Cannabis company opens massive production kitchen in Tempe

Earlier this month, Copperstate Farms, the marijuana cultivation and wholesale company that owns Sol Flower dispensaries, moved into a massive new facility in Tempe that it says will seriously boost production.

Before moving into the space on University Drive and State Route 143 on Aug. 1, the company each day could produce about 15,000 hash rosin edibles, arguably the company’s most recognized and renowned products.

“Now we have the capacity to double that,” said Teresa Hansen, the director of operations and wholesale for Copperstate. “We can produce 3,000 units — or 30,000 gummies — in a day.”

Unlike lots of cannabis companies that operate in multiple states, Copperstate operates only in Arizona. Its greenhouse facility in Snowflake supplies its nine stores in Tucson and the Phoenix metro area.

About 100 employees work at the new facility, which is also a distribution hub for the flower that comes down from the company’s greenhouse in Snowflake. The kitchen alone covers 1,500 square feet.

Hansen began working for Copperstate in 2018 as a chef and still runs the kitchen, which she said was upgraded with new, state-of-the-art equipment: convection ovens, 40-quart mixers and a separate curing and drying room for gummies.

“They have to have really proper temperatures with reduced humidity," Hansen, who trained at Le Cordon Bleu, said of the gummies. "Just like with flower, there’s a specialty when it comes to drying and curing gummies. A lot of those gummy kitchens can kind of be running on bits and pieces. I feel really grateful to have the opportunity with Copperstate to really have this world-class facility with this high-tech equipment.”

The facility also has a new pre-roll machine that produces 3,000 joints an hour. With the added space and new equipment, Hansen said she is already tinkering on new products.

“My brain is running wild on all the research and development I can do in that kitchen now,” she said. “We have a lot more opportunity to expand the edible line, which has kind of been on hold for a while. There’s a definite need for more baked good options in the market and low-dose candies and mints and all sorts of things.”

Copperstate is known for its rosin gummies, which are produced with a solventless extraction method that uses only ice, water, heat and pressure. The company has 10 types of gummies in its line, but Hansen said more are on the way. A new “deep sleep passion punch” rosin gummy — which contains CBD, cannabinol and THC — is set to hit the market in October.

With the new facility, Hansen said the company will be able to save money on its margins and pass along some savings to customers. It will also be able to sell more to other dispensaries besides its own. Copperstate products can be found in at least 100 dispensaries across the state, Hansen said.

Copperstate’s production boost comes at a time when marijuana sales are dropping across Arizona. Hansen said that is happening partly because marijuana prices are dropping, adding that Copperstate has a plan to outlast the competition.

“We are seeing that there still is an uptake in new consumers. It’s small — but it’s still going in that green direction,” Hansen said. “We’re really in a good position being fully vertical. We have the greenhouse, we have the retails, the manufacturing facilities — so we’re in it for the long haul.”