Meet Beach Grass Topicals Founder Jeanine MacKenzie

Interviewed by Spencer Knowles, CoCC Board Member & Executive Director February 2023

Spencer: Jeanine, so excited to be with you! Let’s kick things off with your personal background.

Jeanine:  Thank you, Spencer! I couldn’t be more excited and grateful to be with you today! I was actually born and raised in Wareham - so it’s rather crazy and cool that I am opening up BeachGrass Topicals in my hometown!  I graduated class of ‘85 and then went on to attend and graduate from UMass Dartmouth.  From there I moved to Washington DC, then Newport, RI, Boston, and London.  So it feels very full circle to once again be part of the Wareham community.  

Spencer: How did you find cannabis?

Jeanine: So I've been a cannabis user for the bulk of my adult life but about five years ago I became affected with severe arthritis in my feet and that's when my true appreciation of cannabis infused products developed. The arthritis in my feet was exacerbated by another medical issue called Hashimoto. Hashimoto brought along additional issues such as depression, muscle and joint pain, and some serious fatigue.  Life was a bit rough for a while.  But once I tried cannabis infused topicals, my life truly changed for the better.  I get goosebumps thinking about it and I still get choked up because it (cannabis) literally changed my life.  I was able to get back to living life on my own terms.  Once I started regularly using cannabis infused topicals, it was like the sky opened up and the sun started to shine - it just felt like a big moment.  Little did I realize how truly big it was! 

Spencer: OK so let's talk about your regulated cannabis journey.

Jeanine: Cannabis helped me so much on such a personal level with my arthritis but it was hard to find the exact product that I needed when I needed it.  One day while at a local dispensary, a budtender told me I could make a simple topical with just coconut oil and beeswax.  So I said what the heck and gave it a shot.  Once I made the simple one topical product, I wondered if I could make something a little bit more skin friendly, with a less greasy feel and with organic ingredients.  

So shortly thereafter, I went to a local dispensary to purchase my THC oil and was asking questions and they asked me what I was making / what did I need the oil for?  And when I said I make my own 100% organic cannabis infused topical products, the manager of the dispensary’s eyes got really big and she said we would buy those from you if you started your own cannabis product manufacturing company as we can’t keep them on the shelves.  She told me I could do a Micro Business which is smaller than the full product manufacturing license and it's great for someone who wants to have an independent small business.  

Spencer:  What are the main differences between a Micro Business and a Product Manufacturing license?

Jeanine: That's a great question, so the regular product manufacturing license allows you to produce, buy and sell as much as you can in a given year. But if you have a micro license you are only allowed 2,000 pounds of cannabis per year to utilize to make your products.   So there’s a cap on how much cannabis you can use each year to make your products.  The benefit of having a micro business license is that the licensing fees are half the price of the full licenses. That's great for someone who is interested and wants to get into the business but won’t be producing large scale quantities out of the gate.  If you’re successful in scaling your micro business to exceed the cap, you can then graduate into the full product manufacturing license when you can afford the higher fees.

Spencer: Now let’s talk about the licensing process in Massachusetts.

Jeanine: Well it's been quite a journey!  It actually has taken me four years to get to where we are right now and it actually started with my attorney friend Tim McNamara. I met him early on when I had just the idea of a business.  I am super grateful to Tim as he was the person who pointed me to Cannabis on Cape Cod  (known in those days as Regulated Cape Cod).  Cannabis on Cape Cod has been a great way to get to know the other local cannabis business operators in the area as well as to meet folks in the community that might not be in the cannabis industry but want to help the cause of getting more regulated cannabis on the Cape.  

In terms of the licensing process, one of the biggest hurdles is the application and the documentation that comes with it.  I thought once I got the application done that the bulk of the documentation was completed but I was very much mistaken!  There's so many different processes and steps that need to be documented.  

There’s always going to be something you don't think of so the best thing that I would say is that you just need to be nimble and be able to react in a positive manner and take the positive cues when you can get them. 

Spencer: OK now let’s talk about Beach Grass Topicals!

Jeanine: I'm so excited to be finally here getting to this point in time where we’re actually getting a product out there and to help people. My team is a dynamic duo of two right now! We are a woman owned and led company -  I am the CEO and Liz Kabriel is our Director of Operations.  I am so lucky to have Liz on our team!  She knows data and processes like nobody's business and brings positive energy every day.  We actually worked together a long time ago and it's kind of funny because the associate partner / leader of the project I was working on many years ago.  But what is really cool is that we worked together when I was just starting my career and she was an amazing mentor to me.  I truly don’t know if I would be starting this business now if she didn’t take the time all those years ago. 

I also have to thank my husband, Matt Hanson, who is an unofficial member of team BeachGrass. Matt is an incredible photographer who helped decorate our beautiful facility with his gorgeous prints.  He also took the great pictures we have on our website which highlight our products.

Spencer: So you have a process that you created and then out of that comes a portfolio of products, let's talk about that.

Jeanine: The first topical product is our ‘Skin Loving Salve’. Just like putting good food into my body and I also want to make sure that I'm taking good care of my body on the outside as well so ‘Skin Loving Salve’ is made with 100% organic ingredients that both you and your skin will LOVE! It’s especially formulated not to block your pores and also gentle to your skin while delivering the medicine (1:1 ratio 250mg CBD & 250mg THC).  It's a real treat for your skin as well as it has a whole bunch of ‘skin loving’ ingredients like rosehip seed oil, sweet almond oil, and shea butter to name a few.  This product is for people that are looking for serious relief but because it's a topical cannabis product, it does not have any psychoactive effects!

The second topical product is our lovely ‘Cannabis Infused Lotion Bar’ which is a wonderful product with just a few simple ingredients that really deliver the THC and CBD well!  It's a lotion bar which means you can hold it in your hand and apply it directly or you can rub it on your hands and apply it that way.  It’s our answer to the topical stick in order to minimize our use of single use plastics.  The lotion bar is also made with 100% organic ingredients and has a 1:1 ratio of 125mg CBD and 125mg of THC.The lotion bar is also great for aches, pains, sore muscles as well as itchy or irritated skin.  We're really excited about the cannabis infused lotion bar because it’s easy to use and super portable in its childproof tin.

BeachGrass Topicals is committed to sustainable packaging and although we know that we have to use plastic from time to time, we really try to minimize it. We are not going to be perfect out of the gate but we're doing the best that we can to have more sustainable options for our customers.  We want to be as earth friendly with our ingredients as well as with our packaging.  

Spencer:  Let's talk about the exciting launch of Beach Grass Topicals.  When and where can customers find your products?

Jeanine: We are excited to launch mid-April, just in time for 4-20 in selected dispensaries. More independent stores are on the way, so that means there’s more access for consumers to find craft product like ours which is very exciting. I see that the independent side of the industry is finally coming out of its shell (growers, product manufacturers, micro businesses, retail operators) and I'm seeing this really great community developing and I'm excited to be a part of it!

I always say that I learn from folks who already walked ahead of me because there are so many things that you have to just pick up along the way and it's that much harder when you're independent in this business.

I want to focus on the independent retailers to start and then hopefully organically grow from there. Obviously if you go to your local dispensary and they don't carry BeachGrass Topicals definitely please ask them to to give us a call or give us a shout and I'll be happy to talk to them!

Spencer: This is all truly amazing and as a local entrepreneur, do you have any advice for other entrepreneurs who are reading this right now?

Jeanine: Absolutely! The biggest piece of advice I can give to someone is that you will need to be ready to adapt and change at any given time in the process - meaning get ready to pivot!  I know that word is used a lot but it is the perfect word especially in this industry.  If you can’t figure out a way to make something work one way, you need to figure out how to do it another way - or perhaps go another route to get to the desired end result.  Because the law and regulations are the laws and regulations - no wiggle room - no getting around any of it.  So you need to hone your problem solving skills as well.  

There are so many roadblocks and tons of highs and lows - and some days you have to just put on a smile and get yourself in that frame of mind to succeed! And that is another area that being a part of Cannabis on Cape Cod was huge for me!  There were times where I was feeling overwhelmed or was just so dog tired of fighting the good fight - and then I would go to a CoCC meeting, talk with folks and get re-invigorated and feel ready about facing the next step or hurdle.  

Some days you just have to push through, have faith in yourself and trust signs from the universe that things happen for a reason. I'm a big believer in trusting your gut, especially after this process, because there were a lot of times I wasn't sure how far we were going to get due to some sort of roadblock.  But I trust the positive forces around me and here I am! So now I wear a medallion every day that tells me to trust the universe!

Spencer:  Well, congratulations on getting to this point and on behalf of everyone at CoCC (Cannabis on Cape Cod), we couldn’t be more proud and excited to continue to support your dream of producing the highest quality cannabis topicals in MA!

Jeanine: Thank you, Spencer!  This has been truly amazing and I can’t thank you and the CoCC family enough for all of the support along the way!

Interested in learning more about Beach Grass Topicals? 

Check out their website or contact them directly!