MJBizMag November-December 2020 - 98

White Labeling
which allows the company to make
everything from gummies and topicals
to baked goods. The company does not
provide extraction services, nor does it
grow cannabis.
" There are a ton of people who are
super good at cultivating cannabis
efficiently, " Yi said. " Why spend a lot on
that if you have a great retail concept?
It's more about segmenting into areas of
expertise. Coca-Cola doesn't bottle its
own soda. The same thing will happen
with cannabis. "
UPTICK IN DEMAND
Boulder, Colorado-based WHT LBL
takes a different approach. The company
handles everything from making
distillate for edibles products to brand
management and manufacturing at
its 15,000-square-foot facility, said Jill
Lamoureux, WHT LBL's co-founder and
chief creative officer.
WHT LBL has a small indoor cultivation
facility and one large outdoor grow.
The company buys most of the trim it
uses for extraction from Los Sueños
Farms, a 36-acre outdoor cultivation
facility in Pueblo County, Colorado.
WHT LBL plans to expand its
cultivation facility to keep up with
growing demand for its mini joints,
Lamoureux said. She had been
considering enlarging the company's
outdoor grow, but after an early freeze
and snowfall in September, she's now
leaning toward greenhouses.
" We were barely able to meet demand
on our own this year, and we don't see it
stopping, " she said. " I'm a little nervous
about supply for the coming year. "
WHT LBL prefers to work with
cannabis businesses that already are
in the market and looking for a new
manufacturing partner. They should have
provable sales, packaging and labeling as
well as an understanding of the unique
universal stamp and warning language.
Next, the company likes to work with
clients who want to expand to Colorado
from other markets and enlist WHT LBL
to produce their brands. Those clients
Wana Brands contracts with an outside company to create the distillate for its infused products.
Courtesy Photo
should have packaging, even if it does
need a little tweaking.
" Even if they don't understand
Colorado specifics, they understand
the ideas around the regulations, "
Lamoureux said of the type of
businesses that employ white labelers.
If you're considering going the whitelabel
route to get into the marijuana
industry, make sure you have the idea
for your brand and product fleshed
out and that your packaging and label
design is finalized. It's also important to
select a product category where there's
room for growth, Lamoureux said.
" Vape is the most saturated category, "
she said. " Unless you're coming in as a
super-low-cost producer, that product is
on the market 10 times over. "
AVOIDING LICENSING PITFALLS
California-based Old Pal has avoided
licensing challenges by going the whitelabel
route.
98 Marijuana Business Magazine | November-December 2020
Old Pal contracts with about
100 cultivators licensed to grow or
manufacture marijuana in the markets
where the company operates. Old Pal
gives its producers packaging for flower
and vape cartridges and then promotes
its brands through marijuana retailers.
The company's products are available in
about 350 cannabis stores.
Because the company doesn't handle
marijuana, it doesn't need to have a
license. That enables Old Pal to keep
overhead low; it has just 29 employees
and one office.
" If we had gone vertically integrated,
we'd need a team of 20 drivers,
40 cultivators and a compliance
department, " said Rusty Wilenkin, chief
executive of Old Pal.
In the company's early days, it took
a more hands-on approach with its
partners. Now that trust has been built,
Old Pal gives its partners product
specifications for them to follow. Old

MJBizMag November-December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag November-December 2020