Pressure Co. brings ‘product with a purpose’ to dispensary shelves

In November of 2021, Greenway spoke to Demarco Moorehead and Mohamed Yusuf, the founders of Pressure Co, an equity-minded cannabis brand aiming to bring a social consciousness and awareness to the Missouri medical cannabis market.

Now, Pressure Co. has secured a partnership with Organic Remedies and looks to put plans into action as the company launches its branded flower and manufactured products in dispensaries around the state in just a few short weeks, with an expected shelf date of late July.

“We had a vision that if we put our mission first by going out and creating Exit-Now we would find a like-minded partner in the state to help us realize our true potential,” explained Yusuf. “The most unexpected thing we discovered was the number of allies and great people we would meet in this timeframe, that not only understood what we were trying to do, but were willing to get behind us and contribute.”

“We landed a true partner with Happy Medium, a boutique creative agency out of St. Louis. HM was willing to work pro bono during our ideation phase, taking our dreams and realizing them into deliverable assets. This was a massive leap forward for us. It confirmed our theory that if we lead with purpose as a brand we would find opportunity and genuine partners along the way. From there we simply put in the work. We held multiple events through Exit Now, and landing some great PR through Greenway, Leafly, and other publications really created the framework for us to go start having conversations with fully vertical cannabis companies here in Missouri.”

What went into the process of finding and vetting a partner?

“First, The idea of us getting any attention from these massive vertical companies who just put so much energy into winning licenses and getting operational was terrifying. We understood we had something very unique within our story, however, turning that into a legit partnership seemed to be impossible. We simply picked up the phone and started cold calling entities looking to get anyone on the phone to hear us out. The first three months of that was really discouraging. We had a few potential leads that went cold and we really started to doubt the feasibility of our goal of finding a way to get to market and create more change within the industry. After pitching a dozen times we really started to polish our delivery and tighten up our story. We believe the initial rejection gave us even more skills and motivation to move forward with our heads high. Believing eventually someone would see the picture and give us an opportunity.”

“In the beginning, we really were ready to collaborate with anyone. When you have a big dream you’re willing to sacrifice or compromise to see it through, however the more interest we saw the more confidence we gained and we found ourselves with a few options. At the end of the day, all groups who opened their doors to us were dynamic and promising, it simply came down to who we believed could support us in bringing this idea to the market in the most authentic way and who will provide the best platform to create the most impact in communities affected by the war on drugs.”

You’ve partnered with Organic Remedies to bring Pressure Co. to life, what made them the best fit to partner with?

“We truly cannot thank Cody and the team at OR enough. We quickly realized something was different about the quality, values, and progressive thinking of this team. Cody has built a great company with OR and MODANK and the facility is amazing. At the end of the day, the quality is there and the passion to help others and collaborate is there, too. Those are the qualities we will continue to look for in collaborators wherever we might go.”

“Through our current collaboration, we will have the ability to leverage our ideas of impact and economic empowerment by taking a portion of each sale and donating it to EXIT-NOW. This funds the initiatives that will create change and impact within the communities. This truly achieves our mission of using cannabis as a vehicle of change.”

What will separate Pressure Co. products from other competitors on dispensary shelves?

“First, genetics, we quickly realized we would need to bring our own unique IP to the market. We have built a library of over 100 strains we intend on bringing to the market. This collection will give us the unique edge we will need to differentiate from the pack. Next, our packaging. With the creative work over at Happy Medium, they have realized packaging with us that is on-trend but also forward-thinking and really speaks to our vibe. Last, the purpose, all brands have the same intention of creating a great high but we go a step further by putting our social equity initiatives front and center allowing the patient to choose a product with purpose.”

That purpose has been on full display in recent months with Exit Now hosting an Expungement Clinic and Workshop in February and more recently awarding two fully paid scholarships for the Saint Louis University Cannabis Science and Operations Program. As Pressure Co. moves forward the rest of the industry is sure to take notice. In those ways, Yusuf, Moorehead, and the team at Pressure Co. have already succeeded in their mission to become a vehicle of change for cannabis. Just don’t expect to see them stop applying pressure anytime soon.