Calling all experts!

[caregiverken]

 

[HeadGrow]

The lottery drawing for the 334 retail shops is on the 25th and they will announce to the public by May 2nd according to the LCB emails.

If your buddies would like a little inside info they can get in touch with me.....seriously really happy to help:) It is nice for most people going through this to talk with someone that has gotten to the end of the goofy process just to alleviate some of their worries if nothing else but I already understand their traceability and exactly what they are looking for in the documents that had to be submitted and at their inspection so give them my email and it would be no problem to give them the details. [email protected].....of course:)

You are awesome. I'll let them know.

 

[fishwhistle]

ITG,Out of curiousity are you trying for a retail license also?Can you as a producer also retail your own goods if you get both licenses?Does a retailer have to produce a percentage of the goods they sell?Just curious as to how washingtons system works.

 

[inthegorge]

No...here you can grow or process or grow and process but you cannot be involved in growing or processing and be involved in retail. They are totally separate entities with the system they are putting into place here. Not only that the retail shops will not weigh out any product, it all comes pre-packaged to them from the grower/processor right down to the gram. The packaging of it all is something we need to get going on because I have not gotten hardly any packaging materials yet. Need something eye catching....? Have a few ideas but I have never been into marketing before so this is all new to me.

 

[fishwhistle]

Wow i had no idea,So you have to pre-package in grams to ounces and put it in some sort of packaging that preserves it also.I buy the little 99 cent two packs of swisher sweets down at the liquor store and they come in a cool foil ziplock package,its silver inside and blocks out all light and seems to keep the cigars at the correct humidity,I always thought it would be a great way to keep weed fresh.If you could find the vendor you could probably print any logo/info you want on it,buy a pack and you'll see what im talking about.

 

[Tank333]

I like that concept, Fish!

Myself, I want to process into value-added products. That's where the real money will be, IMO. My goal is to make the first cannabis-infused bean-to-bar chocolates in the country! There's already a company in Colorado that's making chocolates, but they don't make their own from scratch. They buy-in bulk...

 

[inthegorge]

Packaging is a big part of the game here Mr. Whistle....so much so that I think it will be as critical at first at least as having a premium product because no one will ever know how good your product is if you can't "entice" them to buy it. Some of our ideas are:
1. A pretty similar pouch thing that is clear on one side and the label on the other side with a graphic of our logo visible as the background of the clear side and amounts from single grams up to ozs
2. Pre-rolled J's with W.O.W. Weed printed on the outer edge of the paper so it shows down the length of the doobie in singles, packages of 5, 3 with each one a different strain and full pack with our own "packs" with our logo and personal label printed on it
3. Sampler packs with 2, 3 or 4 different strains, a "trip-in" package with pre-grounded herb, papers, crutches, a sticker and a lighter with our logo
4. Metal tins with clear tops
5. Oriental take out foil lined containers
6. Colorful plastic reusable containers and every thing else I can figure out.
So far WA does not have any rules about child resistant packaging. If anyone else has any unique packaging ideas I would love to hear them:-) Branding is going to be huge especially at first...when there are not a lot of players in the game...and we have a great opportunity to really make our name remembered....sought after even. It is possible. It is my goal. How it all plays out is yet to be determined:-) We are putting together a facebook page and a website. I want to pimp out my gorgeous daughters to give out pinner joints at Sasquatch...but it can't be of our own weed unfortunately which is of course not that cool.....but still....we give out pinner's because that is not illegal here, and the only catch is to like our facebook page or post something on our website or what the heck ever....I don't even know what, but I do know that social medial is an amazing tool.

We cannot afford to do edibles yet due to insurance costs (an additional $4500 per year minimum) and county regulatory costs to install and manage all the permits for a "commercial" kitchen but we do hope to in the future and we had a specific room wired with 220 and adequate outlets to put in a kitchen hopefully, maybe even after the first harvest, so we are poised to deal with all the volume of our outdoor summer crop. It will probably cost another $25,000 to do that and we just do not have enough in our budget to accomplish that yet. Everything I read about the legal market in CO says that edibles are a big deal and we cannot compete in that market at first but we will for sure be there sooner than later. I would love to do extracts, tinctures, oils, soaps, even concentrates...everything that can be done with this lovely plant that we can, but that will be down the line....one step at a time:-)

 

[Texas Kid]

Packages will have to be "child proof/resistant" like prescription medicine bottles are with the push down and twist lids...don't waste one second looking at anything else...foil packs will not qualify at all as child proof/resistant..look in your medicine cabinet at your last script for Augmenten or any other giant ass pills, that is what you will need and it will need to be opaque, transparent ones will not work...even if it is not specifically in the requirements yet..it will be.. so get ahead of the game and don't waste valuable time and money. Look to Colorado on this one and you'll save yourself alot of headache...pre-printed stickers in rolls is your way to make them unique to your store or grow, not the actual container itself

 

[baba G]

Packaging is a big part of the game here Mr. Whistle....so much so that I think it will be as critical at first at least as having a premium product because no one will ever know how good your product is if you can't "entice" them to buy it. Some of our ideas are:
1. A pretty similar pouch thing that is clear on one side and the label on the other side with a graphic of our logo visible as the background of the clear side and amounts from single grams up to ozs
2. Pre-rolled J's with W.O.W. Weed printed on the outer edge of the paper so it shows down the length of the doobie in singles, packages of 5, 3 with each one a different strain and full pack with our own "packs" with our logo and personal label printed on it
3. Sampler packs with 2, 3 or 4 different strains, a "trip-in" package with pre-grounded herb, papers, crutches, a sticker and a lighter with our logo
4. Metal tins with clear tops
5. Oriental take out foil lined containers
6. Colorful plastic reusable containers and every thing else I can figure out.
So far WA does not have any rules about child resistant packaging. If anyone else has any unique packaging ideas I would love to hear them:) Branding is going to be huge especially at first...when there are not a lot of players in the game...and we have a great opportunity to really make our name remembered....sought after even. It is possible. It is my goal. How it all plays out is yet to be determined:) We are putting together a facebook page and a website. I want to pimp out my gorgeous daughters to give out pinner joints at Sasquatch...but it can't be of our own weed unfortunately which is of course not that cool.....but still....we give out pinner's because that is not illegal here, and the only catch is to like our facebook page or post something on our website or what the heck ever....I don't even know what, but I do know that social medial is an amazing tool.

We cannot afford to do edibles yet due to insurance costs (an additional $4500 per year minimum) and county regulatory costs to install and manage all the permits for a "commercial" kitchen but we do hope to in the future and we had a specific room wired with 220 and adequate outlets to put in a kitchen hopefully, maybe even after the first harvest, so we are poised to deal with all the volume of our outdoor summer crop. It will probably cost another $25,000 to do that and we just do not have enough in our budget to accomplish that yet. Everything I read about the legal market in CO says that edibles are a big deal and we cannot compete in that market at first but we will for sure be there sooner than later. I would love to do extracts, tinctures, oils, soaps, even concentrates...everything that can be done with this lovely plant that we can, but that will be down the line....one step at a time:)

whatever you do, don't print on the paper that the herb is rolled in. Please, nobody wants to smoke ink...
Your going to be amazed at how long and how much time you put into packaging...most clubs have a person or 2 who only do packaging...

 

[WAkuntry]

Packages will have to be "child proof/resistant" like prescription medicine bottles are with the push down and twist lids...don't waste one second looking at anything else...foil packs will not qualify at all as child proof/resistant..look in your medicine cabinet at your last script for Augmenten or any other giant ass pills, that is what you will need and it will need to be opaque, transparent ones will not work...even if it is not specifically in the requirements yet..it will be.. so get ahead of the game and don't waste valuable time and money. Look to Colorado on this one and you'll save yourself alot of headache...pre-printed stickers in rolls is your way to make them unique to your store or grow, not the actual container itself

That is damn solid advice!

 

[inthegorge]

We of course have already procured the snap lid containers but so far there are no child resistant container requirements here. I have addressed the LCB on the issue repeatedly and they do not have those requirements...... but I think the key word here is YET. To be safe we got as many as we could early in the game but it remains to be seen how it plays out here. The LCB is famous for changing the rules mid way through. Packaging is huge, in time, cost and in getting people to buy the product since it is not on display in large amounts for the consumer to look at. No big jars of herb to look at before you buy....just pre-packaged items in sealed tamper proof containers. Our labels have to have a bunch of data on them as well as marketing info so there is much to consider and of course we are trying to do as much considering as we can:-) We hope to include a W.O.W. Weed sticker in each package no matter if it is a gram or an oz just to get them out there but our logo will be on our label as well as all the other stuff required by the LCB. I have spent countless late nights searching the web for appropriate packaging because this is a crucial part of the puzzle but still know there are things I have not thought of and if I could afford it I would hire a specialist in this field but alas...that is not the case and I will just have to keep trying to figure it all out.....modify as we go along seeing what works, what doesn't, and roll with the punches as the LCB changes thing mid game as they are so likely to do:-/

 

[Tank333]

Well when you are ready for that kitchen, let me know, ITG. Last summer we spent every penny we made on building our own commercial kitchen. It cost us a little over 12 grand, and we needed WAY more than you need. We bought a 10' hood w/fire supression and fan, two double-stacked ovens and a single oven witth 6 burners on top, a huge 3-door commercial fridge, and several other large items. All in all, I think you could do a processing kitchen for around ten grand, provided you bargain shop for most of your equipment... I can also help you jump though any hoops the health district or department of ag may want you to jump through. I've dealt with those guys for more than a year with our family's business, getting ourselves certified for baking and making candies and chocolates...

I know it's more fore insurance purposes, but I have a feeling that you will want to process most of your outdoor into value-added products. EVERYTHING in the stores will be tested for purity and contaminants, so there's not gonna be hiding anything from the consumers when it comes to quality. If anything doesn't pass QA, it can still be used for processing into value-added products. I'm thinking soda would give a great ROI. Carbonated water, syrup and a tiny bit of infused cannabis. It's nearly ALL profit...

 

[Seamaiden]

Diversification.

 

[baba G]

One of the tricks is that really KIND herb doesn't do well in storage or a sealed container unless it's perfect on RH and all before packaging. So much easier to have turkey or big bags that you can air out and whatnot imo

We of course have already procured the snap lid containers but so far there are no child resistant container requirements here. I have addressed the LCB on the issue repeatedly and they do not have those requirements...... but I think the key word here is YET. To be safe we got as many as we could early in the game but it remains to be seen how it plays out here. The LCB is famous for changing the rules mid way through. Packaging is huge, in time, cost and in getting people to buy the product since it is not on display in large amounts for the consumer to look at. No big jars of herb to look at before you buy....just pre-packaged items in sealed tamper proof containers. Our labels have to have a bunch of data on them as well as marketing info so there is much to consider and of course we are trying to do as much considering as we can:) We hope to include a W.O.W. Weed sticker in each package no matter if it is a gram or an oz just to get them out there but our logo will be on our label as well as all the other stuff required by the LCB. I have spent countless late nights searching the web for appropriate packaging because this is a crucial part of the puzzle but still know there are things I have not thought of and if I could afford it I would hire a specialist in this field but alas...that is not the case and I will just have to keep trying to figure it all out.....modify as we go along seeing what works, what doesn't, and roll with the punches as the LCB changes thing mid game as they are so likely to do:-/

what does W.O.W. stand for? I'm not a gamer but all I think when I see it is world of warcraft and this picture pops into my head....

 

[baba G]

We of course have already procured the snap lid containers but so far there are no child resistant container requirements here. I have addressed the LCB on the issue repeatedly and they do not have those requirements...... but I think the key word here is YET. To be safe we got as many as we could early in the game but it remains to be seen how it plays out here. The LCB is famous for changing the rules mid way through. Packaging is huge, in time, cost and in getting people to buy the product since it is not on display in large amounts for the consumer to look at. No big jars of herb to look at before you buy....just pre-packaged items in sealed tamper proof containers. Our labels have to have a bunch of data on them as well as marketing info so there is much to consider and of course we are trying to do as much considering as we can:) We hope to include a W.O.W. Weed sticker in each package no matter if it is a gram or an oz just to get them out there but our logo will be on our label as well as all the other stuff required by the LCB. I have spent countless late nights searching the web for appropriate packaging because this is a crucial part of the puzzle but still know there are things I have not thought of and if I could afford it I would hire a specialist in this field but alas...that is not the case and I will just have to keep trying to figure it all out.....modify as we go along seeing what works, what doesn't, and roll with the punches as the LCB changes thing mid game as they are so likely to do:-/

You may not need child proof packaging as beer isn't child proofed beyond the Identification process during purchase. Being sealed is a tough one though as people love to smell herb before buying it and even the med clubs cater to this...

 

[baba G]

We of course have already procured the snap lid containers but so far there are no child resistant container requirements here. I have addressed the LCB on the issue repeatedly and they do not have those requirements...... but I think the key word here is YET. To be safe we got as many as we could early in the game but it remains to be seen how it plays out here. The LCB is famous for changing the rules mid way through. Packaging is huge, in time, cost and in getting people to buy the product since it is not on display in large amounts for the consumer to look at. No big jars of herb to look at before you buy....just pre-packaged items in sealed tamper proof containers. Our labels have to have a bunch of data on them as well as marketing info so there is much to consider and of course we are trying to do as much considering as we can:) We hope to include a W.O.W. Weed sticker in each package no matter if it is a gram or an oz just to get them out there but our logo will be on our label as well as all the other stuff required by the LCB. I have spent countless late nights searching the web for appropriate packaging because this is a crucial part of the puzzle but still know there are things I have not thought of and if I could afford it I would hire a specialist in this field but alas...that is not the case and I will just have to keep trying to figure it all out.....modify as we go along seeing what works, what doesn't, and roll with the punches as the LCB changes thing mid game as they are so likely to do:-/

Just wanted to say, overall I'm happy for you and am stoked you have come this far. Getting through the first harvest will IMO be your toughest task yet, but it will be awesome to see your hard work on the shelf in a store and rewarding after all you've been through:D

 

[baba G]

I do apologize for the several posts in a row but I can't seem to edit them at all o_O

Are you looking into Nitrogen sealing your herbs?

 

[inthegorge]

Tobacco products are not in child proof containers either and I think that is sort of the model the LCB is going with here. For the recreational program in WA we did not start with medical cannabis and the medicine aspect is not the focus, hence no child proof containers which are required only on medical products and some very hazardous household items so I really am hoping the child proof restrictions will not come into being here. Again...if it does we will do it....end of story.

According to the dumb LCB rules we can provide 3 grams I think in a jar to a retail store that has a screen for people to smell. Now that is pretty much nothing....especially when the jar is opened hopefully many times during the day...it won't keep its lovely scent for long in that sort of situation without a good pinch or two and seriously....3 grams? To add to the ridiculousness we have to go and pick those jars back up from the retail store and dispose of it with our waste management plan, recording every step and leaving it in 72 hour quarantine before destroying it....!!! These LCB people are clueless. It is all a learning curve for all of us though so I imagine big changes in the rules as it moves forwards.

W.O.W. in our case stands for Wilson (me) Oglesbay and Woodard, the 3 partners in this venture but if you google WOW world of warcraft is always what pops up.....hilarious episode of SP by the way:-)

As to the commercial kitchen Tom....I could put one together for less than $5000 with my craigslist skills but it is the regulatory costs that will be too prohibitive...change of use permits and inspections, health department permits and inspections, insurance, and so many other things...I just hate to even think of having to go through everything involved when I just got done with jumping through hoops for the last 4 months:-( I am so looking forward to just growing some weed:-)))))

 

[inthegorge]

Well Mr. Baba...I thank you for that:-) We are working so hard and I just hope we are up to the task at hand. I am running myself ragged that is for sure..sometimes with just a few hours of sleep....12 or more hour shifts just because I don't want to leave the place alone....I am afraid to leave my babies unattended.....what if they need something and I am not there to take care of them..! Getting quite attached to the sweet little ladies I am:-)

It would be just beyond any failure I have ever experienced if we are not able to make this work out after putting so much of myself into it. Quite frankly some of the negative posts I got here just pushed me harder to succeed because I do not like to be criticized, especially after I reach out for help since I very seldom do, but then again...who does really. If this all hinges on sheer determination and hard work then I got this but of course life has a funny way of throwing us curve balls at the most inopportune time and we just hope that we can keep in step whatever comes our way.

 

[Texas Kid]

In the beginning the rules will change every week, ours are still changing pretty significantly about every 10 days or so....more than likely you won't be able to co-op or use a commissary kitchen model, cross contamination and joint licensing become a real problem real quick..If built out 2 different kitchen to the tune of about $300k and had the rules change and got zoned out before even firing up the ovens