The Town of Mashpee is still ironing out its process to determine who will be awarded the 1 available retail dispensary license from the pool of 6 applicants, but a total of 10 Cannabis licenses are available for other businesses. In other Massachusetts towns, these licenses are often going to large, out-of-state corporations from places like Colorado and Canada. One of the dispensary applicants in Mashpee hopes to change that, and wants to make sure that as much business ownership as possible stays with locally owned, and qualified businesses. With that, let’s review the philanthropic entrepreneurship grant program proposed by Holistic Health Group, and the local Cape-based businesses that Holistic Health Group had in mind while putting it together:
Cape Cod Hemp:
Presently based in Yarmouth, Cape Cod Hemp has a vision – to promote and source locally grown hemp so that tested CBD can be sold affordably in Cape Cod stores. Because CBD is relatively unregulated right now, most CBD products sold in local stores today come from outside of the State, and may or may not have been tested by an independent third party. Such a lack of testing and source information, for a product with such high and growing demand poses a public health risk as one recent article describes. Cape Cod Hemp owner Erik Hunter, who would like to start a CBD-based (as well as whole plant cannabis extract) product manufacturing business, explains in greater detail about the costs in the present market: “Stores are charging upwards of $10 per 100mg of full spectrum CBD oil – we could probably charge half that with a local source - and third party testing”.
“Stores are charging upwards of $10 per 100mg of full spectrum CBD oil – we could probably charge half that with a local source and third party testing” - Erik Hunter, Owner of Cape Cod Hemp
We reviewed these premium prices suggested by Erik, and find they are consistent with products already being sold in certain Mashpee stores. It’s therefore easy to see why HHG sees the value in Erik’s proposed business model. And if he is allowed to apply for a license, all products would be required under Massachusetts law to undergo detailed testing before sale to consumers.
Trella Technologies, LLC:
Trella Technologies, the maker of an autonomous cultivation device, is one of the most innovative and buzz-generating startups in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts today. One of its two co-founders, Aja Atwood, is a Mashpee resident and is well known within and outside cannabis industry. Given that Aja’s cofounder lives off-Cape, it is still a possibility that they may locate all or part of their business elsewhere, but Holistic Health Group would like to help the company gain a foothold on Cape Cod.
A prototype of Trella’s LST series horizontal grow unit. Holistic Health Group hopes to help keep as many of Mashpee’s 10 available Cannabis licenses as possible with local owners like Aja Atwood of Trella Technologies.
“We will eventually require both a manufacturing center to build the product, and a testing lab for R&D and business. The latter should probably be opened under a cultivation license to give us sufficient plant count to make the enterprise worthwhile,” - Aja Atwood, Co-Founder, Trella Technologies, LLC
“We will eventually require both a manufacturing center to build the product, and a testing lab for R&D and business. The latter should probably be opened under a cultivation license to give us sufficient plant count to make the enterprise worthwhile,” noted Aja, when asked about the company’s business plans. Holistic Health Group is hoping that its grant program, offered exclusively to Mashpee and Cape businesses can be used to incentivize Trella to keep its plans right here in Mashpee.
Healing Tree Edibles:
Michelle Bennett, CEO of Healing Tree is struggling to keep up with demand for the company’s CBD dog treats, and hopes to apply for a Cannabis license in Mashpee to build a larger kitchen for her products. Out-of-state producers are already selling CBD-based products in Mashpee’s Organic Market.
Healing Tree Edibles, another Cape Cod manufacturer, has already enjoyed some success for its local CBD treats for dogs, in such locations as Country Gardens of Hyannis. Michelle Bennett, its founder and a fifth-generation Falmouth resident, generated quite a following with her local products – so much so that she’s no longer able to meet the demand from her customers -- until she finds a suitable commercial location. But raising funds in the cannabis industry is difficult, and many businesses like Michelle’s risk being usurped by nationwide conglomerates if the local hurdles for growth are too high. When asked whether a grant would help her operation, Michelle agreed: "With some new equipment and upgrades I could easily hire 1 or 2 more part-time kitchen assistants, just to meet demand here on Cape."
"With some new equipment and upgrades I could easily hire 1 or 2 more part-time kitchen assistants, just to meet demand here on Cape." - Michelle Bennett, Founder, Healing Tree Edibles
Given the strong preference many on Cape Cod have to shop local, Holistic Health Group believes that a business like Michelle’s just needs a small boost to cement Healing Tree’s enterprise in the market, thereby keeping the profits and jobs right here in our community.
Other Business Incubator Programs:
Holistic Health Group has not yet reached any kind of agreement with any of these businesses, especially where Mashpee’s 1 available license could go to one of the 5 other applicants. But these are the businesses HHG considered when crafting its program, because the company believes supporting already motivated Cape Codders is the best way to create significant and sustainable value, and inspire others along the way. Any grant applicant looking to qualify would necessarily have to prove its ability to obtain State & local licensure first, as well as to submit a business plan. But should HHG acquire a dispensary license, at least $35,000 per year would automatically be reserved on an annual basis for startups on Cape Cod.
In the event no direct applicant qualifies in any given year, HHG has partnered with 3 other Cape-based organizations that sponsor or support Cape Cod small businesses in general:
Entrepreneurship for All, a Cape Cod mentor and accelerator program is one such organization that offers “pitch contests” to determine grant recipients. Love.Live.Local, another organization focused on keeping spending on this side of the bridge, is developing an e-commerce platform to rival Amazon, specifically aimed at Cape retailers that HHG would like to help fund. And the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce features a Launch Pad program to provide small businesses with co-working space and technology support, that HHG believes would benefit from grant money.
