A Chicago-based cannabis edibles brand is using real fruits and other ingredients to set itself apart in a sector that's becoming increasingly crowded.
Founded by Mark Cozzi and Drake Nickell, The Bettering Co. announced $6.7 million in funding this week following an initial seed round in 2022, bringing its total funding to date to more than $11 million in the past 16 months.
The comapny's THC-infused gummies are made using real fruits, herbs, teas, spices and jams.
While Cozzi admits that the cannabis space has seen a bit of a "cooling" off after an initial boom and frenzy, The Bettering Co. was able to attract a solid list of experienced venture capital, cannabis-sector and consumer-packaged-goods investors for a pre-revenue company.
The new funding comes as the growth of Illinois cannabis has slowed with investor sentiment at an all-time low.
"I think that in cannabis, we're like alcohol in 1935. Prohibition has been lifted and the early entrants are a little bit scattered," Cozzi told Chicago Inno. "Now people are starting to innovate and become a lot more sophisticated."
That's where he sees The Bettering Co. making its mark. Cozzi's goal at the start of the year was to have Bettering Co. products in 50 dispensaries by the end of the year. Now, however, he thinks the company may exceed that when rollout begins. He hopes to be on shelves by Thanksgiving.
The new funds will be used to build out the Bettering Co.'s team and to complete the startup's first production facility in Rockford, Illinois, that will come with a commercial kitchen.
