Three stories on building cannabis business
Our specialists managed to do something that has not yet been reached by foreign cosmetology companies. We have created several cosmetic products for hands and face, in which the therapeutic properties of hemp are enhanced by natural catalysts.
Three businessmen who work with non-narcotic cannabis shared with their readers " shots? " Information about how much and how much money can be made in the hemp business.
What do they sell at the Hemp supermarket ?
Hemp supermarket is an online platform where representatives of the Ukrainian Technical Hemp Association put up their products for sale and with the help of which customers ’sympathies are determined. For example, among the most sought-after goods are cosmetics and food . Also on the site you can buy textile or knitwear , biologically active additives and pet products containing various components of hemp.
Enough to be a stock country
A lot of the trash that is being made in the world is sold in Ukraine. This primarily concerns cosmetics and smuggled medicines into the country - in accordance with applicable law, the use of hemp in Ukraine for medical purposes is prohibited. The vast majority are artificially created products, which include a penny synthetic raw materials - extremely harmful to health. I understood the prospects of the market for cosmetic products based on the therapeutic properties of hemp, and therefore I found a national company that produces exclusively natural cosmetics . Her technologists developed recipes for cosmetic preparations exclusively on a natural basis, and products of higher quality were obtained at a lower price than that of foreign colleagues. For two years, our cosmetics have been in great demand among Ukrainian consumers. By the way, national hemp-based cosmetic products have received the appropriate sanitary and hygienic certificates, but I have never seen similar documents from foreign companies that sell hemp or “cannabinoid” cosmetics (which is made with the addition of cannabinoids - substances contained in hemp) cosmetics.
When Ukrainian is cheaper and better
On the market, how everything works: whoever got up first, that and slippers! In 2017, Czechs and Romanians wanted to launch hemp cosmetics together with us , but their product is made on a synthetic basis. I decided that I needed to produce a Ukrainian product - completely organic. And three months after the launch of national hemp cosmetics in Ukraine, there were already three distributors who were engaged in its sale. And foreign hemp cosmetic brands entered the Ukrainian market just a few months later than us, and their cost was higher and the quality lower.
Next in line is cooperation with France and Austria
Our specialists managed to do something that has not yet been reached by foreign cosmetology companies. We have created several cosmetic products for hands and face, in which the therapeutic properties of hemp are enhanced by natural catalysts.
Already now, it can be said that the use of these cosmetics cures or dramatically improves the condition in severe conditions including chronic skin diseases (herpes, eczema, psoriasis, furunculosis, vitiligo and others), at least experiments conducted in Austria have confirmed the extreme therapeutic properties namely Ukrainian cosmetics .
Soon, the corresponding tests will be carried out by test groups in Ukraine, and after receiving the appropriate sanitary and hygienic certificates, the products will appear in the Hemp Supermarket .
We just conducted tests in the European Union and next year we plan to launch the product on the market. We have also signed contracts for the supply of such cosmetics with well-known cosmetic brands in Austria and France .
Brand makes hemp shoes
Now we produce hemp shoes. The cost starts from 680 hryvnias - for this price you can buy models from last year’s stock fabric. There are more expensive models - for 1,5 thousand hryvnias. Recently began to produce socks - from hemp fabric of lower density.
It has long been decided to move away from large areas of sowing and focused only on those volumes that we need for production.
So, there are stereotypes among buyers - but this is rather an advantage, because it causes some interest and encourages a person to learn more. But, really, jokes like “can you smoke shoelaces?”, Or “how to wear socks so that they fit better?” Begin.
Own factory originally from the USSR
There is a problem with hemp processing in Ukraine: only three plants can work with hemp raw materials.
If you build a plant with the latest technology, it’s millions of dollars. And we, unfortunately, do not have the opportunity to participate in lending programs at adequate interest. Loans at 27-32% per annum simply destroy our business.
We have a primary processing plant, we got it from the time of the USSR - no one has carried out any modernization there, so we work with what we have.
How is hemp cloth made
Difficulties begin already at the stage of collection of hemp fiber - it is very durable, is wound on the knives of the combine. Therefore, conditionally, if the corn field can be harvested in a day, then hemp will go for three days.
The next stage is drying and processing on fiber, adding a little cotton and synthetic fibers, and then, in fact, the production of yarn.
And here one more difficulty arises - our manufacturers generally do not want to work with hemp fiber. And when you work with hemp - you just need to see it. So much rubbish - everyone in the workshop in respirators works! Then the machines still need to be washed and cleaned.
But we still do not give up hemp - because their properties are very cool.
For example, for five years now I have been wearing exclusively our hemp shoes, because in the summer it is simply impossible to walk in leather shoes - your legs sweat and get tired.
How much is a meter of hemp fabric?
The cost of hemp cloth for sale is about 500 hryvnias per square meter of fabric with a density of 530 grams. We sell on the condition that it will be a wholesale batch of 300 meters. It is necessary to take volumes, otherwise it is not profitable to do this.
Again, manufacturers are not ready to produce batches of 10 meters of fabric or 100 kilograms of yarn. After all, it is more profitable for a textile mill to produce 10,000 meters of synthetics than 300-500 meters of hemp cloth in the same time. Given the fact that this fiber will constantly tear, it will be necessary to clean the machines and so on.
How much can you earn on hemp
If everything goes as planned, then from one hectare we will receive $ 1.5-1.8 thousand profit. Moreover, hemp waste will also be recycled. You can use a smaller area for sowing hemp, but then your expenses will increase, and profitability will suffer. Indeed, when working with large areas of crops, you can optimize the cost per hectare.
We are in this topic for the first year, and therefore, in general, profitability can be discussed in detail after the season and the processing cycle.
Test year
While we combine this year. That is, we collect grain, and we plan to process the remainder of the stems into a short fiber. Residues in the future may go to processing for the production of high-quality pulp .
Long fiber is valued more, but here you have to choose for what purpose you grow technical hemp - either in order to get high-quality seeds , or for future use of leaves and inflorescences , or for fiber production . Because to obtain the optimal quality of each of these products, different periods of the collection of raw materials are necessary.
This year is the first, and, therefore, test. We sowed 100 hectares of technical hemp and in the future we are going to find out in which area it is most profitable to work. There are several options:
- seeds for the manufacture of hemp-based foods ;
- fiber and its derivatives for textile and knitwear ;
- leaves and inflorescences of technical hemp of a therapeutic orientation to obtain biologically active or feed additives , cosmetic or sanitary-hygienic products.