Cannabis patient and visionary, Jonas Duclos and co-founder, Kevin Goetelen, have launched CBX Stock Exchange (CBX), a B2B trading platform for the sale and purchase of raw materials and products derived from hemp and cannabis.
CBX evolved from an earlier iteration of the platform, HempBroker420, started by the founders in 2019. In 2017, the founders also created JBK Research, which manufactures and sells CBD-based products under the brand name CBD420.
The Backstory
Jonas’ expertise in the cannabis industry is the result of his own personal experience. Diagnosed as a teenager with PRP, a rare genetic skin disease, Jonas has spent the past two decades managing the excruciating pain brought about by the condition. Discovering that cannabis provided the most effective pain relief, Jonas has dedicated his life to studying the science and economics around the plant.
In 2019, the founders’ vision for HempBroker420 was to establish a marketplace to gather producers and distributors encountered through business dealings with CBD420. At the time, HempBroker420 was the first platform of its kind to offer those involved in the sale and purchase of cannabis derivatives, a secure B2B network to trade.
Within 18 months of operating in stealth mode and without any investment in marketing, HempBroker420 had attracted over 2500 members and generated more than €300,000 ($326,000) of net profit. By the end of 2021, member numbers had risen to almost 4,000.
The considerable demand experienced by the platform led the founders to realize the immense gap in the market for a B2B marketplace to service cannabis ecosystem players, one that would engender a level of trust and transparency urgently needed from “seed to shelf.”
Commenting on the launch, Jonas Duclos, co-founder and CEO, CBX Stock Exchange, told Benzinga, “Europe is facing a health crisis if cannabis products aren’t regulated to protect consumers. With the European cannabis industry expected to reach billions in the coming years it’s unbelievable there is no regulation in place to oversee the market. Europe has a reputation for protecting its citizens, but when it comes to cannabis, it’s lagging behind. The industry has been operating blindly for too long without the necessary infrastructure, quality controls and assurances in place and this needs to change.”
How CBX Works
CBX Stock Exchange offers a trusted, transparent and structured marketplace for buyers and sellers with the ultimate aim of facilitating the safe development of cannabis products and protecting the safety of the end-user. A recent investigation by the Swiss Association of Cantonal Chemists into CBD products found 85% were found to be non-compliant with the association describing the situation as “disastrous.”
CBX offers trading in flowers, hemp biomass, distillates and isolates, tinctures, a combination of cannabis extractions with various oils, such as hempseed oil and coconut oil. The platform connects cannabis producers with a range of industries from wellness to beauty on the procurement side.
In the absence of universal standards around the purchase and sale of cannabis products, CBX consulted with the Swiss Health Authority and developed its own standards in line.
Through a standard due diligence process where companies and directors are identified, all applicants are fully vetted prior to becoming registered members of the CBX community, and they all must meet stringent criteria in order to achieve a CBX Certification level and Certificate of Analysis (COA) label which allows them to trade on the platform.
The CBX Certification is awarded upon receipt and verification of all required documentation. The COA is provided following a mandatory CBX product review for quality assurance conducted by exclusive partner, SciTec Research laboratory based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Service, Swiss Testing Labs and Swiss Medic, SciTec specializes in the analysis of cannabis and derivatives. Each product undergoes seven quality control checks, which include analysis of THC as well as terpenes (the aromatic ingredients that contribute to a product’s scent, flavor and therapeutic profile) and composition to ensure the product is free from harmful contaminants and is safe for human consumption.
CBX facilitates transactions between buyers and sellers and members are charged a commission fee aligned to their membership subscription level (free, standard, premium). To further enhance and simplify the end-to-end experience for buyers and sellers, CBX is in the process of appointing a payments processing partner to manage the payments flow, as well as a dedicated shipping agent to offer shipping services integrated within the CBX site.
CBX is also in discussions with the Swiss and Portuguese Medical Authorities to obtain a medical license, which would enable the company to open up the platform to buyers and sellers on the medical market. It expects to be granted the license in H2 2022.
Photo: Jonas Duclos by Lakeside Media.
