Article and photo by Phil Wong, Hemp Market Watch via High! Canada
As part of our New Features section, we hope to give our readers a closer perspective into the Hemp and Cannabis industry by featuring new and upcoming companies. We will focus on giving you a snapshot of where that company is today and what they intend to do for future growth. This month’s inaugural Company Insight will look at HempMed (MYM Nutraceuticals).
Company Snapshot
The fast growing HempMed brand is expected to do sales in excess of $1,400,000 in the next 12 months. MYM has plans to build a new high-capacity production facility for HempMed that will increase its sales capacity to handle more than $10,000,000 per year. Further, MYM will open new markets and build an effective online retail strategy for the already popular HempMed brand. MYM has plans to rebrand the entire line of products including upgrading manufacturing facilities for large-scale production capabilities. Online sales and marketing will be a major focus to accelerate worldwide expansion of CBD product sales. With the additional support both financially and professionally the Company believes the CBD product line will be one of its top performers. MYM has retained the senior staff and founder of HempMed on contract for a minimum of 3 years to drive success within the billion-dollar industry.
The CBD nutraceutical market is growing rapidly worldwide due to an explosion of consumer interest and impressive medical studies on the benefits of high quality hemp CBD products. A recent Forbes magazine article estimated that the CBD market will grow to $2.1 billion market by 2020 with $450 million of those sales coming from hemp-based sources. That’s a 700% increase from 2016.
Anthony Lawand, Director Joshua Tree Brands (HempMed)
Born in Montreal and raised in Florida at a young age, Anthony (Tony) Lawand has had a whirlwind, worldwide working experience that ventured through the Caribbean as a teenager to the Canary Islands specializing in sales and marketing for some of the world’s largest travel and resort organizations, to building a major 12-year travel operation in Russia just after the fall of the Soviet Union, with stints in Africa, the Middle and Far East. Never one for mainstream, tackling the crazy US Real Estate and Solar Energy markets in the late 2000’s and several years ago researching and watching the Cannabis and CBD world to creating a major CBD organization from scratch in Toronto late 2015. In April 2017, Anthony found a marriage perfectly aligned to his vision and hope with MYM Nutraceuticals (CSE:MYM). This company has the real-world experience and wide group of multi-talented individuals that I feel they will be one of THE major players here in Canada and Worldwide. Our visions and business plans were on the same page and felt perfect. Having been approached several times and not “feeling right about it” committed himself and the company in the acquisition recently that has already brought about major increases and results absolutely mind boggling for only tied together several weeks. “The coming year will be incredible in my opinion”. Having marketing and business development domestically and internationally with over 30 years of experience worldwide with multilingual skills including English, French, Spanish, and good knowledge of Russian and Arabic, the feeling is this one is a home run.
Hi Tony, just wondering how did your company get its start? How long have you been in the cannabis industry?
Since 2013- 2014, in the US I was looking into the CBD/Cannabis world (mostly in the Colorado region) and it convinced me to take a deeper look. After “toying” with it a few months as a hobby and seeing the incredible potential here, everything else was tabled and this has become the focus of all my time and energy.
And how big is your company?
HempMed has 4-5 staff in Toronto, with Corporate offices in Vancouver and a few regional reps stationed in Calgary, Edmonton, Niagara, and Victoria. We are working with a number of distributors both online and retail. We are seeking new reps Countrywide. MYM has a full operational staff for the MYM cannabis operation and pending LP license expected on 4th quarter this year.
What are some of your products that you offer?
We have a full line of CBD’s tinctures, concentrates, capsules, e juices, edibles, oils and a full line of pet products as well. Our top selling products are definitely the custom tinctures, vapes and Pet products that not a lot of suppliers carry. We also have our complete line with 0% any THC content which some companies don’t quite meet that spec. Apart from many promotional materials we offer to our retailers, we push educational and training materials at the forefront with on-site training to “tastings” which no other company offers. An educated consumer is our best customer!
With the legalization announcement this week, do you guys have any plans on getting involved in THC products? Currently, you only indulge in CBD related products.
Yes, definitely. MYM is a pending licensed producer and we want to have a division of THC/CBD combination and the current research and development will produce products that are not available mainstream here.
Does your organization have any expansion plans for the next 5 years?
Absolutely, we are looking South to the USA and Worldwide distribution, growing the THC facility square footage, an additional LP license and, being very flexible, always looking for more “special” acquisitions that it our game plans. What do you think about the legalization announcement the other day and what do you think this means for your industry? From what I read on the Task Force reports and what legislation has come out with, it looks like CBD, the nonTHC one, will be more of a Health Canada regulated wellness product which we are gearing and assuming in our testing, packaging and ultimately licensing requirements. Whether I am right or wrong, that’s the way I read it.
And where do you see the CBD and THC markets in a year from now?
I see in one to three years, the CBD markets will far surpass anybody’s expectations. As well as the CBD/THC market together for medicinal purposes, not necessarily for recreational purposes, I believe will become a multi-billion-dollar industry. Our market is strictly wellness and medicinal but even the young recreational users are very knowledgeable and interested about the benefits as well. We are seeing a high number supplementing the “high” with an added medical benefit. Kids these days have far more “issues” than the previous generations and need “natural” as opposed to pharmaceutical help.
Recently, on April 10th, you were acquired by MYM Nutraceuticals, how have things been going and what was your decision around that?
For me it was the people, the company. I believe it’s the most undervalued stock in the public cannabis sector. I liked the direction they are going, their future plans. I think they will become one of the big power houses in Canada. And they don’t want to go mainstream, they definitely go outside the box of just recreational, basically where everyone wants to be, as it is estimated to be a 6 billion dollar industry. Recreational users will not be the targeted market, we are gearing to supply the absolute best strains of cannabis with the high dosage and highest quality CBD products Canada will offer. MYM Nutraceuticals are more concerned about the medicinal market because those are the people that want health and wellness than anything else. They are the ones that need this product the most. Realistically, worldwide the combination of the THC/CBD market is now very much in its infancy as there is still so much to grow with.
Thank you for your time Tony! Are there any future engagements our readers can catch you at?
We always showcase ourselves in the multitude of expos, conferences and strive to educate and upgrade the products as time goes on. We will also be at the Cannabis Life Conference Toronto on May 13-14, the Canadian Cannabis Business Conference on May 24-25 and of course the big Lift Expo Toronto on May 26-28.https://dankr.ca/lifestyle/high-canada-talks-hempmed