New Easy Mountain cannabis product nets $3K for local nonprofit

Sales of a product collaboration between a Republic dispensary and a Springfield infused-product manufacturer are benefiting local nonprofit FosterAdopt Connect.

Alex Paulson, co-owner of Republic-based Easy Mountain Investments LLC, dba Easy Mountain Cannabis Co., said his venture plans to donate $3,000 to the nonprofit, whose mission is to provide foster and adopted children a stable, loving and nurturing family environment through support and advocacy. He said the money comes from a portion of sales for Tangerine Kush, a new marijuana strain for which Easy Mountain partnered with Show-Me Organics Inc., a majority family-owned company.

The two companies worked on the limited-run product over the summer. The strain was manufactured at Happy Days, the local manufacturing lab for Show-Me Organics, Paulson said. It was released at the start of the month exclusively at Easy Mountain under Buoyant Bob, one of three infused-product brands of Show-Me Organics. The run was limited to 150 units, he said, declining to disclose terms of the deal.

Sales for Tangerine Kush, priced at $36 for either a 1-gram cured resin concentrate or a half-gram vape cartridge, were swifter than expected, Paulson said. The product sold out on Dec. 9.

“It makes us feel really, really good,” he said, noting the company is donating $20 from every unit sold to FosterAdopt Connect. “The amount of units that we bought would typically last us three, four or five months to sell.”

The donation to FosterAdopt Connect is in conjunction with the nonprofit’s holiday season campaign, dubbed Give Joy. Its website said the campaign plans to support over 700 youth with $20 Walmart gift cards and match up to 70 children with donors to fulfill their holiday wish lists.

“We went through several trial-and-error stages of finding a partner,” Paulson said of the hunt for a nonprofit beneficiary. “We either were not responded to by several people, or we were plainly told that they wouldn’t accept money from our organization just because of where the funds were coming from. It’s obviously disappointing when you have charities that you know have a deficit or need funds.”

Paulson declined to name the other charities, but added they ran out of ideas regarding who to contact until they found FosterAdopt Connect via Springfield Business Journal’s annual Giving Guide.

“They were overwhelmingly welcoming to talk to a company that we represent and truly wants to make a difference,” he said.

“When owners Drew (Beine) and Alex approached us to learn more about programs at FosterAdopt Connect and mentioned they would like to make a donation, we were honored they thought of us as an organization that is making an impact for youth in our community,” nonprofit officials said in an emailed statement. “Local business owners are the heart of our community, and we are excited to partner with them.”

Paulson said Tangerine Kush marked the second time his company has collaborated on an Easy Mountain-specific product.

“This is the first time we’ve done it specifically for charity, which has drastically increased the effectiveness,” he said. “We’ll absolutely be doing something like this again and hopefully on a bigger scale with maybe more people being involved.”

Product collaborations are nothing new for Show-Me Organics, which released cannabis-infused coffee pods in August in partnership with The Coffee Ethic LLC, according to past SBJ reporting. Show-Me Organics also announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters after it penned a deal in October to buy an 80,000-square-foot cannabis growing and manufacturing facility in Kansas City from Holistic Industries for undisclosed terms. Show-Me Organics CEO Boston Dickerson told SBJ its laboratory and production facility would remain in Springfield.