From little things, big things grow. An Australian hemp startup is now cashed up and ready to tackle the next stage of its evolution.
100% female-owned and operated, X-Hemp makes environmentally-friendly hemp-building products and boasts Tasmania’s only hemp fibre processing facility. The firm also produces mulch for landscaping, bast for specialty paper production, and various other products.
X-Hemp Founder and Managing Director Andrea Lucas currently also serves as president of the Tasmanian Hemp Association and sits on various committees associated with organisations including AgriFutures, CSIRO and the Australian Hemp Council.
With a warehouse full of raw materials ready to convert into items, Ms. Lucas wanted X-Hemp to scale up quickly to produce finished goods and diversify its range. Scaling up involves capital and X-Hemp turned to a popular source of potential investors in the cannabis industry – crowdfunding.
Launched on the Birchal platform, X-Hemp’s crowdfunder campaign – the company’s first seed capital round – ended successfully last week; attracting more than $1.5 million and above its minimum target. It was a big jump from just a week before the campaign ended, when 515 investors had committed over $850,000.
“… to the 962 individuals who have decided to trust in our vision of what we know we can do and have joined us in making a difference for people and the planet… thank you,” stated Ms. Lucas. “I cannot wait for this next chapter.”
According to the firm, the next 24 months will see X-Hemp recruit key management staff to execute strategic plans. Investor cash will also go towards buying machinery to convert raw materials on hand to sellable products and to secure a custom- built facility with retail, educational and office space.
“With ready-to-execute commercial contracts in hand, there are near-limitless opportunities for growth in this sector,” states X-Hemp. “We are perfectly positioned to take advantage of the strong demand for carbon-neutral building materials and other industrial products.”
According to X-Hemp, the global industrial hemp fibre market grew from $12.4 billion in 2022 to $17.8 billion in 2023.
“At a CAGR of 37.9% our sector is expected to grow to $56.53 billion by 2027.”
