Puro is New Zealand’s largest grower of medical cannabis and one of the world’s biggest large-scale organic growers.
We are focused on growing premium and pure medical cannabis – indoors and outdoors – and have recently been named Cultivator of the Year at the 2021 Australian Cannabis Awards.
Puro is now into its second growing season at Kēkerengū, with 10 hectares of high-grade CBD, CBG, and lower-grade THC medical cannabis crops due to be harvested in March/April 2022. Puro’s first harvest in 2021 resulted in 25 tonnes of wet material dried and processed in our on-site drying facility – the largest medical cannabis drying facility in New Zealand.
The medical cannabis grown at Kēkerengū is certified as organic by BioGro NZ, making Puro the only organic medical cannabis producer in New Zealand or Australia and one of only a handful worldwide. These organic, outdoor plants will be hand-harvested, dried and processed in March and April 2022.
Growing organically is more easily said than done. Our cultivation team are writing the rulebook in organic cultivation, exploring organic fertilisers and how these can help provide the nutrients our plants need, with specific predator species being used to control pests.
Getting ‘organic right’ makes sense on every level. Not only can growing organically be better for the planet, but it helps Puro position itself as a grower of premium, high-value medical cannabis that can attract a premium price.
Our indoor plants are grown in our high security, hi-tech research and breeding facility at Waihopai, Marlborough and are a mixture of CBD and THC plants.
Our premium cannabis products will be sold to pharmaceutical and extraction partners in New Zealand and overseas, with Puro having recently signed a five-year, multi-million dollar supply agreement with Auckland-based Helius Therapeutics.
Under our agreement with Helius Therapeutics, Puro will supply over 10 tonnes of organic medicinal cannabis to Helius over the next five years, the equivalent of approximately five shipping containers of dried cannabis flower.
It’s a landmark agreement that will provide Kiwis further access to locally made medicines and pave the way for international export success.
None of what we’ve achieved would have been possible without the truly world-class team we have assembled. In just three years we have built an internationally experienced team with expertise across cultivation, compliance and finance.
MedCan attendees will have the chance to see several of the Puro team in action, with managing director Tim Aldridge taking part in the panel discussion on the industry’s challenges and opportunities, Chief Scientific Officer Dr Dottie Clower participating in a panel discussion on women in the industry, and Cultivation Director and co-founder Tom Forrest providing the closing keynote.
Puro is a bronze sponsor of MedCan 2022.