We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brian Green. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brian below.

Brian, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

When the 2018 Farm bill was passed federally legalizing the cultivation and processing of hemp, we were elated to understand that to mean delta-8 THC was also legalized. That paved the way for businesses like our own to set up shop and begin trying our hand at the American dream of running a successful business. As we conducted our market research, we quickly identified that many companies were lacking greatly in creativity and innovation. Storefronts and kiosks were overwhelmingly full of gummies, chocolate chip and sugar cookies, and plain brownies. We knew that we could make a splash by unveiling something different by way of our Kief Lime Pie Kookie™ and looked forward to taking on the challenge. Although we are still in the infancy of our endeavor, we are proud to stray from “what everyone else is doing” in favor of trying something new and sticking out from the crowd. While “industry standard” may be viewed as a phrase synonymous with success, we view it as limiting and stifling to creative thinking.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?

I dabbled in creating and sharing baked goods for over 10 years for personal enjoyment. When I lost my mother to pancreatic cancer in 2009, I became involved in advocacy and fund raising to raise awareness and to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. It was then that I gained first-hand knowledge that cannabis infused edibles provided some relief for those going through treatment. It was comforting to know this type of relief was possible but, frustratingly, there was no legal avenue to put this new knowledge to good use.

The 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act (2018 Farm Bill) provided the opportunity to take a hemp-derived THC product to market legally using delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-8 THC). In 2019, I made the decision to form Baked in Florida and take the necessary albeit exhaustive steps to share a product with fellow edible enthusiasts. It has been a labor of love and worth every minute of it. In 2021, I brought on Casey Marston and, after trying several different recipes and in keeping with a Florida centric flavor, we settled on a flagship edible; the Kief Lime Pie Kookie™.

When we looked at the hemp-derived CBD edible market, we saw mostly familiar faces; chocolate chip and sugar cookies, bland gummies, and boring brownies. The lack of creative options seemed jarring in an industry that is booming. The standard seemed to be exactly that; standard, boring, more of the same. We saw that there was a need for something new, creative, and eye catching that delivered in both taste and effect.

Our Kief Lime Pie Kookie™ is bursting with key lime and white chocolate flavor and has no herbal taste that some edibles seem to have. Although key lime flavor is not a secret, we wanted to embrace our Florida roots and highlight something that we feel is uniquely Floridian. Beyond the creation of the cookie, we felt that the market was needing a product that was not as “scary” for those folks that may be hesitant to dive into the world of edibles. We do not focus on trying to make the most potent edible, instead, to focus on the customer experience and provide an easy and tasty avenue to enjoy the effects of THC. With cannabis culture often being misrepresented as something that is hippy-dippy, trashy, or indicative of laziness, we knew we could help break that mold by creating a non-threatening and comforting edible that anyone from 21 to 91 would enjoy.

To say we are proud of what we have accomplished so far may be an understatement. We’re proud that we rejected the “hit and run” approach that many manufacturers adopted by creating cheap, uncreative edibles that often wither under scrutiny in taste, effect, and verifiable safety steps taken. Although all companies are required to test with third party laboratories, it has been our experience that many fail to do so for every batch. We choose to take the high road and are proud to have spent significant effort, time, and money on perfecting our infusion using reputable hemp-derived delta-8 THC tested by laboratories with integrity and for every batch. In this way, we better position ourselves to foster a trusting relationship with our customers.

We would be happy to know that our customers and fans enjoy our product so much that they share it with friends and family. We know that a recommendation from a friend or family holds weight, so if one was to think so highly of our kookies as to share them, we know we’re on the right track. We work tirelessly to provide a product that we would buy, taking into account what a customer wants, as well as what our competitors offer, in order to allow our business to grow naturally and sustainably in a market rife with companies in business one week and gone the next. We aim to stay.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process.

Every batch of Kief Lime Pie Kookies™ is made by hand, by us, at a shared commercial kitchen located in Tallahassee, Florida. Most people can bake a cookie at home and probably sell it at their local Saturday morning market. Our challenge was navigating the commercial waters of getting a THC infused cookie to market, ultimately culminating in completing food safety certifications, hemp establishment permits, research and development regarding the infusion process, and forging a relationship with our local kitchen share facility. This facility is absolutely central to our ability to start up and exist as a small business while being affordable and convenient. While we can’t divulge all we’ve learned on this adventure, some things stick out: infusing a product the right way is laborious; be prepared to fail before finding solutions to unexpected challenges and; remember, at the end of the day, we’re just baking cookies, it’s supposed to be fun!

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Baked in Florida was my brain child; an idea with great potential requiring equally great efforts. I worked to establish the ground work of creating and registering as a corporation in Florida in 2019. By 2021, the menagerie of permits, documentation, and certifications were complete and it was time to bring on a business partner. Enter Casey Marston.

Casey had recently joined the great resignation by leaving his corporate employer in favor of taking a leap and being part of making Baked in Florida a success. In combination with his B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy, he utilized his working knowledge of laboratory processes and creative thinking. These contributions have enabled the company to take flight. In tackling a new frontier, Casey’s abilities are most evident in the creative sphere of packaging design and implementation, website aesthetics and intricacies, and social media exposure. The most significant challenge however, was the perfection of a consistent edible infusion process that yielded expected results with each fresh batch. Casey and I have known each other for over a decade by way of being my son in law, so a strong relationship was already established. Occasionally, you’ll find us discussing business matters walking the golf course, albeit, no course records are at risk of being broken by either!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bakedinflorida.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bakedinfloridallc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063638004774
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bakedinflorida/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/bakedinflorida

Image Credits
Casey Marston and Sara Allen Images