Episode 237 - Lance Asher, Green Elevator
Episode 237 is the 35th episode of Season 4.
Today we're joined by Lance Asher, the founder of Green Elevator Cannabis, a hemp-derived beverage brand out of Minnesota. He found the plant as a teenager and spent time in the legacy market. What followed was a long run in the corporate world, along with a car detailing business he ran. When Minnesota built a regulatory framework around hemp-derived beverages and edibles in August of 2022, he saw a way back in that did not carry the old risk, and he launched Green Elevator in October of 2023 under a tagline his daughter came up with, that an elevator takes you where you want to go.
In this one, Lance makes the case that cannabis and hemp have been letting themselves off the hook on flavor, and that an edible tasting bad because the effect is coming is a standard none of us would accept from a plate of food that arrived at the table. He takes us inside building the first can, from pairing lemon with wedding cake terpenes to talking a soda-focused co-packer down from forty-six grams of sugar to the low twenties, with a tasting panel that ran from his teenagers to his partner to the neighbors.
He gives a clear read on the federal hemp fight and why a beverage-only carve-out would leave gummies, chocolates and topicals behind, along with the people who prefer them.
Connect with Lance on LinkedIn and order a drink at GreenElevatorCannabis.com
Enjoy the show!
