Black Dog LED, A Major Cannabis Lighting Provider, Has Plans For 'All Corners Of The Grow Operation'

By Javier Hasse, Nina Zdinjak and Alex Oleinic.

For investors wary of the legality of the marijuana plant itself and the industry's challenges, ancillary service providers are providing lower-risk exposure to the sector. 

Ancillary service companies are providing essential products and services that help cannabis businesses grow the plant and more easily manage their operations. 

Growing cannabis is a complex process that involves more than just planting a seed or a seedling. High-quality weed usually requires a controlled environment and precision, and technology has come to aid growers in this mission.

One company that is helping growers maintain a controlled environment for their cannabis is Black Dog LED, a producer of LED grow lights. Benzinga sat down with CEO Noah Miller to better understand why grow lights are important.

“I saw Black Dog LED as an excellent way to combine my passion for cannabis with my background in technology,” Miller told Benzinga during a recent conversation.

Don’t miss out on the top cannabis stories of the day. Click here to sign up for our daily insider newsletter.

Perfecting The LED Lighting Spectrum

The Colorado-based company has a proprietary Phyto Genesis Spectrum technology that combines multiple LEDs with discrete spectra to help growers producer healthier, higher-quality and more disease-resistant plants.

The company’s lights "also combine ultraviolet and far-red/near-infrared to optimize photosynthesis," the CEO said. 

 “We simply want to create the best possible plant grow lights available.”  

Black Dog LED’s industry-leading spectrum and power differentiate its producs from others in the market.

The company provides a five-year warranty on its products. 

Big Expansion Plans, Challenges

Black Dog LED has big expansion plans for other product categories, Miller said. 

"We have spent years cultivating the brand of Black Dog LED and don’t intend to stop at just lighting. Our plans go far beyond LEDs and stretch to all corners of the grow operation." 

The company plans to focus on its existing markets in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia, he said. 

"We don’t have current plans to expand beyond that, as we feel we have plenty to do at the moment in these areas. However, we are watching developments in other countries making strides in our industry, such as Israel." 

Even though Black Dog LED is not a “plant-touching” business, it’s openly affiliated with the cannabis industry and therefore faces  many of the same challenges as traditional companies, including lack of access to banking and capital, the CEO said. 

To address the issue of capital, the company has been raising money through a “friends and family” seed round, but is also exploring the possibility of going public, Miller said — although it's far from making a decision.

Click here for more information about the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Oct. 22-23 in Chicago.

Photo courtesy of Black Dog LED.