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The Capsule Consulting Group (TCCG)

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November 14, 2016 Issue

CEOCFO MAGAZINE

Full-Service Capsule Manufacturer and Consultancy for Cannabis Producers, Processors and Cultivators

Eli Elias

Vice President

The Capsule Consulting Group (TCCG)

www.cannabiscapsules.com

Interview conducted by:

Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine
Published – November 14, 2016

CEOCFO: Mr. Elias, would you tell us the idea behind The Capsule Consulting Group?

Mr. Elias: We are a full-service capsule manufacturer and consultancy for the cannabis industry. The whole idea behind our company is we aim to help producers, processors and even cultivators in the cannabis industry with everything they would need to be able to produce cannabis capsules in-house. We see this as a revolution that is currently overtaking in the cannabis industry. The more products that are available to patients, the better. We aim to help producers produce cannabis capsules as part of their line of currently existing products to increase the smokeless appeal of cannabis and to better help and serve their patients.

CEOCFO: What do you understand about cannabis capsules, which others may do not recognize?
Mr. Elias: It is an interesting product because capsules have been pretty much the standardized delivery method for medicine for the past thirty-five years, if not longer. When we are sick, we take a capsule as well as for a headache or stomachache. It only seems fitting that for an industry that is trying to legitimize itself in the medicinal sense that it too would embrace the technology that is available to the rest of the medicinal industries. We see it as a natural progression for the cannabis industry to want to integrate capsules and we believe it has been a long time coming.

CEOCFO: What are the specific challenges?

Mr. Elias: It is that this industry is relatively young. For that reason, we have not had the chance or time to explore these new technologies. What the industry is trying to realize is that we can embrace other industries’ technologies and integrate them into our own, to create s better future for ours. For example, the inhaler is another medical device that is currently being used for plenty of applications, whether asthma inhaler or whatever the other application might be. We’ve recently started to integrate that technology into the industry as well. rather than fighting the current medical infrastructure, we’ve learned to embrace medical innovations, bringing it in to our industry, displaying the cannabis industry in a more positive light. At the end of the day, it is no secret that the cannabis industry has a PR problem. Many people think that medical marijuana is a silly ploy to legalize pot smoking, but in reality there are thousands upon thousands of patients who rely on this medicine daily. I know that they would love to have the option when it comes to their medicine, to be able to choose between an inhaler, a capsule or even an infused edible product.

CEOCFO: Can all the different types of cannabis be made into capsule form?

Mr. Elias: If you think about what cannabis is, there is a plant called cannabis but it can be formed into different products. If we look at the spectrum of what is available on the product scale for the cannabis industry, it is typically concentrates, derivatives based from those concentrates; for example, tinctures, which are ready to use products. Processors dissolve cannabis concentrate in an ethanol solution to create this ready-made smokeless cannabis product There are plenty of different manifestations of cannabis in 2016. As we look into what the capsule is, it is a shell that is designed to dissolve inside the body, leaving the medication suspended in your stomach, ready to be absorbed. For that matter, we can take any form of cannabis product, whichever the patient feels most comfortable with and encapsulate it. For example, if they feel more comfortable with a flower-based product, we have ways to encapsulate flowers, which would be the actual raw cannabis buds. If a person is looking to encapsulate a liquid such as cannabis extracts or other viscous oils, there is a way to put that into a capsule as well. Even for people who are looking to encapsulate tinctures we have a special capsule for that as well. Not all capsules are universal. Each one has their own unique applications, so we ask our customers what they are using as an excipient, to best guide them on which capsule they should use.

CEOCFO: Which parts of your services are embraced the most?

Mr. Elias: The beauty of our company is that we help everybody from the smallest producers to the largest cannabis companies. There are producers who have never even heard of capsule technology and how its application could be used in the cannabis industry. Those customers need more comprehensive service and we are here to help them from machine selection through final product design. There is no standard mold but whatever the project is, it is not too small or too large for us to handle. We have an expert team of executives, technicians and scientists on board, all of whom simplify cannabis encapsulation for our clients. If you are already a cannabis capsule producer who is looking to scale up production, no problem it is a simple task as long as we are involved. If you are looking to produce capsules  for a brand-new project, it requires multiple loose ends to come together. This is something that we make easy for our clients. Many will start out with our contract manufacturing services whereby they use our factories to produce a final product, ready for sale. We are  of course talking about a legal CBD product for contract manufacturing. Our business is separated into two different sections. The first is THC, which is the most famous component in cannabis and CBD, which is a hemp-based derivative, legal in all fifty states. We have seen a lot of people start out with our contract manufacturing services, for example, for CBD based products. Then they will realize it is more cost-effective to do this process in-house and they will engage our services to want to bring the machinery, packaging and  formulations in-house.

CEOCFO: How do potential clients find you and how do you reach out?

Mr. Elias: We are the capsule manufacturers. If you are looking for capsules, you might go to a third-party supplier and they will quote you something. You will then stumble upon us and we are heaven-sent because we are the actual manufacturers. We are able to get the capsules down to the bottom price. We offer both  bulk pricing for larger customers, which makes the capsule shells very affordable and retail pricing for smaller producers who are just starting out. Producers will do a web search for cannabis capsules so it is a natural fit that people will stumble upon us. We have been accepted into the cannabis industry as the go-to source and we find that most people find success using our capsules. After trying our capsules, they are repeat customers by default because our products withstand the test better than many of the competitor’s capsules.

CEOCFO: What is it about your capsules that make them better?

Mr. Elias: It’s simple, we follow good manufacturing processes. Our capsules are made in an FDA approved facility that is cGMP. That is something that a lot of the other overseas capsule manufactures cannot say. Capsules that are being imported from the orient have been known to have contamination issues with heavy metals, which is definitely not something that is advisable. Especially so, if you are claiming this to be a medicinal product that is in the hands of patients. We do not want to contaminate our patients, so we try to keep people away from the oriental capsules. Moreover, those capsules are known to be defective. Though competitively priced, oriental capsules are not recommended mainly because a large number tend to fail during the manufacturing process. Because they are not batch tested for stability, these capsules regularly have leakage issues. Each batch that we produce is tested and comes with its own respective certificate of approval, Batch testing is crucial because once the capsules leave our factory, they are ready to go into the hands of producers and eventually into the hands of patients. The actual capsule itself sports our proprietary two-piece locking system, ensuring that whatever you are trying to encapsulate, stays inside. Very few producers complain about leaking issues and those who have, were simply using the wrong capsule. Part of what we do is get a clear depiction of what you are trying to do with your project, what ingredients are you encapsulating, how are you currently encapsulating and how you plan to encapsulate in the future. By asking these questions, we are best able to guide our clients towards the proper capsule and equipment.

CEOCFO: Do you see many participants in the cannabis economy looking for quality

Mr. Elias: As an industry, we absolutely seek for quality products. We are begging to be recognized as a legitimate industry that has the same levels of precaution and the same levels of stringencies as any other industry. We are scrutinized more heavily than other medicinal products on the market. The amount of scrutiny we see, by default, causes us to provide a premium product. We work heavily in the medicinal market. By default, we are helping patients; we would never want to put tainted medicine in the hands of the patients. For that reason, we make it our complete prerogative to only produce quality capsule shells and work with quality producers so that we can get quality medicine in the hands of the patients.

CEOCFO: Would you tell us about the formulation assistance that you offer?
Mr. Elias: That is a unique offering that we have at The Capsule Consulting Group. We have lab technicians on staff who are experts in capsule formulations. Anyone can formulate a recipe but it is another thing to have that recipe consistent and tested. We not only give you a recipe of how to produce the proper medication but we also give you an implementation manual so that you can be within compliance at all times. We also suggest third party auditing to make sure that you are holding true to that formula. Anyone can mess-up on a piece of paper but as long as you are being audited by a third-party it is very effective. It ensures that quality medicine is going into quality capsules.

CEOCFO: How do you accommodate payment challenges in your industry?

Mr. Elias: We understand that many people do not have the capital to go and invest in a full capsule setup. For that reason we offer services for all price ranges. Whether a complete startup package or just capsule shells, we have services that are available for all. If a person wants to get involved heavily and wants to go for a full setup, our payment plans are very affordable. We work based off of milestone payments and all we require is a 33% deposit to engage our services and begin the project. The project starts by sourcing a machine so that they are actually able to produce at the scale they desire. From there, we install the machine, train their staff on how to use it and give tech support in case it is ever needed, plus we provide all the necessary capsules, so that they can begin producing in-house immediately. It is very affordable and we are paid as you see progress. Many people have trust issues in the cannabis industry. There are plenty of individuals who are in the industry for cash grabs. Many of our clients have been scarred by these people who are in it solely for the monetary incentive. They promise the world to you, you pay them and they will not deliver the correct service. We therefore make it our mission to make sure that as you see progress, that is when we get paid

CEOCFO: Has anything changed in your approach. What have you learned as TCCG has grown?
Mr. Elias: I have learned that the cannabis industry is the most complex industry that ever existed. I entered this space thinking that it would be plenty of fun, but in reality, this is the industry that has the heat of the spotlight directly on it. Each state’s unique guidelines and regulations will make you sweat. It is tough to educate someone about cannabis when one has such devout adverse opinions. For the many who do not agree with medicinal marijuana, I Say, how dare they deny a patient their medicine. Is it not the case that cruel and unusual punishment is forbidden under our constitution? The verbiage surrounding the industry has been more towards “Ok I guess patients need their medicine, so let’s put a spotlight on you and make you sweat.” I do not agree with that. We are begging to be treated like any other industry and we realize there is a PR problem. It is our job at The Capsule Consulting Group, to help open up the eyes of people who would think otherwise. There are plenty of naysayers out there that do not think of cannabis as a medicine. The second they see it in a medicinal format like a capsule, their opinions immediately change. They say “wow you do not have to smoke it and there is no taste?” They will say “wow you have a bubble gum flavored capsule to increase patient compliance.” That is what has changed.

CEOCFO: Why is TCCG an important company?

Mr. Elias: We are shaping the future of legal cannabis consumption one capsule at a time. We do not aim to supersede any other product in the industry, rather we aim to open the minds of people, patients and producers that cannabis capsules are an integral part of the industry and it will increase patient compliance while giving patients the smokeless option that they desire. TCCG is an industry pillar because we provide all the turnkey services by which producers can get this important medicine onto the shelves and ultimately into the hands of the patients.

“We work heavily in the medicinal market. By default, we are helping patients; we would never want to put tainted medicine in the hands of the patients. For that reason, we make it our complete prerogative to only produce quality capsule shells and work with quality producers so that we can get quality medicine in the hands of the patients.”- Eli Elias

“For the many who do not agree with medicinal marijuana, I Say, how dare they deny a patient their medicine. Is it not the case that cruel and unusual punishment is forbidden under our constitution? We are shaping the future of legal cannabis consumption one capsule at a time. We do not aim to supersede any other product in the industry, rather we aim to open the minds of people, patients and producers that cannabis capsules are an integral part of the industry and it will increase patient compliance while giving patients the smokeless option that they desire.”- Eli Elias

The Capsule Consulting Group (TCCG)

www.cannabiscapsules.com

Contact:

Eli Elias

1-800 852-9238

eli@cannabiscapsules.com

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