Jake Heimark x PLUS Products
The United States CBD market is projected to surpass $20 billion by 2024.
For entrepreneur Jake Heimark, co-founder and CEO of PLUS Products, the burgeoning growth of the CBD industry presents tremendous opportunity. In the past five to ten years, a new vernacular has emerged and CBD has become increasingly integrated into mainstream society affecting industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food/beverage and wellness/recreation. However, with such promising potential comes the challenge of creating a start-up that pushes the envelope of existing cultural and legal frameworks.
CBD versus THC
CBD is one of the two main compounds found in the Cannabis plant (a.k.a marijuana). Unlike it’s cousin ingredient, THC, CBD is non-psychoactive, and targets different receptors in the brain which reduce the body’s somatic and cognitive manifestations of anxiety. THC and Marjuana remain designated as illegal substances by the federal government, with sale legalization left to the discretion of state governments. In June 2018, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized the medicinal effects of CBD leading to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reclassification of pharmaceutical CBD as a non-threatening controlled substance. A new vernacular has emerged to address the convergence of the health/wellness and CBD industries. Instead of being associated with criminalization and rebel culture, CBD has aligned itself with public health concerns and revolutionized the cannabis marketplace.
Heimark advises future entrepreneurs: “If you are creating a company or product that is a disruptor in any way or pushes the envelope on certain structural frameworks it is important to not just understand what the letter of the law is but also why the law or regulators who are regulating you or your industry do what they do”
PLUS Products
Founded in 2015, PLUS Products manufactures high-quality CBD food products that address consumer health and wellness. In September 2019, PLUS launched their “Balance”, “Uplift” and “Sleep” CBD-infused gummy product offering with the mission of “bringing balance to peoples’ lives using nature”. In order to combat the legal barriers associated with the cannabis industry, Heinmark addresses how PLUS spends a significant portion of its time and resources on ensuring food safety, building an employee body that is equally invested and aligned with company values, and establishing a connection with solid manufacturing companies and investors.
The cannabis industry has been characterized by fluctuating demand due to its variable legal status. However, because the understanding of CBD’s specific characteristics and effects, independent of those associated with TCH, are largely misunderstood, there remains a stigma surrounding CBD products. For example, the New York Stock Exchange will not take listings for cannabis companies and very few Over-The-Counter companies have more than a billion dollar market cap. PLUS Products strategically took early investment from a Canadian funding group, but in exchange were required to go public in order to ensure financial transparency. Heimark alluded TO the importance of establishing a solid business plan and asking for more money than was needed. He found that when investors had confidence in the company's business plan, and could envision a return on their investment, they were more likely to invest.
Heimark highlights that one of the company’s greatest assets is that it functions as a family company culturally: “...family companies put an emphasis on taking care of the product and the brand… this is especially important in edge and highly fluctuating industries [i.e cannabis/CBD] where it is more likely [the company will have] odd things happen that change [its] direction… the more aligned you are as a team then the more successful your company will be”.
“When we started this journey, we set out to make a company that would make our grandmas proud”