FedEx leaders grappling with the labor shortage that cost the company $450 million in Q2 2022 could perhaps alleviate their stress with the product of a former colleague.
Once a FedEx senior VP of global communications and investor relations, Bill Margaritis has shifted gears and entered the cannabidiol (CBD) game, as the president and CEO of Hemp2Lab.
Based in Rossville, Tennessee, the CBD and cannabigerol (CBG) product manufacturer was founded in 2019 and became fully operational in September 2020.
The business sources its material from Big Top Farms, a farming operation in Sisters, Oregon, and extracts the raw CBD oil in its Memphis-area lab.
Hemp2Lab then ships the oil off to Colorado, where its partner and co-packer, the vitamin manufacturer Valimenta Labs, creates the consumer product.
Currently, Hemp2Lab has multiple business lines: a bulk material offering, a lab extraction service, and a private and white-label segment.
The bulk material component is essentially a wholesale offering. It sells oil to companies that want to bring products to the market but have their own manufacturing capabilities and are just looking for raw material.
“They’re buying the milk from us, and they’re making the cheese,” Margaritis explained.
The lab extraction service is for local and regional farmers who need to process their hemp but don’t have the tools to do so.
It is the private and white-label component of the business, however, where Hemp2Lab displays its full range of offerings.
Through this segment, the company can produce a variety of CBD products for customers — which they can in turn take to the market.
What are some of the CBD products Hemp2Lab can offer? Among others: tinctures, creams and salves, gummies, pre-rolled smokeables, energy boost drinks, multivitamins, and pure sleep oil.
Already, Hemp2Lab has scored a multimillion-dollar, multiyear licensing agreement to produce and sell CBD products for Easy Riders, the motorcycle-centric publication and brand.
Hemp2Lab handles all commercial functions, including manufacturing, e-commerce, fulfillment, and customer service, while Easy Riders is responsible for branding, design, and marketing.
Easy Riders isn’t the only client set to work with Hemp2Lab, either.
In a recent email, Margaritis said Hemp2Lab had been selected as the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of topical skin care CBD-infused products for a large, well-established apparel and accessory company.
In addition to this, he noted that an internationally famous athlete had entered into a partnership agreement with Hemp2Lab to develop and sell a new suite of nutritional, training, and CBD products.
Margaritis couldn’t share the name of the company client or the athlete yet. But, he said the latter “has a strong appeal in the hunting community, [and in] action sports, muscle cars, and video games.”
Hemp2Lab has also expanded beyond just traditional CBD uses. It now has various nutritional offerings, as well, and a hybrid line of CBD-infused products, such as immune boosters with CBD and protein powders for weight training.
While the company sees a lot of potential in its white-label business, in just a few weeks, it will launch its own product lines, too — first for use by humans, then for pets.
However, those items will be sold exclusively through health care channels, to avoid competing with partners.
“Our business model has evolved dramatically from the outset of being just a wholesale refinery of CBD oil, into a full-blown consumer goods company that can bring a variety of finished products to market on a large scale through direct and online channels,” Margaritis said. “This strategic pivot strengthens our revenue-generating opportunities and overall competitiveness.”
Bill Margaritis is one of three honorees highlighted in MBJ's 2021 Emerging Entrepreneurs Awards. In conjunction with the University of Memphis and Epicenter, MBJ’s editorial team selected three startups and their leaders for the award. The companies must be under three years in age, based in Memphis, and have demonstrated financial performance and excellence in areas of innovation and technology.
