Louisville is home to a company that was not only named the fastest-growing company in Kentucky last year but also landed at No. 122 on the Inc. 5000 list for 2024.
Cornbread Hemp was founded in 2019 by cousins James Higdon and Eric Zipperle and has roughly doubled in size since. It now employs 80+ people and serves 250,000 customers nationwide, all from a production facility just off Poplar Level Road.
What makes Cornbread Hemp’s product so popular? It turns out it’s the same thing that makes the race horses so fast and the bourbon so good: ancient fossilized seabeds.
Kentucky’s geology is rich in limestone, formed from the remains of prehistoric sea creatures. This limestone filters + purifies the Bluegrass State’s water, and enriches the soil with calcium. That pure water is what makes Kentucky bourbon the best in the world, and the added calcium in the grass helps Kentucky racehorses grow with strong bones.
As it happens, that calcium is also one of the three crucial nutrients for growing cannabis.
Geology isn’t the only reason Kentucky, and Louisville specifically, is helping Cornbread Hemp get ahead. Having UPS as a neighbor makes fulfillment a breeze — Cornbread can have its products in customers’ hands days faster than its competition, sometimes even overnight.
Cornbread started with creams and oils and has since expanded to gummies and now beverages. The 5mg Delta-9 THC seltzers launched this spring with four flavors. Here’s where you can get your hands on them:
- Liquor Barn
- Cox’s
- Total Wine
- Evergreen
- Party Mart
- GoPuff
Cornbread Hemp seltzers are also available at events like Waterfront Wednesdays, Abbey Road on the River, and select Racing + LouCity games.
