2Written by Karen HawthorneOGEN by Bloom Cultivation is a cannabis company that is doing things differently. While others in the market are focused on public relations campaigns and talking about their plans, OGEN is quietly manufacturing and delivering a superior recreational cannabis product. The craft is producing high quality flower in small batches that cannabis connoisseurs, and the canna-curious buyer, will both discover and be absolutely blown away by. “Right now, we’re not looking to vertically integrate, we’re just really focused on pro-ducing a premium flower,” says Linda Luu, OGEN’s Marketing Director. “Our growers pay the utmost attention to our plants throughout the grow cycle. We spend the time to hang dry, hand trim and slow cure our buds. Our pre-rolls are single strain, ground flower which is different from the blended, trim pre-rolls on the market. We think people are going to come across OGEN, try it, and tell all their friends – or they may not want to tell anyone so they can keep it for themselves.” 3Based in Calgary, Alberta – the city’s first licensed producer as of April 2018 – the OGEN origin story really is all about its company ethos, “where street meets science.” OGEN calls itself the grower’s grower, adopting an authentic, grassroots approach combined with science to continuously deliver a superior flower. The company is all about its community, customers and employees that come from all walks of life. “We embrace that diversity,” Luu says, adding that cannabis is not just a product, it is a way of life. And that’s exactly where OGEN is stepping up. In fact, its mission is specifically focused on bringing a premium product to the Canadian market that connoisseurs will appreciate. Now, six years in, the company is doing just that. “We’ve kept our heads down and we’re in stealth mode,” Luu says. “For us, it’s not about telling the world or getting into the news, we’re just focused on what we do best and we continue to get better and better.” The close-knit team of twenty-four cultivates cannabis with the same passion and commitment to quality of industry pioneers that first introduced their unique strains to the world. This humble start-up recently expanded its facility to 60,000 square feet of pristine, indoor growing conditions and is scaling the team to approximately 75 employees. OGEN is a lean company with serious intentions. Plants are handcrafted throughout the entire process and grown in hydroponics to pharmaceutical grade. All done in small batch rooms of about 1,000 square feet. Small-batch rooms with single strain plants allow for customized environments. Each particular cultivar has its own unique require-ment for nutrients, water, defoliation and lolli-popping schedule; the temperature, amount of light, humidity and harvest process are different from plant to plant. OGEN has the entire process dialled in. Luu says the overall process is in contrast with most mass producers who have numerous strains growing in huge rooms and often a very hands-off approach. “Cutting corners will cut costs; however, it also cuts the quality of the product and that’s not what we’re about.” Watch the OGEN website video and you’ll see the attention and meticulous science of OGEN’s hands-on approach. Each strain is monitored and tested for consistency with the underlying question of, ‘how do we grow each batch better?’ “Our purpose is to raise the bar for high-quality cannabis and calling it ‘craft’ doesn’t do it justice,” says OGEN President Darren Brisebois. “There’s an incredible amount of love and research that goes into our process. We mix old school growing techniques with science and data. OGEN is both pharmaceutical and craft; we are the intersection of where street meets science,” he says. 4Selection of the best pheno type revolves around traits like smell, flavour profile, colour, trichomes and potency. OGEN prides itself on tenacious genetic hunting in Europe to find excellent breeders and on navigating the export to Canada. To date, the team has gone through 40 different strains and many pheno types to get down to two specific strains that deliver the level of quality the market deserves and is demanding. “We feel that the current products on the market are lacking in quality and that’s why people are sticking to the black market,” Brisebois says. “We could cut out a lot of our processes and produce for less; however, that’s not even a question for us. It must be high-quality cannabis or nothing at all.” As for growing pains, Brisebois says the struggles for Canadian licensed producers are well-documented and OGEN has faced the same challenges – being a start-up business, meeting govern-ment regulations as they evolve, and long license approval queues. “We’ve got a lot of technical talent elevating the operation,” says Brisebois, proud of the worthwhile investment in people OGEN makes. “Mix that with a passion for the product and the result is truly a joy to experience.” He explains that, “Our focus is high-quality dried flower. We’re not trying to do vape pens, drinks and chocolates. Our number one priority is to be deadly focused. Canada grows under the most strict regula-tions and we want to compete with the best growers in the world. Even if their regulations are more relaxed.” To say that OGEN is trailblazing the industry as Canada’s premium cultivator is on point. The team doesn’t accept anything but the best every step of the way. One exciting part of cannabis cultivation is what is known as pheno hunting – seeking out the best version of a strain by growing several seeds of the same genetic, to determine the plant with the ideal dominant traits before cloning an entire room of that pheno (which takes a lot of time and effort). “Our focus is high-quality dried flower. We’re not trying to do vape pens, drinks and chocolates.”6When Bloom Cultivation needed software to help them run their business, they selected NexTec’s CannaBusiness ERP - the next generation of cannabis business management software. More than seed-to-sale, CannaBusiness ERP delivers a 360-degree view of your business. Here’s what it can do for you.• One system to manage finance and operations• Track cultivation, production, inventory, finance, sales, compliance, and customers in one system• Seed-to-sale traceability with RFID/barcoding to reduce manual efforts• Support compliance with Health Canada, GMP, GPP, ACMPR, US State and global regulations• Integrate growing and production processes, including planting, cloning, harvesting, drying, processing, packaging, marketing, sales and product recall management.• Able to manage medical and recreational clients• B2B & B2C eCommerce capability• Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) to manage inventory and forecast demand• Ability to integrate with leading Dispensary POS systems• Conduct real or mock product recalls in minutes• Streamline Corrective and Preventative Action (CAPA)• Track actuals vs expected production (strain profile)• Built on Sage X3 - one of the best business management software solutions in the marketCannaBusiness ERP is built on the powerful Sage X3 platform and implemented by NexTec Group - a well-established provider of ERP (business management) software for highly regulated industries, like food, pharma and cannabis. NexTec has over 600 customers across Canada and the US, including some of the largest cannabis producers in North America. Bloom Cultivation uses CannaBusiness ERPLearn more at CMYCMMYCYCMYKCannabis Brightline Half Page 08-29-19 print.pdf 1 8/29/2019 03:48:19 PMOGEN by Bloom Cultivation uses CannaBusiness ERPWhile those hurdles still stand, what’s creating buzz in the industry is premium cultivators like OGEN coming online. “We want to move the industry from the black market to the white market. We want to be that first company that does micro-cultivation on scale.” And as far as Brisebois is concerned, that’s a big move forward. “I think that it’s important that the industry stop being looked at as stock and focus more attention on the product. At the same time, the underground talent needs to have the oppor-tunity to participate in legalization. However, keep in mind that what worked in the past may not work for a company trying to scale its production. That’s why we believe in combining the street with the science, to raise the bar of cultivation with respect to the pioneers. Together, this approach will give the true cannabis connoisseur a superior product.” Content Developed by Whitney McCoy | Designed by Victoria Lane8OGEN BY BLOOM CULTIVATION EXCLUSIVELY USES ADVANCED NUTRIENTS TO GROW THEIR PREMIUM, CRAFT CANNABIS. Find out how your grow will benefit when you add Advanced Nutrients into the mix.The following are their go-to products: pH Perfect SensiGrow A and B: A two-part base formula that helps to balance your pH while providing a blend of macro and micronutrients for ultimate performance during the vegetative cycle.pH Perfect Sensi Bloom Coco Part and B: Our heavy hitting two-part Sensi Bloom, designed with carefully dialed-in amounts of calcium, magnesium, iron and other micronutrients needed when growing in coco coir.Big Bud: An effective bloom booster for increasing overall harvest weight without sacrificing quality. Bud Factor X: The perfect additive for growers looking to coax maximum production of terpenoids, resins and essential oilsSensizym: An excellent product for breaking down nutrients and dead material from your root zone, assisting rootzone efficiency and uptake.Sensi TCal-Mag Xtra: The ideal way to give your plants an extra boost of calcium, magnesium, and iron to help plants achieve optimum growth reactions.9SUPPORTED BY As featured inOctober 2019Next >