Hemper Announces $10 Million Series A Round to Launch Nationwide Cannabis Ordering and Delivery Platform

NEW YORK, Dec. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hemper (www.hemper.co), a cannabis accessories and lifestyle brand that designs and produces products for consumers and industry partners, today announced that it has signed definitive agreements to close a $10 million Series A financing round to support the company's growth and to build the first national online cannabis ordering platform connecting consumers with licensed dispensaries. This new financing follows the closing of a $1 million seed round this past summer. 

The Series A round was led by Poseidon Asset Management of San Francisco, an investment management company that invests exclusively in the cannabis industry, and existing investor Evolution VC Partners, a New York-based venture investor focused on culture-tech investments that was the sole investor in Hemper's seed round. Hemper will use the new capital to develop its new platform, expand into new geographic markets, and accelerate sales, marketing and product development.

Hemper launched in 2015 as a curator of monthly, limited-run cannabis accessory boxes and now has in excess of 10,000 monthly subscribers with more than 250,000 boxes shipped to date. The company's limited-run boxes include celebrity-designed and curated editions with original artwork that have become collectors' items. The company also designs and manufactures its own innovative smoking accessories, selling them through its online store and in more than 1,000 retail 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 in the U.S. Ten states, the District of Columbia and Canada now permit recreational marijuana use, and 33 states 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 appealing to 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 this growing 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 more demanding and mainstream user base with the growing acceptance of cannabis use, and Hemper is perfectly positioned to take advantage of that broadening consumer profile," said Poseidon's Emily Paxhia. 

"Hemper's 'Apple-esque' attention to design and detail and Supreme-like cult following have enabled them to attract a consumer base that has been significantly underserved," said Evolution VC Partners' Gregg Smith. "They are already a trusted provider of smoking accessories for tens of thousands of customers, and we see an enormous opportunity to be the Grubhub of cannabis and to eventually establish an online and mobile cannabis-ordering company that connects consumers with local dispensaries, when legal."

Both Poseidon and Evolution VC Partners have also invested in other disruptive smoking-and-vaping-related companies, including market leaders PAX Labs and JUUL Labs.

Consumers can join Hemper's waiting list to receive deliveries and can register at https://www.hemper.co/pages/delivery

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

SOURCE Hemper