Venture Capital News: Hemper Raises $1M in Seed Round

Hemper, a cannabis accessories and lifestyle brand, today announced that it has raised $1 million in a seed round to support the company's growth. Evolution Corporate Advisors, a New York-based venture investor focused on disruptive companies with strong products and market opportunity, was the sole investor. Hemper will use the new capital to accelerate sales, marketing and product development as well as expand into new geographic markets.

Launched in 2015 as a curator of monthly, limited-run cannabis accessory boxes, Hemper now has nearly 10,000 monthly subscribers with more than 200,000 boxes shipped to date. That includes celebrity-designed and -curated editions with original artwork that have become collectors' items. The company also designs and manufactures its own smoking products, selling them through its online platform and more than 700 stores nationwide. Retail distribution is expected to hit 3,000 stores by the end of 2019.

Hemper's rapid growth has paralleled the acceleration of the marijuana legalization movement and associated destigmatization of cannabis use. Eight states and the District of Columbia now permit recreational marijuana use, and 30 have legalized medical marijuana.

"Hemper has evolved from a monthly subscription service providing novel smoking and replenishment accessories to a cult following to become a diversified brand with well-designed and innovative products that are now being purchased by a more mainstream audience in addition to our core fans," said Hemper CEO Bryan Gerber, who founded the company with CFO Ravjot (RJ) Bhasin and COO Henry Kochhar. "This financing will help us meet demand, develop new items to expand our product portfolio, and serve a growing market whose consumers are demanding better quality."

"The cannabis market is witnessing a transition to a mainstream user with the growing acceptance of cannabis use, and Hemper is the perfect proxy to take advantage of that shift," said Evolution Corporate Advisors' Gregg Smith, who has also invested in other disruptive smoking-related companies including market leaders PAX Labs and JUUL Labs, and has joined the Hemper board. "Their team has built an impressive product portfolio, customer base and financial track record without any outside investment to this point, and the business will only be strengthened as more cannabis users come online looking for innovative and well-designed products."

About Hemper

Hemper is a diversified cannabis accessories and lifestyle brand that designs and sells innovative products for the smoking market. For more information, visit https://www.hemper.