Startup synergy: Native Hemp Co opening retail store in former downtown MADE flagship store

A grand adventure awaits Kansas City-baked Native Hemp Co., as the cannabis company reaches new heights and sets up shop with its first retail location. 

“I have a family all across the world now and it’s been so much fun,” Rich Dunfield, founder of Native Hemp Co., said of the company’s trajectory and success ahead of its first anniversary. 

The official opening of its physical space at 1110 Grand Boulevard is set for this summer. A soft opening is planned for Friday.

Click here to check out Native Hemp Co.’s line of products, which previously were only available online or through wholesale channels.

Cultivating a brick-and-mortar version Native Hemp Co. had long been on Dunfield’s radar, he said, acknowledging his need for the move to materialize at the right time and in the right place. 

Click here to read more about Dunfield’s entrepreneurial journey.

Vu Radley and Mark Launiu, MADE Urban Apparel

Luck of a serendipitous strain, Dunfield found what he’d been looking for through a partnership with fellow small business founder and friend, Mark Launiu, co-founder of MADE MOBB/MADE Urban Apparel and founder of the Kritiq fashion show. 

“I felt connected with those guys,” Dunfield explained of his relationship with Launiu and the apparel startup’s leadership team, which also includes Vu Radley and Jonathan Platz.

Native Hemp Co. will spark its entrepreneurial flame inside MADE’s original flagship location as the apparel company relocates to a new, 5,000-square foot space in the Crossroads Arts District, which Launiu announced in June. 

“They didn’t want to run two spaces within five miles of each other; and they thought I was a great person to kind of carry that baton and take care of the culture that they’ve built [in their flagship location,]” Dunfield said.

Fan-favorite pieces of various MADE collections will remain available at the Native Hemp Co. store, with the Dunfield’s products also on display at the MADE MOB Crossroads location, he said. 

As Native Hemp Co. takes physical shape, its new space is expected to highlight the intrinsic experience of CBD and low THC products, through customer education, Dunfield said. 

Rich Dunfield, Native Hemp Co.

“When you come in, you’ll see big smiles, you’re going to get a good look at our product and we’re going to be there to help. That’s one thing we’re there for,” he said, describing the space. 

Becoming a friend of the community, while educating customers about the benefits of hemp-based products will be key drivers for Dunfield and his team — which will likely expand — as Missouri begins its own journey in cannabis, he noted. 

“Trying to create a center for fun and good vibes, happiness and health right there in the middle of downtown is our goal,” he said.

Falling back on startup synergy, the reputation MADE has built in the space will serve as inspiration for Dunfield as Native Hemp Co. rolls into new territory, he explained. 

“[MADE has] really taken our city to another level with the experience to, you know, get a high level of street wear and that connection with it,” Dunfield said. “I kind of wanted to do the same thing with high CBD, low THC cannabis and the way it can help people connect and help people have fun.”