A Grünwalder releases the hemp
Created: 05/05/2022, 05:30
By: Max Wochinger
A hemp plant in bloom: Bathera wants to supply pharmacies with medicinal cannabis.
© Sebastian Kahnert/dpa
Christian Graggaber from Grünwald has a vision: With his start-up Bathera, he wants to produce top-quality medical cannabis.
He is currently building a 9,000 square meter facility in Portugal for this purpose.
The entrepreneur is raising a million-dollar project.
Grünwald
– Christian Graggaber used to be strictly against cannabis.
He was most familiar with weed as a gateway drug.
Now he is building a production facility that will later produce ten tons of marijuana flowers.
"I've completely changed my mind," says Graggaber, 42. The entrepreneur found out two things: cannabis is used successfully in medicine, and a lot of money can be made with the drug.
Together with a friend, he therefore founded the start-up Bathera in Grünwald in 2018 - initially as a cannabis dealer.
Hemp entrepreneur Graggaber: "But there is no good medical cannabis on the market"
Doctors in Germany have been able to prescribe medical cannabis to patients since 2017.
The market for this is booming, Germany is considered the largest sales area in Europe.
"But there is no good medical cannabis on the market," says hemp entrepreneur Graggaber.
The requirements for quality, safety and reproducibility of medical cannabis are high, after all it is a medicine.
"There's still more to do," thought the native Austrian.
This is how the idea came about: We grow hemp ourselves.
Soon to be a hemp farmer: Christian Graggaber is building a production plant in Portugal for 15 million euros.
© Robert Brouczek
The advantage of in-house production, in addition to the control over cultivation and quality, is an economic one for the entrepreneur: "We take the entire added value with us," says Graggaber.
With its own plant, the supply of the product is also secured.
According to him, Bathera is the only cannabis trader to go this route and grow medicinal cannabis himself.
Portugal a good place to grow hemp
July 2021 saw the start of construction for the 9000 square meter facility in Portugal;
Hemp is to be grown “indoors” alone on 6,000 square meters.
The production hall is being built half an hour's drive from Portugal's capital, Lisbon.
There are qualified specialists in the region, explains Graggaber.
Portugal is also a good place for hemp cultivation from a regulatory point of view.
The first cannabis products should already be available on the market at the beginning of next year.
Later, Bathera wants to produce ten tons a year - it's an enormous amount of medical cannabis.
The flowers should not only be sold in Germany, but also go to pharmacies in Israel, Australia and England.
With DNA tests, future patients should find out how their body reacts to cannabis therapy.
© Robert Brouczek
Bathera has invested 15 million euros in the system
However, it is a long way from the idea to the finished drug – and an expensive one.
Bathera invested 15 million euros in the facility, also financed by two investors.
To find the right concept for the cannabis farm, Graggaber traveled to Canada, Portugal and Macedonia: he looked at 50 plants and spoke to hundreds of experts.
Bathera has already been looking for the right type of plant to grow later for a year.
The entrepreneur from Grünwald has the goal clearly in mind: produce a “clean flower” for patients.
Lateral entrant Christian Graggaber used to work with international start-ups in the tech industry, but not with photosynthesis - he suddenly had to deal with botany and plant breeders.
"I've never had anything to do with plants," he says.
"It's an awful lot of work."
