Mountaintop Extracts aims to offer New Mexico’s medical patients and adult-use consumers clean cannabis products, and that extends to its portfolio of edibles.

In addition to concentrates and vapes, the company offers gummies, lollipops, hard candy, beverages, and most recently, water-soluble THC dissolvables. 

Cannabis Products Insider recently spoke to Joel Krukar, business development and marketing officer, about Mountaintop Extracts’ mission, its approach to extraction and developing edibles, and New Mexico’s cannabis market.

CPI: When was Mountaintop Extracts founded? Why?

JK: Mountaintop Extracts (MTE) was officially founded in 2012 to bring quality medicine to the patients of New Mexico. The founders, Eric and Jen Merryman, started getting involved in cannabis as caretakers for a sick mother going through chemotherapy. From the experience of working to ensure that she got the best and cleanest medicine possible, their cannabis journey began. A few years later, Mountaintop Extracts was officially founded to bring the same trust in medicine to all medical cannabis patients of New Mexico.

CPI: How does Mountaintop Extracts approach extraction?

JK: With great compassion and respect towards cannabis. Cannabis includes a huge diversity of strains. As such, we pre-inspect every extraction under microscopes to best understand how different strains respond to extraction. And then we extract every strain of cannabis separately and on its own, rather than performing extraction on batches of flower that contain different strains. 

Our approach leverages a blend of light hydrocarbons that gently liberate botanicals from cannabis plants to harvest and preserve all of the plant essences critical for our products. The extracts then endure an extensive process that ensures only the cleanest and best cannabis products reach the market, with zero detectable solvents.

CPI: What was the inspiration behind the company’s 60 mg lollipop? And the hard candy drops?

JK: The lollipops were MTE’s first edible creations. We created them specifically for cancer patients undergoing treatment. The lollipop was our solution to deliver medicine through saliva, to assist with nausea from chemotherapy. It became a success market-wide for medical patients. We then crafted the hard candies, based on the success of the lollipops, to be smaller 10 mg doses.

CPI: How did Mountaintop Extracts approach developing its gummy offerings?

JK: The success of our lollipops inspired the launch of our line of gummies. As a small company, we constantly worked at growing through new innovations and products. The gummies were the natural next step in the progression. And we knew we could bring a great gummy to market, as we use our distinct approach toward extraction and infusion to make our gummies. Our formulas and protocols yield a more wholesome effect, by preserving all cannabinoids, terpenes, lipids and flavonoids in our base oil for infusion creation.

CPI: How would you describe the Tiki Juice line?

JK: Made with natural juice and infused with turmeric for a healthy gut. Our Tiki juice was crafted to be refreshing and enjoyable to drink.

CPI: What was the inspiration behind Mountaintop Extracts’ new THC dissolvables?

JK: Our inspiration was to create an even better product for infusions. By exploring water-soluble product development, we sought products that would invite patients to consume cannabis in any form they want. Our product has zero added sugar, improved bioavailability and faster uptake time.

CPI: What role does sustainability play in Mountaintop Extracts’ operations?

JK: It is at the core of our business decisions. We take our environment seriously and want to minimize our impact anywhere we can. For example:

• We procure all packaging domestically and focus to keep supply chains close to home
• We used recycled shipping containers, rather than new materials, to expand our facility
• We developed proprietary methods in extraction to recover as much used solvent as possible
• We invest in new equipment that reduces our wastage
• We grow sustainably and never want to add waste to the environment
• Our rebranding is focusing on even more sustainable packaging
• Gummies will be packaged in recycled containers made out of recycled ocean plastic from Sana
• Vape packaging is made with recycled paperboard, and wind power serves as the energy source in the manufacturing process

CPI: How would you describe New Mexico’s cannabis market?

JK: In the excitement around recreational cannabis, the state was overly generous in the number of licenses it issued. On the downside, the size of our market isn't likely to sustain so many cannabis businesses. On the upside, it will create a lot of competition, forcing brands and companies to level up on all fronts, including quality, safety and sustainability. MTE is already leading in those areas, so we intend to keep our heads down and continue to deliver on our brand promise.

CPI: Does the company have any plans for expansion, either in New Mexico or in other markets?

JK: MTE plans to expand out of the Land of Enchantment. We believe in our product, our methods and our message. We want to showcase the best that New Mexico has to offer to places outside of the state, and bring our brand’s distinct approach to a national audience.