributors with a global perspective into 2021-2022.
For more information on the Winter Hemp Summit's agenda and additional speakers, visit https://winterhempsummit.com/.
2021 Market Report
Winter Hemp Summit attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the Hemp Industry Opportunities Report for 2021, including key pieces of knowledge needed for planning the year. (A $149 value).
Register for the 3rd Annual Winter Hemp Summit
The Winter Hemp Summit is a must-attend industry event and registration is now available online with continued viewing through January 31, 2021. Register today for a full day of programming, networking and hours of recorded hemp presentations. Tickets are $49 each: https://on.spingo.com/eh/WAFBA_Virtual.
Sponsorship Opportunities Available
Are you interested in sponsoring the Winter Hemp Summit? Limited spaces are available for the virtual conference and interactive networking event. Find out more by downloading our sponsor package at https://winterhempsummit.com/
About Let’s Talk Hemp Media
Let's Talk Hemp is a leading media platform that focuses on Hemp News, Lifestyle & Education. We curate news, education, and information about hemp and cannabis to our podcast listeners, newsletter subscribers, and digital magazine readers to learn more about the industry and get tips and tricks on the latest technologies. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and learn about everything from legal updates, farming, production, and new products entering the hemp and cannabis space. Let's Talk Hemp is a publication of the Colorado Hemp Company (a division of We Are For Better Alternatives WAFBA) focused specifically on industrial hemp and cannabis. Let’s Talk Hemp features news globally and shares the benefits of cannabis on health, energy, manufacturing, and the planet (HEMP). Subscribe to Let’s Talk Hemp’s weekly hemp and cannabis industry newsletter at www.letstalkhemp.com.
About Colorado Hemp Company
The Colorado Hemp Company, the producer of the 7th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo (NoCo7), is a leading organization for the advancement and advocacy of hemp farming, processing, production, innovation, education, and legalization in the USA. The entire team is committed to researching and developing alternatives so that hemp can once again thrive and help individuals and communities throughout America and around the globe.
Contact
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, 303.807.1042, steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com
Morris Beegle, Colorado Hemp Company, 970.541.0448, info@nocohempexpo.com.
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Top Industry Experts John Mackey, Winona LaDuke and Blair Kellison to Headline Compass Coffee Talk™ in Q1 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Top Industry Experts John Mackey, Winona LaDuke and Blair Kellison to Headline Compass Coffee Talk™ in Q1 2021
Join the Conversation! Hear Insights and Words of Wisdom from Notable Entrepreneurs and thought leaders on Season 2 of Compass Coffee Talk, presented by Compass Natural
What: Compass Coffee Talk™
Save the Date(s):
Winona LaDuke, Water Protector, Hemp Farmer, Jan. 13, 2021, 11:30 am – 12:00 pm EST
John Mackey, CEO, Whole Foods Market, Feb. 25, 2021, 11:30 am – 12:15 pm EST
Blair Kellison, CEO, Traditional Medicinals, Mar. 17, 2021, 11:30 am – 12:00 pm EST
To Register: Click on Each Date Above, FREE on Zoom
Presented By: Compass Natural, Connecting Media and Markets in Natural and Organic Products
Sponsored By: Allegro Coffee
Boulder, CO (December 17, 2020) – Kick off the New Year with Compass Coffee Talk™, a lively webinar series featuring conversations with industry leaders, including Whole Foods Market Co-Founder and CEO John Mackey and Traditional Medicinals CEO Blair Kellison, plus hemp expert and Native American tribal leader Winona LaDuke. Compass Coffee Talk is pleased to announce the return of its second season starting January 2021, with robust programming designed to help guide entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to succeed in the marketplace.
Featured guest Winona LaDuke, a globally recognized Hemp Ambassador, and Water Rights Protector, will join the program on Wednesday, January 13, 2021, 11:30 am – Noon, EST, via ZOOM. LaDuke will discuss the possibility of a green economy, water rights, and her non-profit Honor the Earth, in addition to sharing her recent experience of protecting the land in her home state of Minnesota against the threat of corporate expansion.
Compass Coffee Talk’s co-hosts Steve Hoffman and Bill Capsalis are honored by Winona LaDuke’s participation on the show. "This will be an extraordinary and unique episode of Compass Coffee Talk in which we hear from former Vice-Presidential candidate and tribal leader Winona LaDuke, who will share a message from Honor the Earth, the future of hemp, and the ongoing activism against pipelines that threaten our water – and how the natural products community can help,” says Steven Hoffman, Founder of Compass Natural Marketing.
John Mackey and Conscious Leadership
John Mackey, the Co-Founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, will speak in a rare natural products industry interview with Compass Coffee Talk on Thursday, February 25, 2021, 11:30 am – Noon, EST. Mackey co-authored the New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book entitled, “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business” (Harvard Business Review Press 2013), which boldly defends and reimagines capitalism and encourages a way of doing business that is grounded in ethical consciousness. Mackey will discuss his latest book, “Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business,” a follow-up to groundbreaking bestseller Conscious Capitalism — revealing what it takes to lead a purpose-driven, sustainable business.
Return to Tradition
Rounding out the first quarter, Traditional Medicinals CEO Blair Kellison will share the legacy and story of tea's healing power on Wednesday, March 17, 2021, 11:30 am – Noon, EST. Hear the founding story behind one of the most successful, globally-known tea brands and its keys to success.
Featured Guest Biographies
Winona LaDuke is a rural development economist and author working on issues of Indigenous Economics, Food, and Energy Policy. She lives and works on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota and is the Executive Director of Honor the Earth (HtE). She co-founded HtE with music artists, The Indigo Girls, as a platform to raise awareness of and money for indigenous struggles for environmental justice. She works nationally and internationally on climate change, renewable energy, and environmental justice alongside Indigenous communities. She is the founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, one of the country's largest reservation-based non-profit organizations.
John Mackey, Co-Founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market, has built the natural and organic grocer from a single store in Austin, Texas in 1978, into a Fortune 500 company, which went public in 1992, and was purchased by Amazon in 2017. Today, Whole Foods Market is a top U.S. supermarket with more than 500 stores and 95,000 Team Members across the U.S., Canada, and U.K. While devoting his career to helping shoppers satisfy their lifestyle needs with quality natural and organic foods, Mackey has also focused on building a more conscious way of doing business.
Blair Kellison is the CEO of Traditional Medicinals, a mission-driven, organic, and fair trade wellness tea company based in Sonoma County, CA. Co-founded by Drake Sadler in 1974, Traditional Medicinals' purpose-driven social business model has resulted in five decades of commercial success and created a truly sustainable organization. Traditional Medicinals is now the 4th largest bagged tea brand in North America, with distribution in 70,000 retail outlets and over 200 employees. Blair came to Traditional Medicinals in 2008 in its 34th year to partner with the co-founder Drake Sadler and become the company's first non-founder CEO. Blair is a former CPA with Ernst & Young, a brand manager with Nestle, and he received his MBA from Booth at The University of Chicago.
Allegro Coffee Powers Compass Coffee Talk™
Compass Coffee Talk gives special thanks to its lead sponsor, Colorado-based Allegro Coffee. Each episode, one webinar attendee will receive a free bag of Allegro Coffee, a specialty coffee company that believes that where and how coffee is grown matters. Since 1977, Allegro Coffee has remained committed to sourcing the highest quality coffee from farmers dedicated to environmental stewardship and worker livelihood.
About Compass Coffee Talk™
Compass Coffee Talk™ features lively interactive conversations with industry leaders and experts designed to help guide entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes to succeed in the marketplace. Hosted by natural and organic products industry veterans Bill Capsalis and Steve Hoffman, Compass Coffee Talk is produced by Compass Natural Marketing, a leading P.R., branding, and business development agency serving the natural and organic products industry.
Contact
Bill Capsalis, Host, 303.808.3441, bill@compassnaturalmarketing.com
Steven Hoffman, Host, 303.807.1042, steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com.
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Founding Farmer: Ryan Loflin Talks on Hemp
By Steven Hoffman
Known as the first modern-day farmer in the U.S. to harvest an industrial hemp crop after decades of prohibition, Colorado hemp producer Ryan Loflin shares his trailblazing tale
It takes a village. At least it did in the late fall of 2013, when, lacking migrant workers who had all left for Texas for the winter, Colorado farmer Ryan Loflin put out a call on social media for his friends to help. In all, about 60 people from six states showed up to assist in the first harvest of an industrial hemp crop in the U.S. in more than 70 years.
Now, Ryan will be the first to tell you he wasn’t the first to plant industrial hemp. In that, he tips his cap to other hemp trailblazers, including California’s Chris Boucher, and South Dakota tribal leader Alex White Plume, who planted industrial hemp years before him, but whose crops were seized by government authorities before they could be harvested. Thus, Loflin’s status in the hemp community as the first modern-day farmer to harvest a crop of industrial hemp on U.S. soil.
In 2013, hemp was not quite legal yet; that didn’t happen until the 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed for moderate production, says Loflin. Speaking of the authorities who could have seized his first crop – a half-crop circle of 60 acres – “They just didn’t show up. I actually put it out on Twitter and Facebook; I was transparent, because I needed the help. People showed up from all over the country, but thankfully, the authorities didn’t,” he says.
Speaking of soil, Loflin’s third generation family farm, 900 acres in all (300 irrigated acres and 600 acres in grass and dryland), is located in Baca County, an arid, high plains region in southeastern Colorado, only 25 miles from the epicenter of the Dust Bowl that devastated farms and Western communities in the 1930s.
Organic and Regenerative Approach
For the dryness of the area, combined with Loflin’s concerns about how climate change is affecting his farm – “It’s a part of everyday life for us, now” – he has always focused on organic and now regenerative production practices that focus on rebuilding and capturing organic matter, or carbon, back into the soil.
“We practice organic and regenerative farming because we have to,” Ryan says. “We’ve been conscious of cover crops the whole time, so we never leave the soil bare during the winter, where carbon can escape into the atmosphere. We plant winter wheat, or triticale, or oats as winter cover crops,” he adds. The farm also grows sorghum, another drought-resistant grain crop, in rotation with hemp, alfalfa and other commodity crops.
Cattle, too, are an integral part of Loflin’s regenerative practices. “We let them graze in the wintered fields with either cover crop or feed stubble we leave from the sorghum.” Their manure helps add organic material back into the soil, Ryan notes.
For organic pest control, corn ear worms can be a problem with hemp flowers, and grasshoppers can be a significant problem in hemp. “There’s not much you can do, but I mix a spray of garlic and neem oils, and I ‘harass’ them out,” Loflin says.
Since his first crop in 2013, Loflin has grown up to 250 acres of hemp, but has pulled back, based on recent market conditions. “We’re thinking of planting a half-crop circle, minimum, in 2021,” Ryan shares, “but we’re still going to see where the market goes in 2021.”
Focus on Fiber
In recent years, Loflin’s farm, Rocky Mountain Hemp (www.rockymountainhemp.farm), has focused on hemp production for fiber, as well as hemp seed for food and for planting future crops.
In the fiber business, Loflin is a collaborator with Mike McGuire, owner of Western Fiber. Founded in 1976, the company offers textile fibers, hemp-based panels and insulation for the building, construction and automotive industries, animal bedding products and livestock feed.
“We’ve replaced traditional insulation materials with hemp bast and hurd – long and short fibers – and developed a process to blow that insulation into walls, floors, ceilings, etc.,” Loflin notes. “It’s a more natural and potentially safer, insulation from a renewable source,” he adds.
“We still have a lot of opportunity with the hemp industry in that it is a multi-use crop, it’s a ‘multi-dimensional’ crop,” Ryan emphasizes. We can use it for food, animal feed, housing, clothing, medicine – we are just getting started! We also need to look more seriously at building houses with this material – not just hempcrete, but making everything you see in the home out of it. In the wildfire areas of the West, we could build hempcrete homes that won’t burn. We need to change the way we think about building homes…and where,” Loflin muses.
Outlook for the Future
“In agriculture alone across the board, it’s crazy right now with tariffs and trade,” Ryan says. “For hemp farmers,” we need investment in processing and we need industry to step up – the American auto industry needs to be put on point for hemp,” Loflin opines.
While CBD helped build awareness for the hemp plant, “the all-star uses of this plant is in automobiles, composites, construction, plastics, fibers – hemp can make everything work better, and is less toxic,” he notes.
While Loflin is carefully watching how the USDA’s new rulings for 2021 will affect hemp producers, it will come down to states’ rights, he believes. “Colorado has been very supportive. In 2012, I was at the state capitol advocating for programs to use hemp for phytoremediation in contaminated sites. Today, Colorado State University offers a course in hemp production,” he adds.
“My advice for producers in 2021: keep fighting,” Loflin offers. “Don’t quit because agriculture is hard right now. It can be a high pressure lifestyle and many question whether it’s worth it, but I believe it is.”
House’s Historic MORE Act Would Legalize Cannabis; Expunge Criminal Records
By Steven Hoffman
The Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, was passed on December 4 by the U.S. House of Representatives. The historic bill to decriminalize marijuana marks the first time a full chamber of U.S. Congress has taken up the issue of federally decriminalizing cannabis. The bill received bipartisan support, and was passed by a 228-164 majority.
The MORE Act – H.R. 3884 – would remove cannabis from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminate criminal penalties for anyone who manufacturers, distributes or possesses marijuana, The Denver Channel reported.
Originally championed by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and former California Senator and now Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, the MORE Act would add $13.7 billion to the federal budget, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and would cut federal prison spending by nearly $1 billion. The Act also would establish a process to expunge marijuana-related convictions and criminal penalties.
“H.R. 3884 would federally decriminalize cannabis (marijuana), expunge the records of people convicted of federal cannabis offenses, and require re-sentencing of some federal prisoners. As a result, CBO estimates, thousands of current inmates would be released earlier than under current law,” the federal agency said in its report.
“In the future, decriminalization also would reduce the number of people in federal prisons and the amount of time federal inmates serve. In total, over the 2021-2030 period, CBO estimates that H.R. 3884 would reduce time served by 73,000 person-years, among existing and future inmates. CBO’s analysis accounts for time served by offenders convicted of cannabis-only crimes and by those convicted of another crime in addition to a cannabis offense,” CBO added.
The bill, according to The Denver Channel, also would include the following changes:
Under the bill, statutory references marijuana would be replaced with the word cannabis.
The legislation would require the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees.
A 5% tax on cannabis products would be imposed and require revenues to be deposited into a trust fund established to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs.
The bill would make Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers.
The MORE Act would prohibit the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions, as well as ban the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event.
The bill would direct the Government Accountability Office to study the societal impact of cannabis legalization.
After the bill passed, lead sponsor Rep. Nadler said the following in a statement:
“This long overdue legislation would reverse the failed policy of criminalizing marijuana on the federal level and would take steps to address the heavy toll this policy has taken across the country, particularly on communities of color.
“The use of marijuana, which most likely originated in Asia, later spread to Europe, and made its way to the Americas when the Jamestown settlers brought it with them across the Atlantic. The cannabis plant has been widely grown in the United States and was used as a component in fabrics during the middle of the 19th century. During that time period, cannabis was also widely used as a treatment for a multitude of ailments, including muscle spasms, headaches, cramps, asthma, and diabetes.
“It was only in the early part of the 20th century that marijuana began to be criminalized in the United States—mainly because of misinformation and hysteria, based at least in part on racially-biased stereotypes connecting marijuana use and people of color, particularly African-Americans and Latinos. In 1970, when President Nixon announced the War on Drugs and signed the Controlled Substances Act into law, the federal government placed marijuana on Schedule I, the most restrictive schedule that is attached to the most serious criminal penalties, where—unfairly and unjustifiably—it has remained ever since.
“As a consequence of this decision, thousands of individuals—overwhelmingly people of color—have been subjected, by the federal government, to unjust prison sentences for marijuana offenses. It is time for this manifest injustice to end. The MORE Act would remove marijuana from Schedule I and the Controlled Substances Act altogether, thereby decriminalizing it at the Federal level.
“This is only fair, particularly because the same racial animus motivating the enactment of marijuana laws also led to racially disproportionate enforcement of such laws, which has had a substantial, negative impact on communities of color. In fact, nationwide, the communities that have been most harmed by marijuana enforcement are benefitting the least from the legal marijuana marketplace.”
While historic, the bill is expected to meet resistance in the U.S. Senate. “The legislation is, for now, almost certainly doomed in the Republican-led Senate, where that party’s leaders have derided it as a superficial distraction from the work of passing coronavirus relief, as lawmakers inched toward bipartisan compromise after spending months locked in an impasse,” reported the New York Times.
To date, 15 states have legalized recreational cannabis, and voters in five states approved cannabis legalization measures in the November 2020 elections. In total 35 states have passed medical or recreational marijuana legislation, reported the New York Times.
In related news, Let’s Talk Hemp reported in October about a bill introduced in September in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 8179, that would “make hemp, cannabidiol derived from hemp, and any other ingredient derived from hemp lawful for use under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act as a dietary ingredient in a dietary supplement, and for other purposes.” The Bill, H.R. 8179, the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2020, if passed, it would allow hemp-derived CBD and other hemp-derived ingredients to be legally marketed as an ingredient in dietary supplements, as long as the products comply with current legal requirements for new dietary ingredients, as well as other requirements pertaining to dietary supplements under federal law. For more information on H.R. 8179, visit the U.S. Hemp Roundtable at www.hempsupporter.com.
HempWood’s Global Journey to Success: From Shanghai to Kentucky
By Heather Collins
These days, in business, it takes a little bit of luck and several calculated risks to reap the rewards. That has certainly been the case for Greg Wilson, the Founder of HempWood, a wood substitute and hemp lumber manufacturer.
“When I first started HempWood, people jokingly referred to it as ‘weed wood,'” recalls Wilson. “People simply didn’t realize hemp’s potential, but once the Farm Bill passed, everyone was curious about the benefits and sustainability associated with the new crop.”
Fifteen years prior, Wilson studied abroad then lived in China and Australia, where he worked closely with bamboo and eucalyptus as an alternative to oak and pine. Wilson adds, “Back then, hemp wasn’t really on my radar. I was taking the time to learn everything about sustainable wood production. Once I discovered that hemp was similar to bamboo, it dawned on me that maybe hemp could also serve as a sustainable and viable solution.”
Once back in the States, Wilson knew he was onto something with hemp. In 2016, he studied the intricacies of hemp, including how it was grown, processed, and used in building supplies.
“It started as a numbers game, which is why our parent company is named Fibonacci – the mathematical equation in plants. I applied my engineering experience and background and created an algorithm that would lead us to where we are today – the first of its kind manufacturer that transforms hemp fibers and protein-based bonding agents into wood,” explains Wilson.
Oak’s Out. Hemp’s In.
Based in Murray, Kentucky, HempWood creates flooring, furniture, wood frames, and woodturning materials – all made out of hemp – for artisans and craftsmen nationwide. The company’s 16,500-square-foot factory is modeled after the bamboo production facility in China where Wilson’s idea of working with sustainable wood was first introduced.
Everyone who works at the facility follows the same founding principle, “to help the environment by removing the devastating effects of deforestation from the harvesting process.”
“Hemp is far superior and is 20 percent stronger than oak – it’s eco-friendly, renewable, and grows faster. We like to say that, ‘anything oak can do, hemp can do better,’ which means we can substitute our patented HempWood for anything made with solid oak,” notes Wilson.
HempWood Rocks
Musicians are also tuning in to HempWood’s unique innovation and design details. Many artists from around the globe are creating custom-made guitars, ukuleles and other wood-based instruments from HempWood’s raw materials.
Morris Beegle, Entrepreneur and Let’s Talk Hemp Media Co-founder, Producer of NoCo Hemp Expo, utilizes HempWood to create guitars, guitar cabinets, combo amps, and guitar straps for the Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars brand.
Morris Beegle, entrepreneur and Let’s Talk Hemp Media co-founder, utilizes HempWood to create guitars, guitar cabinets, combo amps, and soon, bass guitars and percussion instruments for the Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars brand. Beegle anticipates as awareness increases, more musicians will be curious about playing hemp-based musical gear, not only for the eco-earth friendly craftsmanship, but to support the industrial hemp community and it’s ingenuity and innovation from companies such as HempWood.
Partners in the Field
HempWood plans to open licensing facilities in Oregon, Pennsylvania, Canada, and Europe in the coming years, with hemp lumber readily available at retail outlets in Colorado and Tennessee.
“My goal is to make more products and then leverage HempWood and take it to the next level by making our materials more accessible to everyone, everywhere,” adds Wilson.
Wilson gives Murray State University’s Center for Agricultural Hemp office, including local and state officials, credit for taking a chance on his company and dream. The Murray State Center for Agricultural Hemp is a national leader in agricultural hemp development and serves as a leader in research, education, policy, and innovation within the hemp industry. HempWood proudly serves as a sponsor of the hemp office at Murray State.
“Thanks to Murray State, the people of Kentucky, and the hemp community, we’ve been able to make a positive impact on the environment, be a steward to nature, and thrive together for the betterment of our planet. We look forward to creating new products and outfitting homes and buildings for future generations to enjoy.”
For more information on the many uses of HempWood and its parent company Fibonacci, visit hempwood.com. HempWood also is a proud sponsor of the upcoming NoCo Hemp Expo.
Global Equipment Leader New Holland Agriculture’s Direct Advantage in Hemp Innovation
By Heather Collins
When Pennsylvania-based New Holland Agriculture, a global 125-year old farm machinery brand, identified an opportunity in hemp, the company went straight to the root of the problem by breaking ground on its own dedicated 15-acre testing farm.
“We wanted to better understand the complexities of hemp by farming it ourselves, which explains why we took the time and effort to discover more about this fibrous crop. More importantly, we wanted to ensure that our haymaking equipment and harvesting equipment worked properly with hemp,” said Jon Hundley, Marketing Manager, New Holland Agriculture.
Hundley adds, “We’re the only major equipment manufacturing company that has a working test farm at its headquarters. This gives New Holland Agriculture an advantage because we know firsthand what farmers require when out in the field.”
Known around the world as a leader in advancing the agriculture industry, New Holland Agriculture’s complete line of equipment includes harvesting and packaging solutions that are readily available to meet today’s hemp farmers’ needs.
“The ‘in-the-hemp-field’ experience gave our team perspective on how our company can better serve as advocates for hemp farmers and continue to push the industry forward,” adds Hundley.
Hemp, which is similar in structure to hay, is relatively new to New Holland Agriculture’s traditional commodity portfolio with specialties in corn, wheat, and other crops. That’s why the field team took the time to learn everything about hemp before planting to its dedicated end-use.
As Hundley points out, the headquarters hemp team quickly realized that it takes more than having the right equipment. “We found that field preparation is extremely important. Despite the lack of rain, we had a nice yield, and our equipment worked effectively”.
New Holland Agriculture is proudly celebrating its 125th year of serving farmers on a global scale and believes hemp can play a pivotal role in the future of agriculture. “It’s all about educating the ag industry about the opportunities that hemp provides from a farming and innovation perspective,” says Hundley. “We have opened many new doors and partnerships through hemp and see it as a way to vertically integrate our company.”
Partners in the Field
New Holland Agriculture works closely with Pennsylvania State University’s Extension office and relies on their expertise for the role hemp plays in the ever-evolving industry. “We’re fortunate to collaborate with Penn State and as the interaction provides our team with credible, unbiased analysis, data and key information on the hemp industry,” says Hundley. “Through this partnership, we are positioned as a hemp proponent when it comes to regulation and standards.”
The Penn State Extension office works with various entities to further the hemp industry by hosting informational webinars, in-person workshops and serves as an additional resource for farmers interested in learning more about the viable crop.
This year, New Holland Agriculture also announced a partnership with the National Hemp Association, a nonpartisan hemp advocacy group. Through this alliance, New Holland Agriculture intends to leverage its active role in hemp policy and progress. “We’re taking a close look at what hemp can do and how it can innovate. For example, we are seeing automakers integrate hemp materials in their automobiles. This type of innovation indicates that farmers need to know what the end use is before they plant.”
Hemp Farming: The Next Frontier
As the hemp industry continues to evolve, Hundley indicates that innovation is always top of mind at New Holland Agriculture, “The future of hemp is in fiber, and we’re excited to be a part of the next frontier in farming and serve as a resource for farmers.”
New Holland Agriculture’s product offerings, including its harvesting, cutting and baling equipment, are already being used in hemp farming operations, and Hundley believes that the company will grow with the industry. “Hemp is an unbelievable opportunity for future farmers and the next generation because it is such a new commodity, and the crop excites young farmers who are ready to grow something new.”
Hundley predicts as hemp becomes a viable crop in more states that more farmers will plant it as a secondary crop to diversify. “That’s where the excitement is with hemp. It provides the opportunity to do something different for the betterment of the future.”
Hundley advises, “As New Holland Ag continues to work in the hemp frontier, additional information will be available through local dealerships. We’re proud to be on the cutting edge of this industry and look forward to helping generations.” For additional information and support, contact your local New Holland dealer.
New Holland Agriculture is a proud Sponsor of the NoCo Hemp Expo Hall, scheduled for 2021, where attendees can view the hemp machinery equipment and meet with New Holland Agriculture representatives.