We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sarah Stephens a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, let’s start with trends – what are some of the largest or more impactful trends you are seeing in the industry?
Hemp health food is hot and getting hotter!
With the reintroduction of American grown agricultural hemp grains on farms and into the supply chain, we are seeing a lot of innovation with hemp grain based foods. Consumers are starting to recognize the health benefits in hemp grains. Chefs and restaurant owners are recognizing this trend and incorporating hemp seed oil and flour into recipes and menu features.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
The first company I founded was Safe Riders in 2003. We drove intoxicated people home in their own cars. That will hopefully always be the hardest work I’ve ever done. The clientele were often super cool but you can imagine that providing a service to people too intoxicated to drive comes with a special set of challenges. It was late at night, every weekend, sometimes unsafe environments–so that experience really helps me keep hemp challenges in perspective.
After selling Safe Riders in 2009, I stayed home with my kids for a while. At the time, I was pregnant and had three kids, four years old and younger. That was a fun and special time. Returning to work a couple years later, I joined the growing team at Freddy’s Frozen Custard and Steakburgers to establish their public relations department. The company had about 30 locations at the time and growth was picking up a lot of momentum. It was a wonderful experience full of amazing people and my role expanded to include real estate development for corporate and franchise restaurants.
In 2019, hemp was relegalized throughout the country and I believed it was the right focus for the next stage of my life. First, I worked on licensing and started growing for CBD in a metal building of my dad’s. This operation quickly transitioned to a focus on hemp as a row crop on traditional acres around the state. Being awarded grants from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education in 2021 and 2022, we worked with producers around the state to trial grain dominent hemp varieties.
That experience was the catalyst for Midwest Hemp Technology. Successful hemp crops require proximate processing. Research on hemp processing equipment led to the facility located in Augusta today that contracts with farmers in Kansas and Missouri to purchase and process their crop into hemp grain food, hurd and fiber.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Connections take time to cultivate and trust takes time to earn. Putting in the work, doing the research, sharing success and failure, communicating broadly while also engaging one-on-one and making information accessible–all of these efforts have helped me and Midwest Hemp Technology connect.
In order to be successful, we need to be in close contact with farmers, industry advocates, manufacturers and buyers of many kinds. We recognize that all ships rise together, this is especially true in the hemp industry. It is a brand new market and you cannot do everything by yourself. Being a trusted partner and accurate source of reliable information is so important.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Hemp businesses have a hard time accessing traditional financing. When forming Midwest Hemp Technology, we secured investment from a dozen individuals and raised just enough money to pay for all the equipment and operate as affordably as possible for a couple years. Recognizing that profits were going to take time to develop in a brand new industry where the supply is also just developing, we’ve made conservative investments and tried to learn and adapt as quickly as possible.
This year, we’re raising a seed round of funding primarily from within the current group of investors. All in, we’ve raised less than a million dollars and been able to equip the facility, operate debt free and sell $100,000 in product during the first 12 months of sales.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hempysheart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hempysheart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/midwesthemptech
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/midwest-hemp-technology
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiITcaDMe1PiJHQOVxMy77w
Image Credits
Midwest Hemp Technology