MJBizMag September 2020 - 106

BestPracticesInExtraction | Bart Schaneman
groundbreaking, " Micallef said. " It's
always important for any company to
develop new products. "
As consumers become more
sophisticated, they start looking
beyond simple potency numbers
and seek out other qualities such as
terpenes and other cannabinoids,
he said.
" They're all expecting higher-level
product, " Micallef added.
Set Aside Money, Time, Space
Parco said Schwazze allocates about
10% of both time and budget toward
R&D.
" If you don't want to pay for it, you
don't really want it, " he said.
The company doesn't set aside
space in the facility just for R&D.
Innovation is built into every square
inch of the process. However, if team
members want to focus on something
such as a new packaging solution,
they'll find a place to work on it.
Farrar estimates Glass House
spends upwards of 10% of its budget
for R&D.
The company doesn't set a specific
timetable for releasing new products.
For Micallef at Exclusive Brands,
budgeting for research and
development requires more time than
money. " We probably spend about a
good 40-50 hours a week on R&D, "
he said.
The R&D room at Exclusive Brands
takes up about 5% of the company's
15,000-square-foot space.
In-House Guinea Pigs
After going through the regular
hoops of compliance testing, Parco
relies on family and friends as well
as budtenders and manufacturing
associates to help beta test new
products.
For example, when the company
develops a new vape pen, it asks
testers to try to misuse it-leave it on
the dash of the car, for example, or in a
pocket or in the freezer.
Allotting space in a facility specifically for research and development is one way companies can
foster new ideas. Photos courtesy of Exclusive Brands
They then send on the product to
customers and record data based on
their feedback.
" We listen to that, then go back to
the drawing board, " Parco said.
Glass House uses budtenders,
other employees and friends of the
company to help test new products.
After that stage, new items will be
sent to the company's four pilot stores
in California to get feedback from
consumers and budtenders, then sent
out more widely.
Farrar said one of the company's
popular products, a strain it calls
Jellyfish, was developed after listening
to friends who said typical cannabis
flower was too potent.
So the company grew a CBDdominant
strain and extracted it into a
tincture and vape version.
" You really have to go into it with an
open mind of where the data and the
science lead you, " Farrar said.
106 Marijuana Business Magazine | September 2020
Exclusive Brands relies on a group of
employees who try out the company's
new products. The testers evaluate
products for a variety of qualities,
including how they taste and if the
hardware is working properly.
Micallef said it helps to have
budtenders on board with any new
products so they can encourage retail
customers to try them.
" R&D keeps you relevant in the
market, " he added. " If you don't
(continue creating), all these other
companies will be coming out with
new techniques, and you don't want
to lose your market share to other
companies. "
Bart Schaneman covers
cultivation and extraction
for Marijuana Business
Magazine. You can reach
him at bart.schaneman@
mjbizdaily.com.

MJBizMag September 2020

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