FoliuMed: Cultivating Colombia’s Rise in Global Medical Cannabis

From the highlands of Nemocón, Cundinamarca, to pharmacies in Australia, a flower grown under the Colombian sun is available, helping to transform the global landscape of medical cannabis. All this thanks to the commitment of FoliuMed, a company founded in 2017 with a clear vision: to position Colombia as a leader in the export of this value-added, sustainable, and scientifically backed flower.

“Colombia, from the perspective of agricultural capabilities and competitiveness, is enormous,” said Diego Navarro, one of the founders of FoliuMed. “Here we grow crops under the sun, with flowers that could surpass the quality of indoor crops produced in Canada or Europe, as they have a much smaller environmental footprint,” he added.

FoliuMed is Bringing Sun-Grown, Sustainable Cannabis from Colombia to the World, with a Focus on Health, Heritage, and Social Impact

In fact, the story of FoliuMed began when two corporate executives, Colombian Diego Navarro and German Oliver Zugel, decided to leave their previous positions to venture into the rapidly growing medical cannabis industry in Colombia. With experience in regulated sectors and an international perspective, they recognized the enormous potential opportunity it held when the country regulated the cultivation and medicinal use of cannabis in 2017.

“My partner already had prior experience in the cannabis industry in the United States, so he already had some knowledge of this sector. Additionally, we saw the opportunity to apply all our business knowledge to a market that, while relatively new, had a solid foundation,” Navarro said.

Today, FoliuMed has a 16-hectare plot of land in Nemocón, where they cultivate cannabis flowers both outdoors and in greenhouses, following strict standards and adhering to good agricultural practices. They also have an active pharmaceutical ingredient extraction plant, where they transform the flower into raw material for use in the creation of medications, supplements, and other health products that are part of the company’s extensive offering worldwide.

FoliuMed plans to export medical cannabis to other countries

From this location in Cundinamarca, the company has built a strong export model, currently operating in 12 Latin American countries, including Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil ; and in Europe, several markets such as Germany, Switzerland, and the United States. It’s important to note, however, that the company’s most representative location is Australia.

In the specific case of its main market, Oceania, FoliuMed not only exports the flower, but also manages the entire chain of medical prescriptions, pharmacy dispensing, and marketing for its two brands: Stanley Brothers and Coronel Buendía, the latter a literary homage that seeks to celebrate Colombian origins. “Of all our brands, the one that draws the most interest is Coronel Buendía, as we seek to share much more than cannabis. We want to convey a country, a society, and a way of life,” Navarro explained.

In this country, they also distribute flowers packaged in 20-gram containers, as well as standardized gummies in various cannabinoid concentrations and sublingual oral solutions, with all ingredients grown in Colombia. “Today, we have a 70% presence in Australian pharmacies, and more than 50,000 patients already use medicine grown here,” said the co-founder of FoliuMed.

In addition to its commercial success, FoliuMed is proud of its social impact, employing nearly 50 people in Nemocón; many of them are single mothers with prior experience in floriculture, offering them decent and stable working conditions. “We are demonstrating that it is possible to create an industry with local impact, science, sustainability, and a national brand,” Navarro concluded.

The benefits of medicinal cannabis

This product offers therapeutic benefits, as its active compounds, such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), experts say, can help relieve chronic pain, reduce nausea in patients undergoing chemotherapy-related processes, as well as work to control seizures in certain types of epilepsy and help improve sleep quality.

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(Featured image by Jhon David via Unsplash)

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