Puro
In Marlborough, Puro is leading the way, using science, innovation, and sector-building vision to create a new model for high-value agriculture, one that redefines what is possible for the region and for New Zealand’s future economy.
As New Zealand’s largest medicinal cannabis cultivator and one of the few large-scale organic producers globally, Puro is proving that with vision, precision, and commitment, a new industry can take root and prosper. Alongside leading organic cultivation, they are building the infrastructure, expertise, and pathways needed to establish a scalable medicinal cannabis sector that forms the blueprint for Marlborough’s next opportunity in high-value agriculture.
At the heart of Puro’s work is a powerful combination: precision farming techniques adapted to Marlborough’s conditions, scientific breeding programmes designed to build resilience and quality, and a deep commitment to organic, sustainable growing principles. By investing not just in crops, but in systems, people, and partnerships, Puro is creating the foundation for an industry built to last, positioning Marlborough as a leader in the future of organic medicinal cannabis production.
Balancing farming and pharmaceutical precision
Success in medicinal cannabis requires mastering two very different worlds: the natural variability of farming and the uncompromising discipline of pharmaceutical manufacturing.
At Puro, bridging these worlds is at the core of everything they do. Where agriculture responds to weather patterns, pest pressures, and seasonal shifts, medicinal cannabis demands outcomes that are traceable, verified, and repeatable without exception.
Puro developed a comprehensive system to meet these demands. Every product batch has full traceability from seed to harvest, recording environmental conditions, nutrient regimes, and laboratory results at every stage. After cultivation, the crop moves into a pharmaceutical-grade facility, where trained staff in full PPE follow strict, documented processes for drying, trimming, packaging and extraction. Each batch is rigorously tested by a third party laboratory to ensure it meets the exacting standards of global regulators and the medical sector.
As Chief Scientific Officer Dottie Clower explains:
"We have to have a foot in both worlds: agricultural variability and pharmaceutical consistency."
Bridging this gap, delivering organic crops that meet pharmaceutical-grade standards, defines Puro’s approach. It has set a new benchmark for compliant, high-value agricultural production in Marlborough.
Shaping the future from the ground up
When Puro set out to build a large-scale, outdoor organic medicinal cannabis operation, they faced a rare challenge: there was no proven pathway to follow. Existing models focused on controlled indoor environments or small-scale cultivation. Growing organically at scale, under open skies, and to pharmaceutical-grade standards required an entirely new approach, one that had to be designed specifically for Marlborough’s conditions and for the demands of a global market.
From the beginning, Puro recognised that success would depend on more than innovative farming. It would require deep investment in plant science, building strong, resilient genetics that could consistently deliver medicinal outcomes under natural outdoor conditions.
Traditional crops have been refined over centuries. In contrast, outdoor medicinal cannabis, particularly under organic principles, remains a young and undeveloped crop in commercial agriculture. This presented Puro both a challenge and a unique opportunity: to build a scientifically driven, regionally adapted cultivation model capable of delivering consistent, high-quality medicinal production season after season.
Puro operates structured breeding programmes across two dedicated sites: an indoor research facility in Waihopai and a coastal trial farm at Kēkerengū. The breeding programme focuses on strengthening the traits most critical to success in outdoor medicinal cannabis; maximising cannabinoid expression, ensuring reliable flowering times, increasing disease resistance, and improving plant structural resilience to Marlborough’s growing conditions.
Each generation of plants is closely monitored throughout the breeding process. Detailed performance data is collected at every stage, measuring how individual plants express key traits under outdoor conditions as a guide to select the strongest cultivars for future development.
Each generation of plants is closely monitored throughout the breeding process. Detailed performance data is collected at every stage, guiding the selection of the strongest cultivars for future development. Through a disciplined process of cross-breeding, phenotyping, and targeted selection, Puro advances its breeding lines season after season. The result is a growing selection of high-performing cultivars that are stable, resilient, and uniquely suited to Marlborough’s outdoor conditions and global medicinal standards.
Innovation runs deep in this work. In partnership with global cannabis genetics leader Trilogene Seeds, Puro introduced triploid breeding techniques, a first in the Southern Hemisphere. Triploid plants, carrying three sets of chromosomes instead of two, offer major advantages for outdoor medicinal cannabis cultivation. They provide greater genetic stability, reduce the risk of unwanted pollination, and increase the potential for higher yield, and the potential for significantly higher yields, critical factors in delivering pharmaceutical-grade consistency under open-field conditions.
By applying triploid breeding science to outdoor organic cultivation, Puro is pushing the boundaries of what is possible in large-scale medicinal cannabis production. This innovation positions them at the forefront of applied cannabis biotechnology and as a global leader in adapting cutting-edge science to real-world environmental challenges.
Unlocking a new industry for Marlborough
Building a globally competitive medicinal cannabis industry demands more than growing a crop — it requires designing the systems, capability, and operational frameworks that can support a future export sector for New Zealand. With the support of a $13 million Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) grant from the Ministry for Primary Industries, Puro has accelerated the developments needed to move from early-stage cultivation into a sector-ready operation capable of supporting broader regional growth.
This investment has enabled Puro to build organic cultivation systems suited to Marlborough’s conditions, develop a research-led breeding programme that strengthens genetic resilience and quality, and establish pharmaceutical-grade processing infrastructure to meet the demands of international medicinal markets. These systems are not designed for Puro’s operations alone, they are built to provide a foundation for a broader medicinal cannabis sector in Marlborough.
A cornerstone of this strategy has been the development of an Organic Production Handbook, a structured, practical guide translating Puro’s cultivation methods, compliance standards, and operational frameworks into a model that other growers can adopt. The handbook provides a proven pathway for new entrants, enabling regional farmers and landowners to diversify into medicinal cannabis with confidence and at a globally recognised standard.
As Chief Scientific Officer Dottie Clower explains:
"A lot of the decisions we’ve made under the grant we wouldn’t have made as a purely commercial company. The goal has always been to enable the region and help build a thriving medicinal cannabis industry in New Zealand.”
Through investment in infrastructure, proven systems, and accessible industry knowledge, Puro is building the backbone of a sustainable, scalable medicinal cannabis sector designed to create long-term opportunities across Marlborough.
Building capability and future leadership
Scaling a new industry requires more than systems, it requires skilled people capable of operating at the highest standards of production and compliance.
Recognising this, Puro has combined international expertise with local capability development to ensure the sector’s future growth. Drawing on experience from Canada, Australia, and other leading markets, Puro has embedded global best practices into its cultivation and compliance frameworks, adapting them to New Zealand’s organic environment from the outset.
At the same time, Puro has developed a cadetship programme in partnership with Te Runanga o Kaikōura, focused on building the next generation of industry specialists. Through structured, hands-on training, cadets gain expertise across cultivation, processing, and compliance, ensuring the region develops a workforce ready to meet international market standards and support sustainable sector expansion.
By combining world-leading operational systems with skilled talent development, Puro is ensuring that Marlborough is positioned not just to grow medicinal cannabis, but to lead in it.
Expanding regional foundations in global opportunity
Puro’s innovation-driven investment is transforming regional strength into national opportunity, positioning Marlborough, and New Zealand, as emerging leaders in the global medicinal cannabis industry.
New Zealand’s international reputation for purity, organic production, and regulatory integrity provides a powerful platform for expansion. With global demand for high-quality, pharmaceutical-grade medicinal cannabis rising sharply, Marlborough’s advantages in climate, compliance, and production systems offer a compelling proposition for international markets.
This leadership is already taking shape. Puro has secured strong commercial footholds in Australia’s regulated medicinal cannabis sector, with active pathways now progressing into Germany and the UK, two of the fastest-growing, highly regulated markets globally. These early successes are positioning Marlborough as a trusted source of pharmaceutical-grade production, and demonstrating the scalability and international competitiveness of New Zealand’s emerging medicinal cannabis sector.
Puro’s work stands as a clear example of how science, innovation, and strategic investment can grow future-focused industries, setting a new standard for how high-value agriculture can succeed sustainably on the global stage.
You turn a promising but fragmented idea into a world-class industry by building the systems, capability, and leadership needed for long-term success. In Marlborough, Puro is delivering that blueprint and redefining the future of high-value agriculture.
