Puro Seeks Contract Growers as Medicinal Cannabis Demand Surges
New Zealand's largest medicinal cannabis operation is looking for contract growers to help meet surging international demand.
Co-founded by Sank Macfarlane and Tim Aldrige, the company also won the Excellence in Primary Industries Awards and was a finalist in the Excellence in Innovation and Excellence in Sustainability Awards.
"We're two lads from Blenheim taking Marlborough to the world," says Aldridge, who serves as Puro's chairman.
"Growing up, we've watched Marlborough become synonymous with premium Sauvignon Blanc which has been an incredible success story,” he says.
"In 1990, New Zealand exported $18 million of wine. Today that number sits over $2.5 billion, with 80% produced right here in Marlborough. We want Marlborough medical cannabis to become as trusted and respected as Marlborough wine, and these awards recognise we’re on the right track."
Macfarlane and Aldridge identified Marlborough's unique climate and soils as ideal for producing a premium agricultural product.
Working with globally recognised cannabis agronomist Tom Forrest, whose international research confirmed the region's potential, they've built New Zealand's largest medicinal cannabis operation across sites in Waihopai and Kekerengu.
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With research support from the Ministry of Primary Industries the company has pioneered "live drying" technology, flash-freezing cannabis flowers at harvest before freeze-drying them.
This preserves the plant's full therapeutic profile while solving harvest bottlenecks - and has made Puro the only supplier of live-dried organic medicinal cannabis products globally.
Sank Macfarlane, Puro's chief executive, says 2025 has been a breakthrough year for Puro, with major distribution agreements signed in Australia and the United Kingdom, including a $16 million export deal with UK distributor IPS Pharma for what will be the world's largest organic cannabis shipment.
“Last year Puro exported 75% of all New Zealand medicinal cannabis, three times more than all other licensed producers combined, and we’re scaling up fast,” says Macfarlane.
“We’ll be planting 75,000 seedlings into our organic Kekerengu fields in this season, 60,000 more than we did the year before. And because we’re growing so much more, we’re also investing in new processing equipment at our purpose-built facility," he says.
“To help us meet surging international demand we’re also developing a contract growing model, similar to Zespri’s kiwifruit framework. It’s an approach that will enable more regional landowners and iwi to participate in the industry, creating additional skilled jobs and economic opportunities across Marlborough and the South Island."
“To help us meet surging international demand we’re also developing a contract growing model, similar to Zespri’s kiwifruit framework. It’s an approach that will enable more regional landowners and iwi to participate in the industry, creating additional skilled jobs and economic opportunities across Marlborough and the South Island.
