NC companies collaborate to bring hemp from field to lab to store

Root Bioscience in RTP is using a scientific approach to producing hemp-based products in the Triangle while using hemp grown in North Carolina.

Posted 9:40 p.m. Aug 26, 2019 — Updated 10:27 p.m. Aug 26, 2019

Mandy Mitchell

, WRAL reporter

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — When you first walk down the halls of Root Bioscience, you almost expect to run into a mad scientist. The labs are filled with what look like giant chemistry sets and staffed with employees with advanced degrees.

"Their backgrounds are in biochemistry and advanced nanomaterials," said Garret Purdue, the CEO of Root Bioscience in Research Triangle Park. The company makes products starting with North Carolina hemp grown near the coast.

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"Our business is really about extracting all 120 molecules out of the plant and remixing them," said Purdue.

Root Bioscience stands out because of its scientific approach to making hemp-based products. The hemp enters the building and is eventually broken down through a long process into what becomes a pure and clear liquid. The company specializes in balms you can rub directly on the skin and oils.

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Hemp is legal in all 50 states, but the North Carolina House voted to ban smokable hemp last week after law enforcement officials raised a concern about how much it looks like marijuana.

"Our business is about getting us past the smokable flower. We don't believe setting something on fire, combusting it and consuming it is ever the best solution," said Purdue.

John Boccella is a chiropractor and the owner of The Hemp Company in Raleigh. He opened the store last year with a goal of selling North Carolina products. He didn't realize what a challenge would be to find companies in North Carolina making these products from locally grown hemp. He said it's hard to know what's good in the exploding industry.

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"There are a lot of trash products out there. You never know what you are buying when you are buying online," Boccella said.

And that's why partnerships like this are starting to pop up in North Carolina. Businesses, like Root Bioscience, that want to buy hemp from local farmers to eventually sell to local people.

"If we start running low on our product, you know, it's not e-mailing and waiting for shipping. We just drive over there, pick it up and bring it over here," Boccella said.

Bringing the hemp from the farm to the lab and to the store. It's a model that's working on a small scale now with many hoping to expand in the years to come.

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