If a few years ago the focus of the cannabis industry was concentrated on the production and retail of the inflorescence, today there’s a change of direction and companies are increasingly focusing on products based on extracts. A decisive factor in the success of this particular sector is the greater demand for cannabis by-products in various fields, from cosmetics to the food industries. To guarantee the quality of the products in a ever more competitive market, though, it’s necessary to follow closely the preparation processes in all their phases.
To prepare the cannabis extraction: all key aspects
When we refer to “preparation of cannabis” to achieve extracts, the key concepts to keep in mind are five: the quality of the raw material, the kind of industry, the variety, the redevelopment and the planning. Here in detail.
The quality of the raw material
The increased rivalry in the market for the extraction of cannabis and the constant fluctuation in prices are pushing towards greater care where the quality of the starting material is personally evaluated without leaving anything to chance.
Irrelevant of the machinery, solvents and instruments used, the higher the quality of the cannabis, the better the quality of the final product extracted, ensuring the companies that deal with extracts to offer their clients a superior product even economically. It’s crucial, from this point of view, that the cultivation of the plant and all subsequent stages such as desiccation and conservation, are followed correctly to avoid the growth of mould and fungus and to preserve the properties of the terpenes and the plant components.
The shorter production line
Keeping in mind all these important aspects — correct farming, desiccation and conservation —, a lot of extractors are reducing the complexities of production, where everything is based in one place, building or production and there are no middlemen between farmers and the people involved in the desiccation and preservation.
More and more companies have decided to invest and to offer their own spaces and resources to self production and preparation on site, without delegating important stages of the extraction process to others, enabling them to mantain the quality of the original material. This choice allows first-hand control of the entire process guaranteeing the high quality of the end product
Variations in the production
To obtain a final product of high quality it’s important to select the best plants, but in the agricultural sector there are no absolute certainties. With the same land care and instruments, in fact, some plants or some harvests can have a lower quality than others and, especially on cultivations within a company, it’s important not to waste resources or money.
For this reason, a lot of companies are focusing on a variety in the production and retail using their best raw material for their products of higher quality and the rest for sub-products of lower price and quality, exactly as happens for other farming products or in the world of tobacco.
The requalification of the raw material
Even by starting with a biomass of high quality, sometimes it’s necessary to re-qualify the raw material. Based on recent studies, in fact, some terpenes in the first two weeks after harvest, can degrade even if the conditions of farming, desiccation and preservation are ideal.
For this reason some companies have decided to add the terpenes to their extracts in a second stage, when the extraction has already taken place.
This is the best procedure to follow if the extraction can’t happen without the use of solvents, slower and more costly.
The planning
As in every successful business, in the case of cannabis extraction, Planning is essential. Organising different business models, studying the competition and the market, structuring short and long term activities and processes along the production line allows everything to be under control and guarantees a correct preparation and quality increasing market and value.
