Cannabis, Marijuana, Hemp – multiple names and various emotions. Popularly used as a recreational drug, there are many industrial and medicinal uses of hemp, and it has been used in India in medicines and Ayurveda for centuries.
The Namrata Hemp Company (NHempCo), started by Harshaavardhan and Namrata Redi Sirupa in 2016, aims to meet the growing demand for hemp in food, fabric, and fuel without harming the environment.
After the central government issued the first-ever licence to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to grow medicinal cannabis for research last year, there has been a lot of activity around its cultivation. Industries and entrepreneurs are also trying to use hemp in apparel and personal care products.
Debunking the myth around industrial cannabis and recreational cannabis, Harshaavardhan says, “Most of my consumers, initially, were sceptical about using the product as they thought they would have the psychoactive properties like its sin cousin marijuana or ganja.“
Yet, the cultivation of cannabis remains a subject of contention in India.
While both hemp and cannabis plants come from the same genus, cannabis, and the same species – Cannabis Sativa, hemp contains only traces of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychological effects). It is a high-growing plant, typically bred for industrial uses, such as in making oils, topical ointments, textiles, and construction.
The hemp personal care products
Uttarakhand is the only state in India that has allowed farmers to grow hemp. The state government has permitted hemp cultivation on the condition that the farmers must regulate its production so that the THC content is between 0.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent.
Know More About Hemp News in India
Officials at the Department of Agriculture, Government of India, say they need to be cautious despite the known differences between recreational and medical use of hemp. “We need to tread carefully here, and even if there is a remote possibility of misuse, the government will not go ahead with it,” an official said.
The Hemp Industry
More than 25,000 products can be made from hemp, including cosmetics, biofuel, food, textiles, construction, and automobiles,” Harshaavardhan explains. Hemp is also used to make paints, wood varnish, supercapacitors, footwear, and biodegradable composites used in packaging.
In the early 20th century, the US hemp industry was considered to be the first billion-dollar industry. A century later, hemp penetrated India and moved beyond medicines to textiles, biofuel, and food. In 2015, the sale of hemp products in the US alone reached $573 million and is expected to reach $2.1 billion by 2020.
Presently, China is the leading supplier of industrial hemp, followed by Canada, Romania, France, and Australia.
“The disadvantage in Western countries is that they get only one crop per year, compared to India, where the weather is idle with perfect moisture levels and good sunshine for most of the year. We can achieve two to three crops per year comfortably,” says Harsh Vardhan.
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana alone have enough resources to capture $30 billion in revenues by 2030,” he adds.
Hemp Seed Oil is the critical ingredient in NhempCo’s range of personal care products.
NHempCo hopes to pioneer a pollution-free and ecologically sustainable lifestyle by offering consumers non-toxic and biodegradable personal care products, fabrics, oil, chocolates, and garments made from organically-grown industrial hemp.
Companies like Boheco, TerrAscend Corp, B.E. Hemp India, Hemp Cann, and Hempster are exploring the multiple uses of hemp in India, including as a substitute for cotton in manufacturing paper products and fibreglass. Additionally, researchers are exploring the use of cannabis as an alternative source of biofuel.
Hemp seed oil
Previously, Harshaavardhan co-founded a ‘knowledge process’ company called KnowPro Solutions Pvt Ltd, where he learned how medicines were made. Slowly, he was introduced to “hemp seed oil” in 2010.
“I started working with hemp seed oil and saw its reaction when blended with other oils and butter. The hemp seed oil works uniquely and gives the best results with a few oils and butter. Sativa is born from there,” he recalls.
The Bengaluru-based
Launched hemp luxury personal care products under the brand Satliva. While other companies like Patanjali, The Body Shop, Forest Essentials, Kama Ayurveda, Sri Sri Ayurveda, Isha and Hyderabad-based Hempsters also use hemp in their beauty care products, NHempCo’s USP, the team says, is the products “are freshly made, and are chemical free, where cold pressed oils are used.” Satliva has over a thousand registered users to date.
Few customers who are associated with NHempCo
NHempCo manufactures Hemp personal care products for adults and is presently preparing to launch a range of child-care products. However, growth has been slow due to manufacturing hurdles, as hemp cultivation is limited to only one state.
“Importing the raw material from one place and manufacturing the product elsewhere is not financially feasible. The industry has not yet picked up due to the shortage of agricultural land and expensive raw materials,” says Harshaavardhan.
Agri connect
The company shares about 10% of its revenue with the hemp cultivation farmers to empower the agricultural community.
It also helps farmers purchase raw materials at a reasonable price. The company also ensures hemp cultivation does not exceed 30 per cent of the agricultural land. Harshaavardhan says that when a farmer goes to buy seeds, he or she often also buys pesticides and insecticides, not being aware of their usage.
At a flea market in Bengaluru.
The organization has collaborated with a Chennai-based company that manufactures 100 per cent natural plant-based pest and insect control products, which are now distributed among all NHempCo farmers.
Plans a Head
NHempCo is presently working on multiple proposals to state governments to legalize the cultivation of hemp, thereby allowing the manufacturing of its products in those states. They collaborate with national and international companies to develop hemp composites for automobiles, textiles, foods, cosmetics, and construction.
The company hopes to expand to the US by September this year and engage in a B2B and subscription-based revenue model.
Disclaimer: This article published initially on https://yourstory.com
