Written by The Strategy
Last October, Team TS ventured to Brant County for a visit to 48North’s Good:Farm. On this day, April 20th, a.k.a 420 – a day when marijuana is celebrated, we wanted to share with you what we learned.
The visit took place on a chilly fall day as the first crop was being harvested. Driving up, we saw acres of emerald green and purple fields and our noses were filled with the scent of Silver Lemon and other cannabis cultivars that grow naturally in Ontario. After our tour, we sat down with 48North’s founder, and former-CEO, Alison Gordon, to learn more about 48North.
The Facts
48North’s Good:Farm was launched in 2019, and is a 100 acre organic outdoor marijuana farm. 88 of the 100 acres is used to grow the product, which translates to about 3.5 million sq ft. It is the largest (legal) outdoor marijuana farm in the world, with around 7 varieties of plants. Good:Farm produces products that “will be infused with sun-grown, organic cannabis, perfect for the eco-conscious and wellness minded consumer.”
The Chat with Alison
What exactly is 48 North?
48North is a licensed producer of marijuana in Canada and the US. We grow, extract, and manufacture with cannabis. We are one of the few companies in Canada who are licensed to do that. We have three licenses, three facilities, and the largest legal outdoor grow in the world, as one of our cultivation sites.
Where does the name 48North come from?
That’s the latitude of our very first facility in Northern Ontario.
What lead to the creation of 48North?
I came into 48North when it another company. It had another facility, it had no license, etc. So, I didn’t start from scratch. I was brought in to help figure out what to do with this asset. What drove us to create 48North is that, I saw in the market a sea of sameness, and there wasn’t a Licensed Producer that I could see, that had an authenticity of people who genuinely love weed and wanted to create the best products out there.
What were the biggest challenges in starting and how did you ensure success?
I came in at an early stage, but I didn’t have to worry about that initial start point. There were so many challenges in the industry at the time I took over. The company had no money. It was very difficult to raise money for a small cultivation company in Canada. I had to articulate that we weren’t like every other company out there. Luckily, I had already been in the industry, and had some credibility that allowed us to raise the money. It is a highly regulated space. Everything you want to do, you have to work with Health Canada. There aren’t that many stores in Ontario, so you don’t have many places to sell your product. There are many daily challenges that continue today.
In addition to Good:Farm, 48North also operates two indoor facilities in Ontario: DelShen and Good:House. Their product offerings include the flower itself, pre-rolls, topicals, vapes and other accruements, which are available for purchase at the Ontario Cannabis Store.
