While most cannabis companies are rushing to get as big as possible Ocean Cannabis Company is embracing the 'boutique-ness'. Patrick Ersig and Mary Ersig join Dan Humiston to talk about overseeing their products development to maintain their Craft-Status. Their personal commitment to their brand extends to using reclaimed ocean plastic for their packaging. Produced by PodCONX https://podconx.com/guests/patrick-ersig https://podconx.com/guests/nary-ersig
While most cannabis companies are rushing to get as big as possible Ocean Cannabis Company is embracing the 'boutique-ness'. Patrick Ersig and Mary Ersig join Dan Humiston to talk about overseeing their products development to maintain their Craft-Status. Their personal commitment to their brand extends to using reclaimed ocean plastic for their packaging.
https://podconx.com/guests/patrick-ersig
https://podconx.com/guests/nary-ersig
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. Tuesday night, 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 on our product.
Patrick Ersig: [00:00:45] So all the island, their folks go out the path that they're going to back people on the island, and then turn out or recycle Napster through cycles of happening and takes that material and they turn it into child Resistant to Every Time You Buy.One of our disposable vapes is the equivalent of only fifteen straws, a one watt water bottle out of the ocean from MJBulls Media.
Dan Humiston: [00:01:20] It's the Raising Cannabis Capital shelf. I'm Dan Humiston. And on today's show, how this boutique Cannabis company is embracing their crafting roots while still making a commitment to improving the environment.
Dan Humiston: [00:01:45] Today in Raising Cannabis Capital, we're joined by Mary and Patrick Ersig from Ocean Cannabis Company, Mary and Patrick. Welcome to the show.
Mary Ersig: [00:01:53] Hi, Dan.. Thanks for having us.
Dan Humiston: [00:01:56] I'm great. And I really appreciate you taking the time out today to talk to us about the all the great work that you're doing. I've been doing research on your company, and the environmental awareness that you're creating is really inspiring. I can't wait to really jump into it. Your company's commitment to improving our planet and really dig into that. But before we do, let's talk what your company, Ocean Cannabis Company, kind of seems like you're going a little bit against the while the rest of the industry is just can't wait to get as big as possible. You seem to be embracing this small batch boutique Cannabis producer approach, which is refreshing to me. Can we maybe explain to our listeners your strategy?
Patrick Ersig: [00:02:37] We're family owned and operated net or ourselves and privately, individually funded. We have really made our success in this business by just taking one step every day. Instead of trying to take 10 steps every day, just take one step every day of the year. We're in 65 steps. Being a little bit smaller has allowed us also to navigate some of the regulations, some of the changes. And as these things pop up all the time that we didn't know, we're going to plan on that before we're able to make changes quicker. And that has really helped us in navigating this tool emerging market. We want to do things right. We want to be fast. You want to have the best of the best product. And sometimes that's not always by making the most to be the biggest. Everyone's trying to be the Budweiser Cannabis rather than focus on really making something good. Right. And that really connects with the consumer. And that's a great example with the whole beer market, because you see a lot of that basically connect with the consumer, gets them.
Dan Humiston: [00:03:45] I couldn't agree more. I think the beer Cannabis enthusiasts are going to be turned away from the Budweiser Anheuser Busch approach to producing Cannabis and are going to look for companies like yours.
Patrick Ersig: [00:03:57] Yeah, we think so too. We have found that to be the case and we're really trying to build not just customers, but loyal fans of the brand. Know a team of people who are coming together to do something good for this world and get high. Enjoy life in Cannabis.
Dan Humiston: [00:04:12] The things that I know a bunch of ocean Cannabis companies. Disciple's out there speaking and spreading the gospel. No other words. Yeah, that's good. Tell us a little bit about your products.
Patrick Ersig: [00:04:23] We have our products, so we have these parts in disposables. We have the technical turps. It's come from natural organic matter. And then we have the light resin turps which comes from fresh frozen Cannabis. We also do concentrate. So we have shatters diamonds of sugars, available concentrates and we also do Premal. But that's basically I kind of like Trevett Hill of that.
Dan Humiston: [00:04:52] But I think I saw on your Web site, by the way, the website's great work and customers get these products.
Patrick Ersig: [00:05:00] Yeah, mostly in Southern California right now we're really looking forward in the next three to six months of really expanding into Northern California, central California.
Patrick Ersig: [00:05:10] But for the most part, right in L.A. and Southern California,.
Dan Humiston: [00:05:14] It's kind of like in and out burger. You need to be within a certain radius in order to take advantage of this great stuff. Yeah.
Dan Humiston: [00:05:23] Take a short break to let you listen to a quick preview of our next episode.
Erich Pearson: [00:05:28] Something that's biodynamic. There's a baseline requirement of using organic inputs to produce that product. However, the inputs have to be sourced locally. And that's what I really like about biodynamic is you can have an organic product. But because there's no requirement where those inputs come from, it's very possible to have an organic product that has quite a large carbon footprint.
Dan Humiston: [00:05:53] Tune in on Thursday to hear the first episode of the Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight series with Eric Pearson from Sparc. Now let's get back to today's show.
Dan Humiston: [00:06:07] Let's talk a little bit about the work that you're doing on behalf of, I should say, on behalf of our entire planet. I didn't appreciate how devastating plastic in the oceans are until I read through your Web site. And if you can take a minute just to give our listeners an idea of how plastic in the ocean has an impact on everybody. I think it's really eye eye-opening.
Mary Ersig: [00:06:31] It kills like a million seabirds every year on the Pacific Ocean, sand and other marine life. It is affected. And the amount of plastic that is put in to the ocean every day that a garbage truck out of plastic is dumped in the ocean every minute.
Erich Pearson: [00:06:48] How very abundant. Redefine how .
Erich Pearson: [00:06:53] So we're really happy to be able to take some of that.
Dan Humiston: [00:06:57] Tell us how you do that and you explain to us the whole process for your packaging, how you utilize this recaptured plastic.
Patrick Ersig: [00:07:04] Yes, sir. Let me back up a little bit. When everything works in the medical market, the recreational market in California, the packaging requirements became much more stringent. You're required to have tamper evidence and child resistant. Most pathogens have multiple layers because of the required information that has to go on the outside of the package. And these are all great things because they help keep the consumer safe. And you know that what you're getting is what it is. But at the same time, you noticed there was a big problem with waste. And a lot of people inside the cannabis industry, we're talking about the amount of waste that was created by the packaging. Our first part is it came off and we will market. It was hugely what it was like dizzily. This is we have one tube inside of another tube in Styrofoam saying it was someone like, oh, my gosh, this is crazy. We started to look for more sustainable options that are out there so that we could still comply with the regulations. And at the same time be more sustainable. And that's when we found property in an ocean mover and also works, collects all the plastic and they recycle up another plastic that comes from our product. All comes from Haiti. So all throughout the island there, boats that go out, they put up the plastic, they bring the back people on the island, sort it. And then it turned out for recycling after it's recycled packaging and takes that material and they turn it into our child resistant tubes every time you buy. One of our disposable vapes is the equivalent of formerly fifteen straws, a one watt water bottle out of the ocean. And I think right now we're a little over two tons of plastic out of the ocean. And our goal for 2020 is about 10 tons of plastic being pulled out of the ocean.
Dan Humiston: [00:08:57] It's just so inspiring. And what I love about what you're doing is you're not just doing it in behind the scenes. You're educating people. And I mean, you have an entire page on your Web site dedicated to this. It seems to be a company wide commitment to wanting to do it. It's another thing to try to educate people and to try to see if we can get other people within the community to to follow your lead.
Patrick Ersig: [00:09:19] You know, everybody can't be perfect, but everyone can just be a little here and there. Then that can make a huge impact. If enough people can just make small changes, then that at straws buying something that's made out of recycled plastic or recycled material. There's also Hemp plastic also, which is another alternative and doing the little bit that we can if we get enough people to do it altogether, it makes a huge impact.
Dan Humiston: [00:09:43] It certainly does. It certainly does. If you have an option between, you know, one that's made with recaptured plastic versus one that has not and everything else is the same. Why not do the right thing? That's right. Yeah, I think that's great. You talked about expanding your reach. Will you be raising any money to help facilitate that?
Patrick Ersig: [00:10:06] At this point, right now, we are not actively raising capital. We are truly privately funded, but we are absolutely willing to explore more mutually beneficial opportunities in the future. Our focus right now is really to get a good foothold in California. We believe we can do that first. That will help us then to expand into other states to do it right.
Dan Humiston: [00:10:32] Keeps this boutique approach going because it seems to be working great.And we've seen it that model work in the beverage industry. I'm assuming it will play out very similar. Lee, in the Cannabis industry.
Erich Pearson: [00:10:45] Yeah, well, that's our hope. We think so, too. Yeah. You know, nobody's looking for the biggest, smallest mass produced, I think, especially the cars. You know, it's you know, if you put it like that on the batteries. And so there's been embarrassed like that with wine.
Dan Humiston: [00:10:58] It's a whole nother category. Well, we've been speaking with Mary and Patrick Ersig from Ocean Cannabis Company. And you can find all their information in the show notes today or on the MJBulls dot com Web site, Patrick Mary. Thanks for being on the show today. And more important, thanks for your commitment to the environment. We all appreciate what you're doing. Keep it up.
Patrick Ersig: [00:11:19] Yeah. Thanks. Thanks, Dan.. Thanks for having the family together.
Dan Humiston: [00:11:24] 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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