San Marino MMJ grower hits perpetual cycle, gets ready to hit EU market

Health Farm has finally pushed its grow into full perpetual motion. After a long year of tests and quiet tweaks, the San Marino based cultivator is now pulling in roughly 20 kg every 20 days, with a steady rhythm that founder Ruggero Stacchini describes as both satisfying and still full of challenges. "We are happy. It is going well. We have a few contacts for selling in the European market and we are waiting for the documentation," he says. The team has been learning fast, especially on the analytical side. "The problem at the beginning was the analysis. Now we know how to do everything. So, we are facing the sales side."

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Getting ready to enter the market
Ruggero explains that communicating with San Marinese agencies goes quite smoothly. The real challenge is tackling the international stage. "With San Marino, we are very fast. The relationship with the medical cannabis authority is great and in a few days, we get answers. The issue is fully understanding how things work outside. We are not there yet, and we want to understand who we deal with and how the market works."

That's why Health Farm has been shopping around Europe to get a clearer picture. "We are looking at Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Greece, Portugal. We made connections in all these markets, including Italy."

On the research side, the company has an agreement with the San Marinese authority and local pharmaceutical workshops to start doctor training and clinical style trials. "Doctors in San Marino, just like in Italy, are not prepared for this type of treatment. We want to do courses and experimentation."

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"Quality has a cost"
The company is also looking for European pharmaceutical partners able to process flower into finished products such as oil or rosin, for both domestic and European distribution. The challenge, Ruggero notes, is the pricing landscape. "Some prices are too low. We are here in Europe and we see numbers that do not really add up. Quality has a cost. Probably distribution earns more than the producer of quality product. The market is demand and supply, but still. We want to understand how to work well in the European market without shortcuts."

In the meantime, Health Farm has product ready to be shipped. "We have finished product, harvested, trimmed, COA done, ready for the market. We are in talks with different potential partners. But first, we want to understand the market well."

Output will grow steadily. "From now on, every month we are harvesting 20 kg of flowers plus 10 kg of trimming material. But we have the capacity to double our production. However, for now, we are not going all in before landing on the market."

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After a year of test cycles, the full perpetual run seems to be paying off. "With continuous cycles we improve every day. Just like in any horticulture business, we face the usual daily cultivation challenges, but now we are in full production."

The goal is simple. "We want to reach the market because we feel ready. We did a full year of training to get to a high-quality product. It's not only us and our COAs saying that. We have been told that the terpene profile of our flowers is very unique." Lab tests indeed show that Health Farm flowers contain not only 20% THC, but also a 1.4% terpene content, which can find applications for a variety of medical conditions. "We look forward to offering that to European patients," Ruggero concludes.