Once again, the investor pitch competition is a high point for Emerge. Four businesses attended a virtual cannabis conference that emerged in spring 2021 in hopes of winning, but the year ended with a twist.

For the first time, Halal and Malaysian distribution tied for first place.

Leafwire and Regnabis host an investor pitch competition. All four ventures are pulling out all the stops to secure a $5 million capital pool managed by Regennabis.

Haram is a Sustainablee CBD lifestyle brand.

While the company is currently focused on CBD products, it plans to expand into apparel and other lifestyle options.

Mahala Herron, founder of Hala Hemp, also said the company is committed to incorporating fair trade practices into its business model.

“I feel like what we’re missing in the world is simply caring about the brands they endorse, just as consumers care about the brands they buy themselves,” Herron said. “So, it’s one thing for consumers to buy from a brand, but who is that brand buying from? Who is that brand supporting?”

Hala also launched an initiative called Hala Sustainability. This is a pilot project aimed at setting sustainable standards for cannabis.

“Everything I urge other brands to do, we do it ourselves,” Herron said. “We’ve put some guidelines on the website for things you can do. However, we encourage brands to contact us and come to us so we can inform them how to be more sustainable and implement these sustainable practices such as fairness trade, water conservation, etc.”

Tied for first place is Dama Distributing.

Dama Distributing is a locally owned and operated company located in Colorado. The company is developing sustainable, home compostable and compliant packaging for the hemp/cannabis industry and various other industries.

“Everything we do is environmentally friendly,” said Cole Gibbs, founder and CEO of Dama Distributing. “We don’t use any petroleum plastic. We use hemp plastic and hemp paper, numb fabric. We’re trying to be a one-stop shop for anyone in the industry looking for truly sustainable packaging solutions. “

Dama is seeking $20-30 million in funding to build a new facility to manufacture their products at a commercial level.

“We just need a little help to get there so we can actually start eliminating more and more single-use plastics,” Gibbs said. “Right now, we’re eliminating about three-and-a-half tons of material a month. We want to increase it to 100 or even 1,000 tons per month.”

Gibbs said Dama’s sustainable plastic is only 0.10-0.25 cents more expensive than conventional plastic, while in the past, other options cost $1 more per item.

“We found that if businesses were unwilling to absorb the price difference, consumers were willing to pay for it,” he said. “The NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business conducted a study to determine whether it would be worthwhile to switch to sustainable packaging and provide consumers with sustainable options. They found that between 2013 and 2018, businesses that market sustainable options sales increased by 29%.”

Number three at the investor presentation was BizBoxes. Essentially a software service, BizBoxes is developing a hands-free solution for selling cannabis in dispensaries. Think of it like software running a cannabis ATM or a Redbox for weeding.

BizBoxes can retrofit their solution into existing vending machines, lockboxes, and more.

“We help cannabis retailers by delivering or dispensing cannabis to customers in a more efficient and less capital-intensive way,” said Elsbeth Hurry, founder and CEO of BizBoxes. “We also provide end customers with more convenient locations. and a unique and fast delivery experience.”

Come on, they noticed the increasing demand and overall cost of opening a pharmacy, and they thought there might be a better way. The original vision was a cannabis ATM, which they say is still a possibility.

“If you look at the numbers from now to seven years from now, and the expected growth, it looks like an opportunity,” Hurry said. “Because there aren’t enough people, entrepreneur There are really enough retailers that can come in, or from a profit standpoint, they can grow as much as they want. “

The company is currently working to raise $1.8 million to get the product through testing and its pilot program. ?