Today we’d like to introduce you to David Rook.
Hi David, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have always had a strong passion for hemp and its industrial potential. Back in high school, I first discovered how deeply rooted hemp was in American history. I learned it had been used for many applications and was vital to the early American economy. The sails and ropes on the ships that brought over the original colonists were made of hemp. The canvas on the covered wagons was made of hemp, and the declaration of independence was written on hemp paper. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson all grew hemp. All of this information intrigued me and made me wonder why hemp wasn’t still being used today. I studied Business Management and Entrepreneurship when I made my way to college. During those courses, there were few opportunities to present and pitch business ideas. Every idea I focused on revolved around hemp and its industrial chance. I had one idea for a while: utilize hemp bioplastic to create hemp plastic packaging that could be used for the cannabis industry. The concept was packaging made by cannabis for cannabis.
I ran with that idea for quite some time, but when I finally graduated college in 2018, the hemp market primarily revolved around CBD. This is the same year hemp was officially legalized federally, thanks to the 2018 Farm bill. Once that happened, CBD stores and brands started popping up all over the place. Consumers were very interested in the idea of a product that gave you similar relief you experienced with cannabis but didn’t get you intoxicated. Right after I graduated college, I met the owner and founder of Top Shelf Hemp Co, Gentry Matthews. Gentry originally came from the vape and e-liquid industry. A few years prior, he owned an E-liquid brand called Thirst. He eventually felt that the vape industry was becoming oversaturated and was beginning to lose his passion for it. So after a couple of years, he sold that and shortly after discovered CBD Flower. CBD flower consists of the buds from the hemp plants, used primarily for smoking. It looks and smells like your common cannabis flower but has below .3% THC- Delta9. This meant it was federally legal and wouldn’t give you the intoxicating properties common with THC, including the negative effects such as anxiety and paranoia.
He looked at the smokable CBD flower as a huge opportunity. As mentioned, CBD at the time was extremely popular, but few companies offered craft smokable buds. He created a brand, invested in the packaging, 10lbs of flowers, and a booth, and launched it at the CHAMPS trade show. He ended up doing over $60k in sales, and on his way home from the front, he called up his friend at the time Steve Fitzgerald and brought him on as his first employee. Together they fulfilled those orders in his basement, trimming and packaging everything. In the following months, they hired more employees and had 4-5 full-time workers. About 6 months into the company’s creation, I met Gentry at a Missouri Hemp Trade Association meeting. I was managing a CBD American Shaman store and working as a field marketing manager for Medical marijuana clinic. We were the youngest, so I introduced myself, and we instantly hit it off. A week or so later, we got together, and he offered me the opportunity to join the company to take on sales. I accepted. Things took off when I went on the road and started to field sales, where I would travel from city to city and store to store presenting the brand and product. It took a couple of months, but I started gaining traction and picking up customers.
On my first trip, I spent 7 weeks on the road, traveling the whole midwest covering almost 10 states and more cities than I recall. Since then, I’ve done 6+ extended sales campaigns covering the midwest, southwest, southeast, and east coast. The company has been to 40+ trade shows and hundreds of stores and distributors getting products on their shelves. We now are approaching 1000 customers, some with multiple store locations or distributors that sell to hundreds of stores themselves in their surrounding area. We are a nationwide company with products in states including Hawaii, Alaska, and even Puerto Rico. We are now entirely vertically integrated with a team of over 65+ employees and a 20,000sqft facility and 10-acre farm. It all started with a couple of passionate young plant individuals who dreamed of growing into a huge brand!
You wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
There has no doubt been a lot of growing pains along the way. Expanding the brand and getting products on store shelves was an effort. Once the orders started coming in, it was another task to fulfilling everything. As mentioned, we are vertically integrated, so everything is manufactured by us. So as sales grew, we had to grow, which meant hiring more employees and training them. Then we expanded our product line, sourcing new packaging, designing labels, and getting the needed devices or ingredients. Then it comes down to forecasting, keeping inventory tracking, and dealing with lead times. It’s constantly a struggle to keep up with orders, but it’s a good problem to have.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I look at my work as building relationships. Strangely as someone that considers myself an introvert, I love meeting new people, traveling, and expanding my network. I don’t look at the people I do business with as just my customers; I have a vested interest in their success and am proud to provide them with a quality product. I could tell many clients I consider my friends and honestly care about how I can bring them value. So even though my line of work is technical sales, my specialty is building relationships. I succeed in the hemp industry because of my passion for the plant itself and my belief in the product and future of the industry.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The hemp industry sets the standard for a federally legal cannabis market. One, it shows how this industry can be scaled. As of now, our products are being sold nationwide, and we sell several hemp-derived cannabinoids with psychoactive properties. Plus, I think consumers are becoming more interested in specific cannabinoids that have to give them the particular effects they are looking for. Such as help with sleep, pain, or stress. Rather than just what gets them high.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.topshelfhemp.com
- Instagram: @topshelfhemp
Image Credits
Photo credits: Adam Burch
