James Crosby Wants You To ‘Eat Your Greens’ With New Edibles Business
SAINT JOHN– The president of Crosby’s Molasses will be stepping into the cannabis edibles game with his new business.
EYG Consumables (EYG stands for “Eat Your Greens”) is a new business that will manufacture cannabis edibles for the recreational market.
James Crosby, who is EYG’s founder and president, says his decision to start the company came from the desire to grow and diversify in the food manufacturing space.
“A couple of years ago as discussions about legal cannabis started happening, there was a lot of discussion around future smokeless forms of consumption,” said Crosby in an interview with Huddle. “We firmly believe that is the future and that our skills of producing safe-quality food at scale are transferable. We’re looking to take what we do today and replicate it within the cannabis space.”
Though EYG is a separate business, it’s management services will be contracted from Crosby’s Molasses. The company has bought a plot of the land at the McAllister Industrial Park where its facility is in the process of being built. Once that’s complete, the company will then be able to finish the final step in the regulatory approval process to operate.
“Our focus right now is on completing the building, because until you have the building complete, you can’t receive your license,” said Crosby. “We’ve gone through the pre-screening and the screening phases application, and the final step in our application is submitting our evidence package, and in order to submit our evidence package, the building needs to be finished.”
Crosby said they are in the process of product development, but says their first product on the market will be CBD water-soluble powders.
“I think the CBD will be an easier entry point for most people because not everyone is interested in the psychoactive properties of cannabis. We’re going to focus initially on powder beverages. Basically single-server, familiar formats,” he said.
“We’re going to fill drink sticks with conventional beverage blends, whether those are drink crystals, ice teas, hot chocolates, soluble coffee products, et cetera.”
EYG Consumables is still looking for the right licensed cannabis supplier to partner with.
“We’re looking for collaborators and we have ongoing discussions with a few different licensed producers. We certainly like to source ingredients from local providers wherever possible,” said Crosby. “The real challenge is around the active ingredient because we don’t have any proprietary cannabis knowledge. We’re food producers, so right now, we’re really on the hunt for that water-soluble cannabinoid powder.”
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With more construction and the final Health Canada approval still ahead, Crosby said EYG Consumables will not be operating in time for the legal sale date later this fall.
“Initially, the people in the space are going to be licensed producers, the cannabis companies,” said Crosby.
“We’re not going to be the first company to market, but I believe we will be among the first companies in the space and that’s really what we’re striving for.”
Crosby’s Molasses has been in the food manufacturing business for 140 years. That’s a long time, but as the industry evolves, Crosby says it’s important to evolve with it.
“Like all companies, we need to be adaptable. We need to pursue growth if we want to be around for another generation and that’s my goal. My goal is to not just play it safe, I think that’s very dangerous,” Crosby said. “I think we have to be open to trying new things and open to exploring new opportunities. This is a once-in-a-lifetime entrepreneurial opportunity and our skills are transferable. That’s what excites me about it.”