Grower Stories #40: Kelly Ogilvie

Sweet As Sugar: An Interview With Cannabis Company DeepCell About Their Tasty Sweets

Check out our interview with the CEO of DeepCell, a unique cannabis company determined to make life just a little bit sweeter.

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Tia (AskGrowers) : Tell us how you started the brand? Where did the idea first come from?

Kelly Ogilvie : We started the brand in late 2014 – early 2015 when Ruby™ Cannabis Sugar and Sapphire™ Cannabis Salt launched in the Washington medical marijuana market. The idea was born from the realization that cannabis edibles were a new frontier of discovery and creation, and we wanted to give cannabis explorers the picks and shovels to innovate and create whatever they want.

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Tia : What were some of your first releases?

Kelly : The original line was simply cannabinoids infused into organic sugar and Himalayan salt. This was an “ingredients” and “pantry” play that was innovative and the first of its kind back then.

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Tia : Do you think one can have a thriving career/business/personal life and consume cannabis regularly? There are still so many who only believe cannabis should be used for medical purposes. What are the benefits of recreational use?

Kelly : We certainly do. There are many medical patients who consume cannabis daily, as well as recreational users who responsibly use cannabis. We would never suggest someone use cannabis daily, or that daily use does not pose certain risks. We are proponents of healthy, adult use, with an understanding that while cannabis is not physically addictive, it can be habit-forming and psychologically addictive for some people.

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Tia : What do you think is the most common mistake that new companies make when it comes to their brand?

Kelly : I’d say that can be answered two ways: 1) they market to the “stoner” consumer and ignore the large influx of new participants in this market, and 2) they under-invest in the “brand” identity. This can manifest itself in a lack of thoughtfulness of how products link together, or how packaging does or does not inspire an emotional response in a user.

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Tia : Tell us more about your products and why you've decided to specifically focus on this type of cannabis product?

Kelly : We developed an infused cannabis ingredient base first, and we have just recently built products on top of those platforms. For instance, our best-selling product is our Gems™ (Made with Ruby™ Cannabis Sugar), that pairs organic fruit, with our infused organic sugar for one of the cleanest, healthiest edibles in existence today.

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Tia : What is your opinion on the hype for the highest THC levels possible? Do you believe that strains/products with the highest THC levels are the ones to look out for - or is it a misconception? Should people look into more balanced products with a healthy balance of THC/ CBD for quality entourage effect?

Kelly : I think many of us anticipated “micro-dosing” was the future back when legalization occurred. Quite the opposite has been the case, as higher and higher levels of THC are in demand. We believe several dynamics are in play: 1) users are more experienced and want a higher “high” as their tolerances increase and their appetites for new form factors rises, 2) the cost of legal cannabis is relatively high, and consumers are looking for “bang for their buck”. Why would a budget-conscious user buy a pre-roll with 19 percent THC, when they can buy a pre-roll with 24 percent THC for the same price? In this way, they are getting more THC for the same dollar amount. We believe terpenes are the key to the true psychoactive cannabis experience. This is why vapor products can seem “shallow” or “short-lived”. The entourage effect is real and responsible for the psychoactive experiences we define by strains (chemical profiles).

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Tia : The push for cannabis legalization has been mostly focused on its medical properties. Do you think there could be more said on the recreational use of cannabis, and it's positive/positively euphoric effects for non-medical purposes?

Kelly : The medical use case has been the politically “easy” path forward. As a Senator in Washington state once told me: “Kelly, there’s no constituency for drug dealers”, and the best we could hope for is a neutral stance versus pro recreational cannabis. This is seen played out across the United States. An argument can be made that cannabis reduces harder drug use, as well as reduces alcohol consumption and thus the risk factors associated with alcohol use: liver disease, obesity, drunk driving, etc. Another compelling argument is social justice, as well as badly needed tax revenues during a time of pandemic and plummeting tax receipts in the main street economy.

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Tia : How does DeepCell maintain transparency in their product line from seed to sale?

Kelly : We do not grow nor manufacture THC products. We license our technology and brands to reputable partners who comply with our quality control protocols. On the CBD side, we source only the highest quality hemp-cannabinoids along with Certificates of Analysis (COA’s) and provenance from American-grown farms. We do not source from China or Northern Europe, as heavy metal and pesticide risks are high. We are also developing a blockchain solution on R3’s CORDA blockchain, set to launch our pilot sometime in 2021.

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Tia : What do you think would be the ideal outcome for the cannabis industry long-term?

Kelly : We believe federal legalization will lead to a boom in global cannabis. The USA leads the world as a result of the size of our economy. Currently, the global cannabis market is projected at $344 billion, including black market. This is while it’s illegal in 99 percent of the world. Alcohol is a $1.5 trillion market, with over a billion users. Once cannabis is legal, it will overtake alcohol and provide off-ramps to damaging pharmaceuticals and an alternative that does not have the same risk factors as alcohol.

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Tia : What do you think the next five years look like for the cannabis industry, both in the U.S. and globally?

Kelly : We believe legalization is inevitable in the United States. Inevitable does not mean imminent, as we saw in the last four years under President Trump. Once the U.S. ends prohibition, we believe capital markets will quickly find paths to fund the best companies for rapid expansion. Globally we see a boom in Asia at the end of 2025 as laws relax following the legalization in the Western world.

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Tia : Are there any plans for brand expansion? What do you plan to add to your product list moving forward?

Kelly : Yes! Our brands launch across Canada in Q4 2020 or Q1 2021 through a year-old partnership with Indiva, Ltd., a publicly-traded licensed Canadian cannabis operator.

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You can follow DeepCell at:

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