Jacek Kramarz was lately named president of the European Industrial Hemp Affiliation (EIHA). He’s vp of Inexperienced Lanes SA, a publicly listed European group centered on growing new supplies primarily based on hemp, primarily based in Poland. He started his hemp profession as a co-founder of HemPoland, serving to construct considered one of Europe’s early CBD firms from R&D to worldwide scale. Beforehand, he labored in funding banking and strategic consulting with Pekao SA and UniCredit Group. Kramarz is a licensed securities dealer with expertise in M&A, compliance, and controlled markets.
HempToday: The European hemp sector expanded quickly through the CBD growth after which contracted. What classes ought to EIHA draw from that cycle?
Jacek Kramarz: The important thing lesson is that EIHA’s function is to defend the so-called “complete plant method.” Hemp is a rare and extremely versatile crop with the potential to remodel a number of industries — from nutraceuticals and cosmetics to textiles, development, and superior supplies. The CBD growth, regardless of its excesses, performed an essential function in revealing that potential. It attracted consideration, expertise, capital, and political curiosity that hemp had by no means seen earlier than. All these assets are actually getting used to develop the business past CBD. Entrepreneurs and buyers are pivoting their companies to textiles and constructing supplies. Elevated curiosity in industrial functions will inevitably lead to elevated provide of grain and flower, creating new alternatives for progressive functions.
HT: As EIHA president, what are your high strategic priorities for the subsequent two to a few years?
JK: EIHA is a pan-European affiliation representing greater than 130 members of various nationalities, with numerous pursuits throughout the complete hemp worth chain. We at all times attempt to incorporate all these pursuits, guided by the entire plant method. As president, my objective is to make sure continuity in our regulatory work, present readability in meals and cannabinoid markets, and strengthen our influence in industrial functions comparable to development supplies and textiles.
First, a key precedence is the profitable continuation and completion of the EIHA Novel Meals Consortium. Delivering authorized certainty for hemp-derived meals elements, significantly cannabinoids, stays important to guard current companies, safe investments, and uphold excessive European requirements for security and compliance.
Second, EIHA will progressively shift from a predominantly regulatory-defensive function towards actively facilitating enterprise improvement and industrial functions. This contains supporting members in scaling up options in development, textiles, composites, bioplastics, and different industrial makes use of of hemp. We see an awesome alternative for hemp in leveraging the brand new EU Bioeconomy Technique and Inexperienced Deal framework, positioning industrial hemp as a strategic bio-based useful resource. By aligning hemp with EU local weather, round financial system, and rural improvement targets, EIHA might help unlock innovation, funding alternatives, and long-term market progress throughout Europe.
Lastly, an important strategic precedence is to draw companions and stakeholders from outdoors the standard hemp business. To completely scale hemp functions, we should actively interact with non-hemp associations, giant industrial gamers, architects, development firms, textile producers, chemical producers, and model house owners who could not but see hemp as a part of their worth chains. EIHA can act as a bridge between the hemp sector and these industries by offering technical data, regulatory readability, and entry to dependable provide chains. By integrating hemp-derived supplies into mainstream industrial and business fashions, we will speed up market adoption, enhance demand, and transfer hemp from a distinct segment sector to a really strategic element of Europe’s bio-based financial system.
Collectively, these priorities will guarantee continuity, stability, and a transparent transition towards a mature, aggressive, and sustainable European hemp business.
HT: What function can EIHA play in restoring investor confidence after current market turbulence?
JK: EIHA is, and has at all times been, ruled by meritocracy. Our communication is fairly conservative and can stay so. We take public positions solely when we have now proof and certainty. We delight ourselves on a science-based method that’s important to our long-term credibility. Confidence — particularly amongst buyers and markets — is earned via integrity, readability, and consistency. I’m assured that if we comply with these ideas as an affiliation and as an business, belief will return. We already see this, as increasingly industrial initiatives obtain funding and are being launched in Europe.
HT: Regulation stays fragmented throughout Europe. The place do you see probably the most pressing want for harmonization?
JK: Actually in flowers and cannabinoids. We’ve urged regulators to behave on this for no less than seven years. We’ve achieved important milestones, with a very powerful being the institution of THC limits in meals merchandise, however the primary wrestle continues. Our work via the EIHA Novel Meals Consortium delivered scientific proof for the security of CBD as a meals complement, however we nonetheless want regulators to acknowledge this in a harmonized approach throughout Europe.
HT: How ought to EIHA interact with EU establishments to make sure hemp is handled as an agricultural and industrial crop, not a drug?
JK: I consider we have now already achieved that with EU establishments. Francesco and our staff in Brussels have performed titanic work over the previous few years. EIHA is acknowledged by the European Fee and is consulted on all subjects associated to hemp. We’ve direct private contacts with all related stakeholders on the EU stage and are acknowledged for what we’re — a pan-European affiliation representing farmers and entrepreneurs buying and selling hemp, a key crop central to the EU Bioeconomy Technique.
Now we have to construct extra competence on the member-state stage, which we proceed to do day by day.
HT: How can EIHA higher help smaller processors and farmers throughout member states?
JK: EIHA is a middle of excellence in European hemp. We cowl the entire worth chain throughout all enterprise segments. Our members embody, amongst others, producers of farming gear and equipment; processors of seed, flowers, stalks, fibers, and shives; and merchants of all hemp-related merchandise. No matter enterprise want associated to hemp a processor could have, no matter dimension, EIHA can present steerage or join them with different members who may very well be of help. This can be a nice worth that I really feel continues to be not absolutely exploited by EIHA and its members. I encourage everybody to affix EIHA, particularly for its distinctive data and talent to offer connections to verified companions within the hemp sector.
HT: Trying again at your time constructing HemPoland, what expertise most formed your management method at this time?
JK: HemPoland is actually one of the vital important experiences of my skilled life. I joined the corporate after I was 29 years outdated. All leaders have been kind of my age. We have been bold, motivated, but additionally ignorant and smug. To some extent, our ignorance helped us succeed. We couldn’t see among the penalties and points forward, which helped us make bolder selections and outperform our competitors within the brief time period. At our peak, we had roughly 80 staff and struggled to handle that success.
Our ignorance slowly caught up with us, although we didn’t understand it on the time. We have been working forward of the results of previous organizational errors. I have no idea what would have occurred if we had needed to face them straight. We bought the corporate in 2018 and bragged about our success. Looking back, I worth extremely what we achieved, however I additionally understand it was not sustainable. We weren’t constructed to final.
I method issues in another way now, having had that have. My work and method are extra balanced. I ask extra questions, seek the advice of specialists, and recruit folks with different competencies to enhance my very own. I’m extra assured, much less confused, and I perceive my possibilities and dangers a lot better. Once I make daring selections now, I perceive their rationale and motivation way more clearly.
HT: How has your transition from finance and banking to hemp entrepreneurship influenced the way you method this function?
JK: My earlier experiences are very related to how I method new challenges. I are usually reflective and philosophical. My early work in banking taught me an awesome deal. Company work teaches construction and communication. I had the chance to work straight with boards and executives at one of many largest banking teams in Europe. I ready knowledge, data, and narratives for decision-making on the highest stage. All selections needed to be effectively structured, motivated, and clearly defined. This required alignment among the many usually conflicting pursuits of various executives, and serving to to attain that alignment was a part of my function.
That have helps significantly in affiliation work. We make selections collectively and work in alignment with the board and our membership. The power to view selections via the precise knowledge, clarify them clearly, and produce others into alignment is essential for the success of a corporation that depends on collective efforts.
HT: It’s been introduced that the annual June EIHA summit might be in Poland this yr. What’s going to worldwide visitors study Poland and hemp throughout that occasion?
JK: I’m very excited to host the EIHA annual convention in Poland along with the Institute of Pure Fibers in Poznań. This occasion might be distinctive because of the institute, which is a analysis middle with its personal manufacturing services. The EIHA convention promise relies on meritocracy, and we assure audio system and panel discussions filled with knowledge, details, and insights from our members.
We can have classes devoted to totally different enterprise verticals in separate focus rooms, encouraging extra in-depth dialogue and fostering cooperation amongst firms working in the identical fields of experience. On high of that, this yr our guests can have the chance to see the institute’s analysis laboratories. We’re additionally planning a discipline journey to a close-by spinning facility. The institute is a governmental establishment underneath Poland’s Ministry of Agriculture, and we anticipate sturdy illustration from the ministry.
