Jeff Cole
U.S. Hemp Brokerage
Founder & President
Jeffrey Cole is a 25-plus year natural product veteran and founder of the US Hemp Brokerage LLC, the first of its kind in hemp. USHB has a portfolio of a dozen leading brands including Wana Wellness, Willie's Remedy, First Crop, Green Cherry Organics, PureKind Botanicals, Plain Jane, Diesel Hemp and Star Farm Alliance. The brokerage works with top-tier brands based on their needs in order to get them ""retail-ready"" and then takes them to market through various channels. Mr. Cole spent his career working with major media outlets and thousands of brands, he formed the US Hemp Brokerage by connecting appropriate natural products with retailers and ultimately to consumers. In addition to his media work, which took him from management positions at large media corporations like Tribune Corporation to media outlets managed by non-profits like National Geographic, MotherJones and others. Since his early twenties, Jeff gravitated toward sustainable enterprise and he enjoys his commitment to developing hemp markets and fueling the shift from a what is seen as a fossil fuel-based economy to a bio-based economy. His focus in the hemp business has primarily been brand related. Jeff was able to successfully help with the national launch of PureKind Botanicals, a darling of the industry and possibly the highest quality hemp extract brand in production today. Additionally, Jeff's team at PureHemp Technology secured the first ever national private label program with former Kroger affiliate Lucky's Market (Oct. 2017). While working with PureHemp Technology, Jeff was on the team that created real hemp beer (not a craft brew filtered over hemp seeds); helped convert hemp-based xylose sugar into xylitol and even collaborated on one of the most elegant full-spectrum water soluble hemp extracts available. Additionally, prior to joining the hemp industry, Jeff developed the national green real estate finance program, myEnergyLoan, which was later a model for the EnergyStar Mortgage. This program financed a large number of green real estate transactions and was an innovative program that provided framework for how to finance a green building. His background in green building led him into work he does with his favorite nonprofit in the hemp space, the US Hemp Building Association. Jeff has participated as a speaker on hemp markets and he like to discuss the Hemp Replacement Index, which is a research tool that informs the marketplace and has the potential to provide a path for product innovation.
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