Quality Edibles that are Actually Affordable? Here’s How.

One day, years ago, on a porch in Boulder, two friends volleyed a question back and forth: “Why  are cannabis edibles so damn expensive?”

That question, which at the time seemed like any old beer-infused porch debate, would become an important one for both of these men and for the cannabis community at large. 

Fast forward three years: friend one and friend two became the co-founders of NFuzed, a cannabis manufacturer operating in California and Colorado. Spencer Graff is chief of operations, putting his 15 years in corporate finance and operations to work. His high rank wasn’t enough to satisfy his dream of building his own business. Mark Hartwig is chief of research and development. After studying biochemistry, Mark was successful at a large organization, but also wanted to create instead of follow. Now, he allows his passions to drive a pretty serious tinkering habit and chooses what scientific avenues he pursues. 

During the years between, these friends dabbled, adapted, and pushed. They pulled all-nighters as if they were still students in Boulder. Except, now it wasn’t partying. It was running through an SOP for the 14th time, recalibrating a machine, writing a white paper to lobby for cannabis in Colorado, or debating down rabbit holes for hours until they saw eye-to-eye on every aspect of the production process under their newly rented warehouse roof. 

“Process improvement” isn’t a sexy phrase, but what these two have done with edible cannabis manufacturing is, in fact, interesting. They’ve changed the market in Colorado and aim to do so in California. They’ve brought the price of a 100mg THC bag of incredible-tasting gummies down to what they, along with most consumers, consider reasonable and accessable. And they’ve done this without using cheap ingredients and while sparing no expense on distillate. 

NFuzed produces an affordable bag of gummies not because they’re actually cheap, but because of intensive planning, review, pervasive efficiency, and the very best operation and workplace standards.

I asked Spencer, “What does it actually look like to become more efficient or to improve a process?” He gave me some examples:

“Here’s a simple example—we took a hard look at packaging. Packaging is a major cost of the goods that we buy. And that cost multiplies with multi-layered packaging.” 

NFuzed sticks to straightforward, single bags that keep the goods fresh and meet FDA and child-proofing standards. This lowers costs, reduces waste, and reduces the steps involved in their production process. 

Next, they modified and re-modified the factory floor. They integrated production lines to eliminate the need for extra operators, aka the folks who have to stand there for hours a day in repetitive motions. Those staff members were able to become cross-trained and help with other aspects of the business. “We have an operator who now spends half of her day doing pop-ups or patient-appreciation-days at dispensaries and creating content for social media,” Spencer explains

Another worthy quest for NFuzed was something called Process Verification (PV). NFuzed fought tooth-and-nail to achieve this distinction. PV is when a third-party lab, sanctioned by the state Marijuana Enforcement Divisions (MED), grants a certificate to a cannabis manufacturer, stating that their process has been verified. Verified means that the lab repeatedly scrutinized the standards of operation at each and every step in production. 

They conducted so many tests and ran so many statistical analyses with positive outcomes, that they are confident the failure rate of that manufacturing system is miniscule, almost non-existent. To put this in real cannabis terms, the lab and the state say that the process makes consistent edibles at a rate approaching always. 

A PV certificate means NFuzed has an “A+” next to their name from a cannabis product standpoint. And it means that the gummies coming out of that factory have spot-on consistency. As for NFuzed’s mission to keep prices low, it means not only a huge savings in shipping and lab fees on each and every batch, but also the time (equals money) saved on waiting for approvals. Instead, the MED does random audits to be sure the process continues to be rock-solid, and NFuzed continues to pass their savings on to cannabis users. 

In California, PV hasn’t been offered yet in the cannabis industry, so every single batch is still tested. NFuzed replicated Colorado’s process to the “T” in California. So, while not surprising, it is notable that there have been zero errors from the California factory as well. 

“The process is the star here. Yeah, it took a ton of planning, and I couldn’t even begin to count the hours of our lives that went into this, but it’s been worth it in a lot of ways. Most of all because it lets us keep our wholesale prices lower than the market. I mean, we are actually redefining what a ‘good’ price on edibles looks like in Colorado and we’re on our way to doing that in California as well,” says Spencer.

All of the thought, planning, and man-hours that went into this process allows NFuzed to create good products for less without having to cut corners. The distillate is excellent; the staff all have good wages, insurance packages, and input, and the gummies … well, they’re delicious. 

Spencer and Mark answered their question with a creation, an innovation, a revelation. With their dedication, they’ve developed a win-win-win. Dispensaries win with fantastic margins over the low wholesale prices; consumers win because even after the retailers take their piece, the price is still amazing, and NFuzed wins the opportunity to continue researching new exciting products to sell. They get to continue their pursuit and of fresh innovation and affordability.