Cannabis companies join local businesses to produce ‘baked’ goods

SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — A popular Sioux Falls bakery known for its wine-infused bakes, will be partnering with Brandon-based cannabis company Dakota Herb for a different type of “baking” .

The partnership is still in its early stages, but Holly Jorgensen, one of the co-owners of the bakery in question Intoxibakes, said they were “very excited”. The two companies will collaborate in the near future to produce medical food for people with medical cards.

Jorgenson spoke to KELOLAND by phone this week and helped provide details about the bakery. The first thing to understand is that customers won’t stop by the bakery’s downtown Sioux Falls location to buy cannabis products. Jorgenson said Intoxibakes won’t be a positive partner in the business, but will do wholesale, making food products sold in South Dakota pharmacies.

Intoxibakes also doesn’t bake goods at its downtown location, using the Dakota Herb facility instead.

“We have a county manufacturing license in Lincoln County,” said Dalton Grimmius, CEO of Dakota Herb. “We are currently working through the state process.”

Grimmius said that as early as January 2023, Dakota Herb will be ready to supply Intoxibakes with raw materials to produce its products.

On the product side, Grimmius said that after speaking with the Intoxibakes team, they are looking for cakes, brownies, rice crisp bars and fudge.

While they can’t use marijuana yet, Jorgenson said, they’ve been doing some testing with it to figure out what they can do.

Jorgenson also shared something that might surprise some fans of the boozy bakery. “It’s always been in our plans,” she said. When asked to elaborate, Jorgensen said she thought alcohol roasting was a good first step, but even five years ago, when they started the business, they were looking to get into the cannabis market.

This is certainly good news for Dakota Herb, who finds value in the unique type of roast that Intoxibakes excel at. “Anyone can make food,” Grimius said, “but you have to be really good at what you’re doing to make food taste good.”

When asked which was more difficult to bake with alcohol or THC, Jorgensen said THC was definitely a bigger challenge. That’s because, with alcohol, you can go out and buy a pre-bottled drink and add it to your recipe.

With THC, things are not so simple. Intoxibakes will produce its own THC butters and oils, all of which must be tested for quality and potency. Since potency can vary based on certain factors, this also means that the amount required for a recipe may need to be adjusted to ensure the quality of the product.

The ability to sell food is also important to Dakota Herb, said Joe Stavig, Dakota Herb’s chief financial officer.

“Not everyone wants to smoke, right,” Stavig asked rhetorically. “There are some medical patients out there that you can’t actually do.”

For now, the plan is only to produce medical products, although the potential passage of adult-use cannabis could open up recreational markets for the partnership. But one thing is off the table; good food and wine. “That’s just asking for trouble,” Jorgensen said.

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