Business Trends: Hemp in India - Bombay Hemp Company 

In our First Edition of the TID Trends Podcast, we explore the state of the Legal Hemp industry in India with Bombay Hemp Company (BoHeCo) - one of the pioneers of Indian hemp. We talk to them about learnings from their time in the industry, challenges the industry faces, and the potential of turning this million dollar industry into a billion dollar one.

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What is Hemp?

Hemp is a variety of cannabis sativa plant species especially grown for the industrial usage of its derived products. Global regulations around Cannabis in the 1980’s resulted in a decline in Hemp’s cultivation and reduction in research around its potential uses. 

Over the last few years, regulations have been eased across various countries and it has resulted in a massive growth of the Global Industrial Hemp Market. 

The Evolving Regulations of Hemp in India

In the conversation with BoHeCo, we discuss the following: 

The main issues facing Indian hemp are cultivation (due to the lack of an Indian variety with <0.3% THC) and the regulations around it. An additional barrier are the myths surrounding hemp and the lack of customer awareness. 

The lack of good regulation for Hemp in India has resulted in an extremely low utilization of India's hemp growing capacity.  The work BoHeCo has done to improve regulation for Hemp in India has expanded the potential of the market. 

There are multifold opportunities in the Ayurvedic application of the plant and health applications of Hemp have been growing around the world.

The current media environment around CBD oil and other derivatives just reinforces how important awareness is. Additionally, the role of research and development to make hemp and its derivates legitimate is understated. 

A Book Recommendation that will give you a starting point into the industry: 

The Emperor Wears No Clothes: Hemp and the Marijuana Conspiracy