Over half of the worlds population lives in Asia-Pacific and Altum International is bringing cannabis back to this part of the world. Fiachra Mullen & Ean Alexander join Dan Humiston to talk about introducing CBD and other cannabinoids to APAC from their "beach-head" in Hong Kong. Produced by PodCONX https://podconx.com/guests/ean-alexander https://podconx.com/guests/fiachra-mullen
Over half of the worlds population lives in Asia-Pacific and Altum International is bringing cannabis back to this part of the world. Fiachra Mullen & Ean Alexander join Dan Humiston to talk about introducing CBD and other cannabinoids to APAC from their "beach-head" in Hong Kong.
https://podconx.com/guests/ean-alexander
https://podconx.com/guests/fiachra-mullen
Dan Humiston: [00:00:00] Just a quick reminder before we start today's show that the Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight series sponsored by Helix Bio Trac begins on March 6th. This 12 part series features cannabis dispensary owners from throughout the United States and Canada. Listen every Thursday and Sunday to your fascinating insight into all the different strategies that these pioneering retailers are using to crack the national and international expansion code. Tune in on March 6th to hear Episode 1 of the Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight series sponsored by Helix Bio Track and playing exclusively on the Raising Cannabis Capital podcast.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:00:43] When it comes to Asia, we really like to think about our market opportunity, says Oh T-C versus prescription. We very much feel that THC will remain prescription.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:00:53] She's a big o t-c or over the counter nonprescription opportunity to be CBD and other minor cannabinoids. And it's got focus I think, which is allowing us to establish such a such a beachhead in markets such as Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand.
Dan Humiston: [00:01:12] From MJ MJBulls Media. It's the Raising Cannabis Capital show. I'm Dan Humiston. And on today's show, how this Cannabis company has established a beachhead in Hong Kong. It is expanding their brand throughout the Asia Pacific region.
Dan Humiston: [00:01:40] Today, a Raising Cannabis Capital. We are joined by Fiachra Mullen and Ean Alexander from Altum Fiachra and Ean, welcome to the show.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:01:50] Thanks, Dan.. Great to be here.
Dan Humiston: [00:01:52] Well, I appreciate you taking time out of your day to talk about Cannabis opportunities in the Asia Pacific. And just so our listeners have a frame of reference when we're talking about Asia Pacific, we're referring to the continents of Asia and Australia. And before I start, I want to give our listeners a quick warning. If trying to wrap your heads around Cannabis opportunities in a single state gives you a headache. This episode could blow your mind the air. The words we were talking about contains more than half the world's population. Let's take this from a macro level. We know the scale of the opportunity is unimaginable. Let's just start off with some of the challenges.
Ean Alexander: [00:02:33] Thanks, Dan.. Yeah, look, great question. We obviously cover a very broad place of the world, as you mentioned, sort of approximately 51 percent of the world's population. And within that, we've got a number of different countries and jurisdictions. And then cultural challenge is to have to deal with. So for us in Haltom, you know, we re very much focused on on immediate market access and delivering access for consumers in Asian Pacific markets to cannabinoid products. And I guess without background in Asia networks, I think we're trying to address the challenges that we see. We wouldn't be that much dissimilar from what the US colleagues of ours are facing as they enter different states or even look internationally.
Dan Humiston: [00:03:15] You know, when you said it couldn't be much different than United States put the one big difference is that there's a lot of different cultures there. United States, we all speak the same language, basically. And it's a similar culture. But you're dealing with a lot of different cultures, right?
Ean Alexander: [00:03:31] That's right. That's right. We've had experiences in dealing with this in different industries and sectors. There are a number of years. So, again, I think for us, you're a part of our strategy is that we've set up in Hong Kong. So we've really created a beachhead or a starting point to enter those Asian markets effectively. And what we want to do is really set up our operational and thousand marketing function. Then that will enable us to to operate as a business in Asia. But then, as needed, will expand into those separate markets and create appropriate structures.
Dan Humiston: [00:04:03] Starting off in Hong Kong, I'm sure gives you a huge advantage because like you said, you have a beachhead there. But the products you have to really take into account the different cultures and what's important to each group. It's not a one size fits all, even with the branding on the products or in any aspect of the products.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:04:21] Absolutely. Yes. One thing that's really interesting about Asia down is that it actually is not strong Cannabis culture historically. So countries such as India and Thailand's large parts of western China all have very strong like established cultures that's consuming Cannabis. And it was really just post-World War 2 when the US was in the genetic position. It is today that it forced a lot of these countries to remove candidates from their cultures and from their traditional medicine. So we are navigating a very interesting and cultural legal framework where as a first principle, alten does want to build brands for Asian consumers rather than importing brands from North America, for example, because we know that the brands Dena. out the right cues and cultural ties to those consumer populations to be relevant to them.
Dan Humiston: [00:05:13] I think you really hit the mark there in your business model. You have your supply came already locked down so that you don't have to focus on bringing in the products as much as you can focus on the marketing side and breaking into all these new markets, which I think that's a mosque. You can't imagine doing the manufacturing and everything. I don't know that that would be possible yet.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:05:35] You're spot on. You know, like many consumer goods industries that aren't Cannabis, they end up maturing to a point where there's a very strong infrastructure and a layer of contract manufacturing and production partnership opportunity. And we've found in North America after about 18 months, that hard work on the ground there and some very, very capable, forward looking manufacturing partners with whom we had very good working relationship. And so, as you said, outsourcing the cultivation and production risk and droughts and really allows us to focus on the import pathway challenges for each of these markets. And also on the brand development, consumer activation, education challenge and market as well. One interesting point, maybe your listeners might be that we don't think the medicinal and recreational labels travel very well at sort of North America. I'm not sure if you've noticed that, but when it comes to Asia, we really like to think about our market opportunities as HPC versus prescription. Okay. And we very much feel that. THC will remain prescription for almost as long in the future as you could plan as a business. Except for maybe specific exceptions. We may see New Zealand's turn recreational later this year. They're going to have a vote in New Zealand at the end of the year on an adult use. Markus But the rest of Asia really we see we see the big 0 T-C or over the counter nonprescription opportunity to be CBD and other minor cannabinoids. It's got focus I think, which is allowing us to establish such such a beachhead in markets such as Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand in their kind of ties into what you refer to as minimum viable cannabinoids.
Dan Humiston: [00:07:20] So you take each market and establish what their parameters are and you build your products accordingly. Is that how that works? Exactly.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:07:27] But we can take uncommons example, the Hong Kong framework, the regulatory framework governing Cannabis. Let's put it simply, it's not in place.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:07:36] And so there is no clean, well signposted route through which you can navigate and achieve the ability to input or say, THC or CBD products into our income.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:07:50] And so we've spent about three to six months working with the Hong Kong regulator, going through a series of yes no decisions and handed them around what we can and can't do. And so at the moment in Hong Kong, for example, we have established the licensing pathway to import its CBD products as well as a selection of their minor cannabinoid products while the market. That's it's pretty exciting. It's probably our most progressive market in the region and with minimum viable cannabinoid we're referring to. Yes.
Fiachra Mullen: [00:08:17] What's that minimum viable over the counter consumer products, whether it's a pet food cosmetic or just a more classical tincture or soft show that we can import and sell without our consumers needing prescriptions. We do kind of those is the big volume, high impact opportunities to make a change in the region.
Ean Alexander: [00:08:35] As he pointed out then, I think that also highlights is that each market is different. Our regulatory requirements in each market will be unique. And so there's a lot of in-house IP around that knowledge of how to access markets and what products we can enter market with.
Dan Humiston: [00:08:55] I think a short break to let you listen to a quick preview of our next episode.
Patrick Esrig: [00:09:00] That comes from our product comes from Hemp. So all throughout the island, they have boats that go out and pick up the plastic. They bring the back. People on the island sort it. And then it turned out for the not to recycle. Packaging them takes that material and they turn it into our tiled read and tubes every time you buy one of our pillows. Disposable. Is the equivalent of only 15 straws, a one watt water bottle out of the ocean.
Dan Humiston: [00:09:31] Tune in on Sunday to hear Mary and Patrick Ursy from Ocean Cannabis Company. And now let's get back to today's show.
Dan Humiston: [00:09:43] Where would you feel would be your next one or two markets that you think you'll be in?
Ean Alexander: [00:09:47] Great question. So I think for us, we're very focused on more of those Asian markets that are open, such as China and and potentially Japan. But I think if something like Thailand has actually passed this as it stands, I mean, that could certainly pro-cop our projections.
Dan Humiston: [00:10:02] Well, it's definitely a challenge as a first mover in this. Huge benefits, of course, but you have to wear a lot of different hats. Speaking of that, it's got to be kind of expensive. Are you in the process of raising capital?
Ean Alexander: [00:10:15] Are great. I feel like there's a lot of companies out there currently raising capital. Look for us. We're shortly about to launch our series Ihram following a lot of interest in the region over what we're doing and how we're doing it.
Ean Alexander: [00:10:27] The main use of our capital raises into increasing the resourcing of that company. Our sales and marketing team and execution abilities out of Hong Kong. Additionally, we need to invest in inventory and develop our product. Again, I think for us where the prime use of our capital raise is going to be using driving execution, Cannabis industry is probably guilty of over promising and under-delivering. We hope we're different, but we've got a strong focus on our sales and marketing function because we know that to be a profitable business in the future, he can't sell something. You don't have a business looking forward to kicking that often in the coming months and engaging with investors both in North America and and throughout Asia.
Ean Alexander: [00:11:09] What is nice about being an early mover in Asia is that no significant margin compression. I don't think we're observing in North America, in large parts of Europe, especially in CBD, which is very far from occurring here. That's the silver lining to the challenge of being early. But the margins are worthwhile at this time across the range of products that we're bringing to market.
Dan Humiston: [00:11:31] Well, I'd give you a lot of credit. Trying to tackle half the world's population by yourself is going to be okay. So it's got to be that stands out or somebody has got to do it. We've been speaking to Free Akra and Ian from Altan and we have all of their contact information in the show, notes in at the MJ Bulls dicom Web site.
Dan Humiston: [00:11:52] Guys, I appreciate you being on the show. Hopefully next time we can do this interview face to face.
Dan Humiston: [00:11:56] I'll come over there doing the interview,
Ean Alexander: [00:11:56] with that person and and talk
Dan Humiston: [00:12:01] Yeah, well, let's make sure that.
Ean Alexander: [00:12:03] Thanks very much for having us on the show. My pleasure.
Dan Humiston: [00:12:09] Today's show was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors, like all 36, the country's premiere blockchain payment processing platform that's providing dispensaries and its customers with a safe and secure payment option other than cash. To learn more, go to all 236.com. Today's podcast was produced by MJ Bulls Media, the industry's premier Cannabis podcast network with original music, produced in part by Jamie Humiston. I'm Dan Humiston and you've been listening to the Raising Cannabis Capital podcast.
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