Feature
November 19, 2019
State Of Hemp Into The Holidays...
In the spirit of the holidays I wish I could write something joyous about the state of the hemp industry going into 2020... I promise not to be too grinchy, but this industry is certainly not for the faint of heart.
The recent downturn of the cannabis markets, mixed with the vaping crisis of 2019 have really brought a damper on the industry as a whole. Mix in extractions being down 60% - 80% from last year, flower selling for 50% less, and biomass practically being gift wrapped and you have no holiday cheer. Hemp Benchmarks along with our Hemp.Exchange are great resources to get a feel on pricing.
Pre MJBizCon my focus was on smokeable flower, it is the sector that is moving volume consistently. Post MJBizCon my mind is still there, but there is some much more clear paths to success that emerged from conversations with peers and associates. I don't base my perception of industries on companies I meet at conventions and expos, if I did I would have been out the door with CBD a while ago. They do however serve as a barometer of the atmosphere within said industry. Companies have rebranded themselves, some for a third time! Many are taking the pick and shovel approach with equipment. Packaging is a good move from what I am seeing. But what will ultimately spell success in 2020?
I've been in the cannabis space a while and something I've been centrally focused on the entire time is that quality always wins out. It rings true for most all consumer products, why would something we ingest for therapeutic purposes be any different. The problem though, from what I see, is that providing that absolute premium product is very cost intensive. Especially in a new industry that is not used to the food grade requirements associated with safe consumption. People wanna do it fast, and on the cheap. So as I sit here and sample oils and hemp cigarettes/pre-rolls from the expo, I can't help but fall back to the quality aspect.
My genuine hope is that the mission statement of most cannabis companies center around quality. My even greater hope is that even if it does (which it probably does for most). They actually MEAN that. What makes me a little worried about the state of CBD is that most of the farmers I speak with who are turning out a great product, are being met by distributors and shop owners that don't care very much. The flowers we are seeing on shelves in many shops across the country are subpar. Nothing that would excite someone who is ingesting it. The Blacklist just had a follower post photos of Wild Hemp cigarettes that had bugs in them!
The counter argument I make here is that I have noticed that many of the consumers are not knowledgable about the product enough to care that much about the quality either. They're excited about the opportunity to try something new and aren't putting the focus on what is quality and what is not. Shame on us, because there are companies (like Halfday CBD and Mission Lago Farms) that really strive to put forth a quality product for consumers.
My hope is that the New Years Resolution for the hemp industry will go as follows.
We want to focus on quality over quantity, this will level out the playing field.
We want to educate and provide the consumer with safe, diverse, clean products.
We do our best to fix the fractured supply chain, strengthen your good relationships and work together.
Adjust the market prices on every level to match the quality of the product being put out.
The .3% Total THC rule will be adjusted to 1% across the land!
