With a majority of cannabis companies focusing on automation for higher volume and lower cost of goods sold, concentrate packaging remains one of the last frontiers in cannabis automation. Historically, producing a high quality concentrate requires hours of labor to extract, wash, sift and/or press and then to package by hand on a scale. A process which does not align in a state like MI with some of the lowest prices for adult use cannabis in the country.
THCA is the dominant cannabinoid in a majority of concentrates. It is a crystalline solid, unlike THC, which makes it difficult to semi-automate the packaging of this molecule using traditional vape filling technologies. Using a patented hydrocarbon extraction technique, ethanol, a filling device modified from laboratory scraps and a vacuum oven, Bud & Mary’s was able to develop and patent a second process for semi-automating the packaging of concentrates. The end result, Batch sugar wax, was the first concentrate to be produced, tested and sold in Iowa. It’s creativity goes beyond its unique appearance and consistency due to a patent protected process all the way to the expedited timeline with which it can be produced.
Zach Baker; Director of Processing, Bud & Mary’s
Zach was born and raised in Iowa and attended the University of Iowa, where he received his Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry in 2013. After wondering about the country as a semi-professional distance runner for a few years, Zach eventually fell back on his degree in 2018 and became one of the first employees at Iowa’s first licensed medical cannabis facility – Bud & Mary’s. In five plus years in the industry, Zach advanced from intern to associate to manager and now director in the company, highlighted by two successful vape/concentrate formulations, amassing over $3M in total net sales, and two US patents.