Last updated on February 7th, 2020 at 09:16 am
Portland, Oregon-based Lazarus Naturals, one of the Pacific Northwest’s largest hemp-derived CBD producers, has earned Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) certification by successfully passing a third-party audit of its adherence to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cGMP standards for its new 40,000-s.f. manufacturing facility.
The certification signals regulatory compliance for safety in design, monitoring and control of manufacturing processes and facilities. The company is an early CBD producer to earn the distinction.
The newly expanded facility allows Lazarus Naturals to triple production of its CBD tinctures, topical balms, massage oils, coconut oil and pet products in 2020. The company produces CBD from hemp grown on its farms in Central Oregon, allowing it to own its manufacturing process from seed to shelf to ensure both the lowest cost per milligram pricing and total oversight of the quality and safety of its products. Each batch of finished product is third-party tested for potency, purity, heavy metal and pesticide residues.
“Earning cGMP certification further establishes Lazarus Naturals’ operational excellence in the CBD category,” said Cainan Garcia, VP of operations at Lazarus Naturals. “Our commitment to quality and safety applies not only to our products and customers but our employees as well.”
As part of its commitment to providing a productive work environment, Lazarus Naturals recently implemented a $20 minimum wage for all hourly employees, well above the Washington and Oregon mandated state minimums. This employee-centric philosophy, coupled with its social and environmentally responsible business approach, also has gained Lazarus Naturals recognition as a Washington State Social Purpose Corporation.
Key hires signal growth
Lazarus Naturals grew its workforce by 100 percent and now employs 150 people. Signaling its national aspirations, key hires include Chief Financial Officer Rory Tipton, Chief Marketing Officer Nicki Briggs and VP of Sales and Distribution Bill Germano.
The company is also in the process of acquiring additional acreage to grow its hemp to meet growing demand and is in the process of transitioning its land to organic. Lazarus Naturals expects to earn USDA Organic certification by 2021, making it one of the first CBD companies to do so.
Founded in 2014 on the belief that high quality, third-party-verified CBD products should be accessible for everybody, employee-owned Lazarus Naturals is one of the top CBD companies in the Pacific Northwest. The company offers an assistance program that provides a 60 percent discount to veterans, individuals on long-term disability and low-income households. An ardent advocate for hemp, one of the fastest growing agricultural crops in the U.S., Lazarus Naturals is a member of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Hemp Industries Association, American Herbal Products Association, Oregon Farm Bureau and the Oregon Industrial Hemp Farmers Association.
