Get that bag: Cleveland entrepreneur leads the way in cannabis preservation

Cannabis is not lettuce or celery – a simple truth that nonetheless hasn’t stopped some marijuana companies from using packaging repurposed from the food industry. The inadequacy of this process was evident years ago to Jack Grover, co-founder of Bedford Heights-based Grove Bags.

“The product became wet and moldy, because there were no agreed upon standards on what post-harvest looked like,” says Grover, whose TerpLoc packaging film is specifically designed for the curing and storage of cannabis. “That life cycle is important in other spaces like produce, coffee and saffron as well.” 

Grover, alongside partners Jiazhou Yang and Ryan Carnevale, founded Grove Bags in 2016 in a Chicago WeWork space. Finding Chicago too expensive for his startup, the Orange-raised entrepreneur moved back to Cleveland.

Here, Grover perfected his TerpLoc solution, which ensures the “perfect cannabis climate” through humidity control, antimicrobial protection and optimal oxygen levels. Grover’s innovation has penetrated every U.S. cannabis market, along with over 65 countries.

In designing TerpLoc, Grover studied hops used for beer brewing, as they derive from the same botanical family as cannabis. Both plants also produce terpenes, compounds that create the unique aromas and flavors in their finished products.  

Ultimately, Grover’s high-tech film controls moisture and locks in the attributes that make cannabis so desirable, he says.

“It’s like buying salad in a bag at a grocery store,” Grover says. “It’s the same basic idea for cannabis. The idea is to cure and store the product and maintain maximum quality.” 

Grove Bags manufactures TerpLoc at a facility in Bedford Heights, where it also handles the printing and pouching side. Grover has an additional custom pouching facility in Columbus, as well as an out-of-state partner that assists with digital printing.

The business, with 25 employees in Northeast Ohio handling everything from operations and finance to shipping, logistics, and graphic design, has firmly established itself in a state market that recently exceeded $702 million in legal sales.

“We’re one of the OG cannabis businesses in Ohio,” says Grover. “We’ve had a front-row seat to the development of the industry. Ohio is the seventh-most populous state in the country, and will be a $1 billion market, ultimately. It’s becoming an important state in the cannabis ecosystem.”

A change of career

Grover began his career in finance, quickly growing bored of staring at a screen all day. His move into the startup world gained momentum when a restaurant delivery app he joined experienced rapid growth.

“It put me in a spot where I had some money for my own business,” says Grover. “I learned about growth and scaling, which is one of the hardest things to do.”

The idea for Grove Bags was inspired, in part, by his brother Charlie’s battle with cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder that affects movement and posture. Seeing first-hand the positive effect of cannabis on Charlie’s quality of life bolstered Grover’s awareness of an industry still in its infancy, he notes.

“I always thought cannabis would open up,” Grover says. “The genie was out of the bottle, and you had states competing for tax revenue.”

In pursuing his burgeoning interest, Grover talked with farmers and medical dispensary owners, who criticized the state of cannabis packaging. Jars were a common choice for preserving freshness, but they fell short in guarding against UV light, a primary cause of cannabis degradation.

Grove Bags sold its first commercial order in Dec. 2017, following a year of testing and formulation. The startup’s development was not curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, the crisis had an opposite effect on the business, says Grover.

“We realized we were essential, and how much relief people were getting from cannabis during a stressful, isolated time,” he says. “Plus, there was increased demand for domestic packaging, which was a big advantage for us.”

Can’t stop, won’t stop

Tim Novak, owner of the Ohio pouching facility, hails his friend and colleague as a pioneer who developed a crucial technology precisely when the industry needed it most. 

“Jack is doing something with these films that nobody else has,” Novak says. “He’s designed them to keep in freshness and all the other unique characteristics of cannabis.”

Novak also expects that Grover’s ideas extend far beyond just one product. 

“It doesn’t stop with cannabis,” says Novak. “How can celery be packaged in a country that wastes food?”

For his part, Grover is monitoring any new industry regulations emerging from Columbus. Yet, worries about the whims of lawmakers won’t stop him building solutions for a marketplace with more room to grow, he says. 

“It’s such a fluid space, and it’s crucial to make a product that’s leading its category with a tremendous value,” Grover says. “Let’s continue to broadly support the implementation and normalization of plant-based medical products.”