Owners literally building Uxbridge marijuana business from the ground up
PHOTO/ZACHARY COMEAU
Marijuana entreprenuers Kevin MacConnell (left) and Tim Phillips got their start in Colorado but are now operating a cannabis growing and manufacturing company in Uxbridge, which is Phillips's hometown.
Blackstone Valley Naturals, a proposed marijuana company in Uxbridge, is closing in on state and local approvals and hopes to be open by the end of the year. In an interview, Co-Owner Kevin MacConnell spoke about the company’s progress.
When did you win the provisional license?
June 27.
How did that feel after working at this for more than a year?
It felt incredible. There has been so much time, money, emotion and effort we’ve put into this for so long. To finally have that license for our business, it means the world.
When do you anticipate being able to sell product?
Possibly by the end of the year. With how slow the process has been so far, I’m not going to say that’s guaranteed or put all of my hopes into it, but there’s a chance. We’re doing all of the construction ourselves, and that’s something very unique. The two main owners of the company are literally building it with our own hands from the ground up.
The company was one of the first microbusinesses to get a provisional license in Massachusetts, correct?
We (including with business partner and Uxbridge native Tim Phillips) were the fourth microbusiness approved. There are others applying, but we’re the first if the state to get approval.
How long have you been at this?
It was right after Memorial Day last year a family member agreed to put up some money to secure the property for us so we could use it to apply for a host community agreement. It was May 2017 my mom and I drove to Uxbridge and my business partner and I started getting everything together for our meeting with the town.
Has anything in your business model changed since you’ve been waiting for more than a year?
We’re also going to sell wholesale flower and vape cartridges. We weren’t going to do flower but it seems as though there aren’t enough growers our there to keep up with demand and flower pricing at the moment seems very high. We’re thinking we could sell flower at the beginning along with our other products.
What are your other products?
We will be making solventless rosin we will be extracted from plants using water, ice and heat. Our main focus will be concentrates. Unlike butane extraction, which requires an explosion-proof lab, we’re going back to the most basic and pure way to extract oil from the plant using water, ice and heat.
Have you secured any agreements with retailers to carry the company’s products?
We’re not really focused on that right now. A lot of companies still aren’t sure when they’re going to be up and running, so getting into those deals right now doesn’t seem as important to us. But we’ve made good relationships with retail owners either in the process of getting a license or are up and running. They’ve expressed a very high interest in buying our products as soon as we have it available to sell.
This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ Staff Writer Zachary Comeau.
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