Grower Stories #84: Ezra Malmuth

An Interview Ezra Malmuth, Founder and CEO of Cannabis-Infused Edible, Beverage Brand Atlas Edibles

Cannabis-infused edibles are a dime a dozen these days, especially in California. Atlas Edibles, however, are chef-inspired products crafted to be delicious, nutritious, and full of flavors from around the world. Ezra Malmuth, Atlas Edibles founder and CEO, ensures his cannabis-infused snacks and beverages are a cut above the rest. #growerstories

---

My name is Ezra Malmuth and I am the founder and CEO of Atlas Edibles. From a young age, I fell in love with food and cooking, and I knew I wanted to be a chef. As a teenager, I started working in high end restaurants, which only furthered my passion. I decided to pursue my career as a classically trained chef.

As you can imagine, the life of a professional chef is stressful, and I used cannabis to help with anxiety and decompress after a long day. I also enjoyed consuming cannabis to get inspired and tap into my creativity. After recognizing the benefits cannabis brought to my own life, I wanted to get involved in the industry. I saw that most edibles in the industry were mainly candies, and I wanted to bring higher quality, more ingredient driven product to the market. I knew I could use my culinary background to create delicious and effective products.

---

---

Tia (AskGrowers) : How did you start the brand? Tell us your origin story!

Ezra Malmuth : I started Atlas out of my small apartment in the prop 215 days with a few friends. At the time I was an executive chef at a high end restaurant in Berkeley, and used my free time outside of the restaurant to start formulating a healthier edible option. I experimented with flavor profiles that were influenced by my travels, and the culinary principles I learned when I pursued my culinary nutrition degree. I wanted cannabis not to be a flavor you cover up, but one that adds to the composition of edibles overall. Soon enough we had created a variety of delicious products to work with.

---

Tia : What was the goal of the company when you started? What’s the ethos behind it now? What drives you and the brand?

Ezra : Atlas really started as a passion project, so we decided to let our creativity run wild and explore all aspects that further made us passionate about disrupting the cannabis industry. We used the highest quality ingredients, worked with local artists to make our packaging beautiful, and sourced the best quality cannabis we could find. We were inspired to create the most delicious and nutritious cannabis products on the market. We are now focused on building community with other local businesses and community members to tap into the creativity cannabis unlocks. We will stay motivated to focus on bringing innovation and other healthy edibles to the industry.

---

Tia : How do you think people can relax more by consuming your bars or clusters? What would take the experience to the next level?

Ezra : Cannabis is not a one size fits all experience. We believe that it is best to always try a new edible slow and steady so you can find the dose that’s perfect for you. We created our bars to be a lower-dose snack perfect for hikes, beach days, or any outdoor excursion. With a higher dose, the clusters are a great addition, especially for individuals who need a higher quantity of THC to get the sensation they are looking for.

We source and infuse all our edibles with full spectrum rosin, which we believe encapsulates the fullest profile of the plant and creates a much more well rounded high without the use of solvents. Some say because of this our edibles have a bigger punch to them.

---

---

Tia : What made you decide to go with edibles? Do edibles have a future in the future of the cannabis industry?

Ezra : With a strong passion for food and expertise in food science I naturally was attracted to the edibles category. I began exploring what edibles were offered to cannabis consumers, especially patients who were using cannabis for their medical needs, and I noticed that most options in the industry were candies and other sweet treats with little to no nutritional value. This created an opportunity for us to create a product that could improve peoples’ quality of life. We held a firm belief that if we sourced the highest quality cannabis oil and combined it with the highest quality nutritional ingredients we would create a superfood like no other.

The future for edibles in the industry is strong. As consumers become more familiar with cannabis, especially in new markets, they begin to form discerning palates. Consumers like to try new things and edibles as a section of the market has a huge potential to differentiate a brand and what consumer they are targeting.

---

Tia : Can you specify why your brand differs from other similar brands to yours? What sets you guys apart? What makes you special?

Ezra : Our use of full spectrum rosin in all of our products is definitely a big differentiator. This is a much more expensive option to use but we believe it offers a much more superior sensation, and we really lean into this base ingredient to guide our culinary creativity. We use the terpenes profile of the rosin we source to complement the food derived terpenes to create our unique flavor profiles.

We are able to create such unique and delicious products due to our expertise we bring from the culinary industry, which really guides our commitment to high quality products. In addition to our use of full spectrum rosin, we also source our non-cannabis ingredients as locally as possible. Our product flavors are complex and thoughtful. We believe we are creating something truly special, with or without the cannabis.

---

Tia : What’s your personal cannabis consumption routine? In your opinion, what’s the best way to consume cannabis?

Ezra : Historically I have enjoyed consuming joints over every other cannabis form. However, these days I am limiting how much I smoke and am focused on pursuing a more health-driven way of life. Edibles are perfect for this goal, especially products like ours where the ingredients are good for you, and do not venture far from my health-focused dietary lifestyle.

---

---

Tia : What is your favorite brand in your state (besides yours of course :) Do you follow and appreciate any? If so, give them a shout-out here!

Ezra : This is always a hard question because there are so many unique producers out there. I have always looked for brands that also focus on sourcing solventless extracts to create their products. Kiva is one of them where they infuse their chocolates with hash and offer that great full body sensation. Papa & Barkley is another brand that provides some of the best topicals on the market and they really work well for me. For flower I love what Gold Seal produces. They are a SF based company and the Red Congo is pure fire! Also I have admired SF Roots and was fortunate to come across their AL AJO that was breathtaking… literally!

---

Tia : And the final one, what would be your message to the cannabis industry? Any tips/complaints about what’s going on right now? Any thoughts on how the industry can evolve with time? What’s the biggest pitfall that upstart cannabis entrepreneurs should try to avoid?

Ezra : I think it is always important to remind the industry and consumers alike that it is not easy building an industry from scratch. We must be patient and work together to create a better industry for everyone. We need policy to allow for more access so those in need of this amazing plant can get whatever they are looking for. Cannabis is an extremely versatile and ever-giving medicine and people deserve to be able to access it. I also believe it is the duty of anyone participating in this industry today to support undoing the wrongs and that have been done to marginalized communities. For far too many years this plant has been looked down upon and has been used as a weapon to incarcerate so many who did not deserve it. It is time for us as an industry to take responsibility and create a more equitable and inclusive community.

---

Tia : If you could smoke with anyone in this world, who would that be and why?

Ezra : [tooltip title="Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr." content="US rapper and media personality."]Snoop Dogg[/tooltip] for sure! I recently found out he has his own personal blunt roller and is paid a fair salary… I bet he has some of the best weed too!

---

You can follow Atlas at:

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Thank you so much, Atlas team, for taking the time to do the interview. To learn more about them, head on over to their website.