Just before bidding adieu to 2023, we received a much-needed dose of positivity from Kevin Varner of Royal Harvest. Kevin's bright outlook for the future of cannabis was truly inspiring, and he shared the motivational mindset that keeps him going despite decades of struggle and setbacks. It's not common to hear about someone expanding their mirco to a standard these days, yet Kevin is doing it anyway, a testament to his hard work paying off. If you want to uplift your mood, we highly recommend watching the replay of episode 41 of The State of Craft.
7:02 - Kevin Varner grew up on the east coast of Canada in a self-described "lower-middle class family who thought of money as hard to get." To support his family, Kevin began growing cannabis at the age of 12. He has been working with the plant ever since, logging over 35 years of growing in the legacy market and having experienced every kind of setback, struggle, or challenge imaginable.
16:00 - Kevin shares how once the legalization happened, and despite the market turmoil soon after, his eyes were always set on success. Effectively ignoring the warning signs, Kevin wholeheartedly accepted an opportunity to take over a failed micro and start-up from scratch. Commuting 6 hours a day to the "middle of nowhere" to a poorly-built facility that stacked every odd against him, Kevin was pushed to his limit but never let the negatives effect his goal.
24:04 - Kevin once again seized an opportunity when a vacant facility that could meet all the needs of his growing brand came on the market. Because of the challenging conditions of his current space, including an extra-long commute, gas generators, poor environmental conditions and generally shoddy infrastructure, the cost of transitioning to the new, larger space was actually a better deal, as well as a desperately needed upgrade.
34:16 - Kevin passionately shares his thoughts about the state of the world and how important it is to believe in what you're doing. He describes how exciting the future of cannabis is, despite the struggles the industry has gone through so far. His genuine belief about the power of cannabis to heal our society also extends to its potential to help heal the planet. Sami and Kevin begin discussing various environmental benefits of cannabis and hemp, pointing out versatile the plant is.
51:25 - Expect a lot of exciting news from Royal Harvest in 2024! Breeding and infusion projects are the main collaborations to keep an eye out for, and Kevin shares he's excited to work with many exciting members of the industry like Dabble Cannabis Co. and Brindle Farms.