Loonacy

Loonacy is a growing e-commerce and soon be brick and mortar in Apple Valley Minnesota. We help individuals improve their quality of life by utilizing hemp derived products. We help people improve sleep, bring down anxiety, create focus, and give motivation and energy; all with 100% 2018 farm bill legal hemp derived products. We sell edibles, flower, topicals, vapes and cartridges.   

We have our sights sets on the emerging adult-legal marijuana market  in  Minnesota, as it will be legal within the next couple of years. The first legislative session in 2023 will include the introduction of a marijuana legalization bill that will improve our medical marijuana program and make recreational marijuana legal, possibly as early as July 2023. We are looking for funding so we can become the premier cannabis dispensary and grow operation in Minnesota. I named this venture Loonacy, with Minnesotans in mind. Big picture we plan to offer both hemp derived products and marijuana derived products as we strongly believe there is a need in the marketplace for both. 

We focus on providing education to our clients that turn into sales. Consultative selling works best in this area as there is very little verified information for the consumer to trust. Since Minnesota legalized Delta 9 THC in July of 2022, we have be on a mission to switch the  non-legal user into a legal consumer. We held a "pop-up" event back in November 2022 in preparation of opening our new brick and mortar as a test for what the market in Minnesota really  wants. We learned a lot about what people are looking for and what kind of information they are hungry to hear. In that 5 hour event, we had over 100 people walk through, 87 people purchased with the average sale of $78. We profited $3800 in 5 hours. That gave us the data we were looking for and we confirmed our brick and mortar location in Apple Valley the following week. The demand is there and we want to be the ones to supply. 

So, let me introduce myself, I am Erin DuPree a cannabis connoisseur and serial entrepreneur. I am the founder and CEO of Loonacy.  I have been starting, building and selling businesses since 1998. I also am a business coach and advisor with several company's success under my belt. I have self-funded Loonacy so far, but I see the need for additional support. In preparation for this business' success I am a member of the Minnesota Cannabis Association, BNI, and have recently finished a Bootcamp on UX/UI design. I have become an expert on the subject matter and I want to be one helping Minnesotans become educated consumers. I have their best interest in mind;  I have  tried every single product we sell to insure quality. I only choose vendors who can show a certificate of analysis for each their products done by a third party lab. Plus, we only carry brands that use full or broad spectrum cannabinoids and from live rosin extraction. Even though you can synthetically make many cannabinoids I refuse to offer those products. There is not enough research yet to prove those imitation products are safe for long term use. Where as, naturally harvested live rosin hemp that is then processed similarly to marijuana to extract the cannabinoids yields a much more verified product. 

I am asking for $300,000 to start the preparation for legal marijuana but also to start our own hemp grow operation that will migrate into marijuana as well when it is legalized. I do think that Minnesota will legalize before it happens on a federal level. Therefore I  know I cannot transport across state lines like I do for our hemp products currently.  I need to be prepared to grow and process within Minnesota. I have already consulted a horticulturist about cost and needs for hemp and marijuana grows. I plan to do hydroponic indoors for maximum yields, plat turns, and profit. 

Our original business plan did not include the add-on of marijuana offerings, but the political climate here in Minnesota has become such that we are pivoting. I am good friends with a dispensary owner in Michigan and it has become clear with her guidance that it would behove us to add marijuana when it is legalized. The original goal was to have  3 stores in 5 years, however with legalization around the corner we now are thinking sate-wide, not just the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. 

I currently have only a handful of competitors in the market. Mainly "Nothing but Hemp" who sells in-store and online in Minnesota and Florida.  "Rize" is a medical marijuana dispensary that will likely offer recreational when legalized. They will be the biggest competition once the legalization bill is passed. As of right now there isn't a big player in the market and I know I need additional funding to become that company. 

I am currently the sole member of the  MN LLC where Loonacy sits. We are in good standing with all the state and all vendors. Our Brick and Mortar is slated to open in late January 2023.  You can see our current product offerings at www.loonacymn.com