Most of the country’s eyes have been on the progression of legal cannabis. But, the bigger moves are being made in the world of CBD. Cannabis is still only recreationally legal state-to-state in the U.S. However, hemp and CBD have been given a lot more room to roam. Companies large and small are rising up to be the sole providers of hemp and CBD-infused wellness products. I had the opportunity to speak with Matt Mudano, COO of Ubican. A company that is arguably at the forefront of this burgeoning industry in Europe.
Matt told me a story about getting a biochemistry degree at Florida State University. Yet, he was still unable to deny an innate entrepreneurial itch. After founding Green Roads, his friend was making a tremendous amount of success. Matt knew the CBD industry was calling his name, after seeing the impact on the lives that his friend’s company had touched.
“It has all come full circle for me. I get to enjoy the entrepreneurial mission and all that comes with it. M
eanwhile using my science background to explain and educate, I can actually do my part in spreading the health and wellness movement. I know for a fact I would not be in this industry if it wasn’t for Danny and I am truly humbled to even be in this position.”
Who is Ubican?
After selling all his real estate properties, Matt booked a one-way ticket to Switzerland and partnered with a few other likewise thinking individuals to create Ubican. Matt describes his partners, Fabio, Anthony and Stef as simply “French versions of himself.”
“It’s crazy to think I went halfway around the world and found a group of guys that had the same passion for business and creating something big, and yet, each one of us brings something unique and different to the table. It’s a great team.”
Ubican brands itself as your one-stop shop for all things CBD. They stock over 200 products from your typical oils, lotions, gummies, and vapes. All the way to more niche categories like personal lubricants, proteins, and pre-workouts. They even offer patented water-soluble products. You name it, they have it.
Fulfillment centers are all over Europe and now North America. SouthEast Asia is coming online, so that now anyone, no matter where in the world, can have access to their products. They’re not just peddling their own products though, they also source and distribute CBD products from like-minded brands. Each of these brands satisfies Ubican’s requirement of quality company practices, extraction technique, and manufacturing principles.
“We may not make any medical claims, but, we are selling products for an intended medical benefit or some kind of relief. So it’s quality or nothing. Period. For brands and products who are looking for help entering and navigating new markets—we can help. You focus on cranking out quality products and we’ll take care of the rest.”
Private Labeling Service
Private labeling is also a big part of Ubican’s business. The Ubican private labeling service allows for a business to put their brand on over 50 high-quality products and many custom packaging options.
During my conversation with Matt, when speaking about their white labeling services he passionately said, “I don’t care how much money you have, we’ll partner with you, and we’ll bring your product to market and make your brand a reality.”
This was in reference to the large minimum order quantities and many things that ultimately make starting a business in this space really difficult. All of those are typically the requirements of other companies who offer similar services.
Matt happily mentioned an example of who they lent their white-label services to, a small Irish-based company, CannaEire.
“I remember he said that he barely had any money but he went through the trouble of trademarking his brand and promised he would work hard promoting his products to his friends, family and whoever else would listen.”
That small initial investment has turned into larger and more regular orders. More importantly
“We want to do for the CBD industry what Amazon did for the small business and e-commerce space. Excellent business support, supply chain logistics, and fulfillment footprint are really where we set ourselves apart from everyone else.”
Ubican: CBD For Everyone
So far, so good. Ubican has its headquarters out in Switzerland. The country already has the European market by the throat when it comes to CBD
with two 4500 square foot greenhouses. They also boast a new 24-acre site in Portugal that will be home to a 600,000 square foot facility. The facility will yield them 23 tons of THC and CBD flower per year.
Ubicon combines their growing abilities with extraction and manufacturing innovation. They are able to dispatch and fulfill from any one of their Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Florida, and now Thailand warehouses to take their products or anyone else’s, anywhere.
This is a genius move on Ubican’s behalf. They know the in’s and out’s of distributing CBD products in the European market. Offering expertise and value to businesses that share their vision no matter how big or small. Brands will essentially send their products to Ubican to assist with importing, exporting, storage, marketing, and fulfillment. The areas where they may be scratching their heads.
“A lot of people don’t yet understand how hard it is to navigate cross border transactions, especially with cannabis. There’s customs paperwork involved, import taxes, and cost-prohibitive shipping costs for example. At first, it was honestly a nightmare. Now, we’re pretty much on a first name basis with many of the customs offices around Europe and we have no more issues.”
Veritas Farms
Derek is from Veritas Farms, a vertically integrated CBD farm out in Colorado who are competing for national distribution contracts. Veritas has a $250,000 deal set-up with Ubican to manufacture their CBD products and partner with them in Europe. But, they do all other business in-house.
Derek said this industry is growing at such a rapid rate that, “in a decade there will probably only be a handful of brands when it comes to CBD oil.” Veritas alone will be doubling its portfolio of products by the end of this year. In the next couple of years, the industry itself is set to grow by billions of dollars.
Who will reign supreme in an industry that’s set to become a monolith of natural medicine in modern society? In the end, it will be companies like Ubican, Green Roads, and Veritas Farms that are able to focus on quality business practices. Whether that be in cultivation, manufacturing or distribution to get their products to other parts of the world.
What may give Ubican its edge though, is the fact that they already have a leg-up as the biggest importers of CBD products currently in Europe. Combined with the fact that they encourage collaboration through joint-ventures and partnerships, and a mission to constantly seek new innovation and new markets.
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