There were no quality tasting gummies out there,” he said. “So I created this company to introduce Best Damn Gummys into the world.”
Dirksen said they are happy to be part of Michigan’s booming cannabis industry. It’s not all about the money either, according to Dirksen. There are social and philanthropic motivations behind Best Damn Gummys grand plan.
“The money is great, but we are more focused on doing great things in this world,” he said. “We are dedicating 50% of our retail profits to different charities every month. We want to educate as well, and get quality products on the market. Once you try us, you’ll understand. We truly are the best damn gummies.”
Edible cannabis has evolved over the years. Once when you were talking edibles, the conversation was confined to weed brownies, homemade cookies and rice crispy treats, often made at home do-it-yourselfers. Now gummies are the top choice for consumers everywhere they are legal. Many prefer a low-sugar candy over lighting up--and they have a much longer shelf life than baked goods that go stale over time.
“With the increasing knowledge on the health risks of smoking anything, we think edibles will take over the market at some point in the future,” Williams said. “Gummies are the tastier of the ingestibles, so they picked up traction for their ease of consumption. There are still minimal health risks with the sugar in our products, but with less than 3 grams of sugar per gummy, one a day is of little risk. Our consumers can eat one a day and be content. It’s an easy and tasty way to get alternative medicine into the body.”
Williams and his colleagues are doing everything they can to get their products in front of as many people as possible. Once they do, “Our gummies speak for themselves,” he said. “We hand out free samples, do non-traditional marketing… it’s a learning curve for everyone because it’s a new industry.”
"Best Damn Gummys is both veteran-owned and minority-owned, another source of pride for us," Williams said.
Owner and founder David Dirksen is a Marine Veteran with several years of entrepreneurship experience. The Grand Rapids resident started a transportation company in 2018 and “found my place in the edibles world,” he said.
After four years working in the cannabis industry as well, Dirksen noticed something conspicuously absent.
If you’re in the marijuana industry and you win a Best in Show award in Colorado, the first state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana use, chances are pretty good you’re on to something.
That’s exactly what the Grand Rapids-based company, “Best Damn Gummys,” has done despite only being in business for less than two years. Currently featuring 16 equally tasty and effective flavors, Best Damn Gummys impressed cannabis connoisseurs enough to bring back to Michigan a coveted Best in Show CBD Edible from The Original CBD Mountain Expo Tour, held in Denver earlier this year.
“We’re doing really well, better than we expected,” said Cliff Williams, the company’s director of marketing & sales. “The award is a source of pride for our team.”
That team is led by owner and founder David Dirksen. A key to the company’s early success?
“Number one is our formula,” Williams said. “We use a hand-crafted method that has been handed down for generations. We infuse all of our products.”
Currently the business shares space with a Grand Rapids smoke shop, Mitten Goods, and has a website (www.bestdamngummys.com) that is the primary location for which to purchase its products.
“We ship to all CBD-friendly states,” Williams said. “One of our new products, Delta 9point3, is able to be shipped to all 50 states. It carries 7.5 mg of Delta 9 THC per gummy and comes from hemp plants containing less than .3% THC, so it’s legal under the farm Bill.”
by Jon Becker FOR Michigan Green State
Grand Rapids-Based Company Wins Colorado Best In Show Edible Category
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Best Damn Gummys is both veteran-owned and minority-owned, another source of pride for us.
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