Progress Report: 3.4.22

Grasshopper Family,

First things first...no word on NJ or CT yet. NJ seems to be under scrutiny for (lack of) minority awarded licenses...that have not even been announced yet. Soooo...no telling yet. CT is all about the property and we don't have a path there yet.

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Zoom meeting with the organizers of Reggae on the River and the other participating vendors. We are the only non-retailer attending and we have the honor of providing a Flight of Flower to all of the VIP ticket holders. We will select four to six strains and make them available in a wine flight sort of way. We can't wait!

I quickly assessed that I needed to meet with people from each of the retailers that will be vendors at Reggae on the River. So, I got a hold of almost everyone and solidified appointments for this week. Half of the retailers said they would be at another cannabis event on Tuesday...Mardi Gras! The others confirmed meetings for Thursday. I booked the trip and headed to MI. Flexibility is key.

Tuesday morning started with donuts from the locally famous Sweetwater Donut Mill. One is Mardi Gras themed and the other is a local regular favorite...the Grasshopper! I may or may not have been on the local CBS news when I was there. Sweetwater Donut Mill employees did recognize our name and logo on my shirt and did come talk to me.

The Mardi Gras event was in Lansing, an hour and a half away from the farm. Matt, Caroline, and Kayla joined me and we headed over. The event was from 6pm-10pm. We intended on arriving at 4pm to meet with the specific retailers and then head back to the farm before the event started at 6pm. There were so many awesome industry partners that we ended up staying until 8pm and coming back with a lot of new contacts and warm sales leads. It was well worth our time.

As the quality control and packaging continued, we started to focus on what it would take to package and sell pre-rolls of our flower that is quality, has passed the state test, but did not pass our measure for retail flower. Aaron set up a visit from an equipment manufacturer who came over and gave us a demonstration of a pretty incredible commercial grinder. Pre-rolls require more than meets the eye. Heck, most things do. The quality of the flower is only part of the scenario. The consistency of the grind matters. How it is rolled matters. How it is packed matters. How it burns matters. So, simply pre-rolling is not enough. It was a great demonstration.

The Mother Plants are coming along nicely. They are getting bigger. They are beautiful. They are lush. I am really proud of Shawn and Lucas for their efforts and success and thankful to the rest of the team for their part in helping with the plants and setting up the rest of the rooms.

Cleaning and prepping is in full swing. Check out Clint poking his head out of one of the indoor water tanks that he is cleaning and sanitizing. Paul was also pretty stoked with our beard nets that might be (absolutely are) the size of a face mask. And more rolling tables were constructed in one of the grow rooms.

I headed over to Detroit and the east side of the state yesterday to meet with additional retailers...and shop some retailers to review their customer experience. We are not selling to everyone. We are selling to people who will be good partners. This is important because the retailer is responsible for our GHF customer interaction in the provisioning center. OZ Cannabis and Hayat were incredible and I believe we have awesome synergies. I also found that Hayat produces their own pre-rolls and could be an excellent partner to produce and sell ours. A harmonious opportunity, for sure. OZ said they might be able to as well!

We are starting to zero in on some awesome long-term partners.

I met with Neighborhood Provisioning, Adam, and Kayla Thursday afternoon on Zoom. Adam and Kayla had developed the lead, a provisioning center that is going to open in the next 3-4 weeks. The goal is to be one of their initial premiere vendors and be there to help them open on their grand opening day. I think we had an incredible meeting with them and expect to hear back if they pass their final inspections on Monday.

More vendors are asking for vendor days! And that is a very good sign. Adam goes out there and crushes sales calls each and every day. Kayla partners on the phones. And they both invite me to start and end their days as we talk through accounts and messaging.

I attended the monthly Waverly Township meeting with Brad and Kris last night. We did not have GHF gear on. We were not on the agenda. And yet, we were asked by name to help with industry related information throughout the meeting. We attend every meeting. We have absolutely made a good name for ourselves and are now neighbors. And I am very proud of it.

We interviewed two college students this week to start our very own GHF Intern Program! Yup. You heard that right. One already has a cannabis related school assignment. We believe this would be a first for the state and will be very proud to announce it once it is finalized.

Joni has been attending a weekly art class and has part of what she is making to share. She said this is still rough and has a bit to go. I think it is absolutely beautiful.

Bob Marley's sons are evaluating our flower. Yeah. That is happening. Now. As you are reading this. I'll have to elaborate later. It might lead to nothing. But, that might be the most exciting update we could share outside of some of the GHF milestones we have achieved. Marley. Yeah. That. [mic drop]

We have more things in the works as well....and I am really excited to share them...

Yup, that is a sticker that the Grand Rapids Airport restaurant put on their fridge. First cannabis sticker. Awesome. I sat down and one of the employees pointed at it and asked if that was our farm. Life is good.

More soon!

Have an amazing weekend!