No sugar coating.... Is Boutique Extraction Feasible?

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21

I use to built some of the best co2 extractors on the market, if you are really thinking about using co2. stop. Co2 was popular 4 years ago, due to stupidity but quickly fell out of favor due to
the high cost of equipment.
low production output
high production cost
inabilite to extract all of the THC
inconsistent product quality
required post processing (need roto, ultra low freezer)
requires expensive employees to operate.
stupid ass psi can easily hurt employees.
long run times
loss of terps/ over all degradation to the oil.
there’s something that pushed you to use Co2, my friendly advice either do a ton more reading and get a better grasp on the industry and the new advancements so you dont waste money. or consider not jumping in especially in the cali market.
there are tons of other options out there much cheaper than c02

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22

Definitely a lot of effort and inefficient high pressure process to achieve that solvent free farmer’s market extract. Very difficult to scale as well.

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23

Kind of reiterating what everyone else has said, but the only thing you’ve said that remotely pertains to “boutique/craft” is your proposed scale. Of course not asking you to post your formulas/SOPs, but obviously those will have a bigger impact on your viability than what size extractor you’re using. Figure out the ideal products you want to make, and work backwards from there to choose equipment, personnel, starting material parameters, etc. When that’s tabulated you’ll see if it’s viable.

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24

Ennie meeny miny moe: CO2 or BHO?

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25

CO2 and boutique extracts don’t go in the same sentence.

If you want to appeal to the dab snobs boutique market then you need to have access to 24/7 fresh frozen and do butane/propane. CRC is a love-hate thing right now but also be prepared to delve into that.

Also to be fair I’m not sure how you plan on selling boutique extracts if you’re looking for the easiest way to extract. What do your slabs look like now

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26

Get a job temporarily somewhere that’s making the product you want to sell, and see how they operate. Take notes

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27

Gonna beat a dead horse. Co2 extract is the worst extract next along w ethanol. More of just a precursor for distalite.

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28

With the caveat being ethanol is efficient and preferred (at least by me) for distillate production whereas CO2 is arguably not.

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29

I own a mid-sized extraction company , also using a 20L CO2 setup, plus all the winterizing/decarbing setup, and we only do CBD. There isn’t a ton of money in that industry on the CBD side for boutique stuff, and I think even less on the THC side which is even more commoditized and has higher regulatory costs.

If you are doing artisanal stuff for clients that will pay a premium for quality or to use their “own” crop or to get a customized cannabinoid/terpene profile, it’s doable, but you probably better have a side arrangement selling your own house brand extracts or something to really make the numbers work. All those electrical and solvent costs are going to add up, especially where you are at.

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30

Boutique is the only future for cannabis as effective medicine because patients need a verity of cannabinoid and terpenoids profiles to achieve continuity of care. Something that big cannabis could never provide. But our friends and neighbors may be able to.
Edit. Hydrocarbon.

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31

Being boutique, your entire business is valuable, not just your equipment. You need to be balancing a dozen balls at once. You need to have:

  1. the best customer service
  2. the best weed (if you’re re-selling)
  3. the best turnaround
  4. the most service (packaging, finishing, etc.)
  5. a client base (or maybe a tasting room/craft cannabis scene)
  6. Branding
  7. luck

But it’s doable. Buts it’s gonna be super hard.

I think craft cannabis will look like craft wine does. The customer pays more, but they get a higher quality smoke. You gotta have a somehow better extraction method (something that can take longer but make an incredible extract?). Or crazier strains (be the only guy selling thc-v concentrates or something). Or finished products that taste better (full terpene tinctures?).

You’ll probably also want to grow your own while
You’re at it and vertically integrate as much as possible. While grabbing tolling contracts to fill your machines.

You just gotta be at the very least good at everything; and great or excellent at 2-3 things.

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