New Zealand cultivator Puro was recognised as Marlborough’s top business after securing the Supreme Award at the region’s Business Excellence Awards, capping off its year of rapid expansion and growing international demand.
The Marlborough-based firm – founded in 2018 by Tom Forrest, Sank Macfarlane and Tim Aldridge – also won the Excellence in Primary Industries Award and was a finalist for Excellence in Innovation and Excellence in Sustainability.
Puro recently began planting what Forrest described as potentially the “biggest organic, sun-grown crop in the southern hemisphere”, with 75,000 seedlings – up from 15,000 last year – going into its certified-organic fields this season.
The expansion followed a string of major export deals across Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom. Last year, Puro exported around 75% of all New Zealand medicinal cannabis.
Its headline UK contract – a NZ$15.8 million (A$13.7m) agreement to supply flower to IPS Pharma – is understood to be the world’s largest organic medicinal cannabis shipment.
Forrest told Cannabiz the award win – delivered in a region globally synonymous with premium Sauvignon Blanc – reflected growing recognition that medicinal cannabis had become a serious primary industry for Marlborough.
“Marlborough is a powerhouse for wine – around two and a half billion dollars in wine exports – but it’s largely one commodity grown the same way,” Forrest said.
“We came to the region with another crop that adds jobs and a whole layer of ancillary support industries. We’re paying carpenters, electricians, builders and agricultural suppliers.
“Many of the same people who service the vineyards now also work with us – during harvest we employ hundreds of people in the field. We’ve brought a whole new sector to the region.”
Forrest said organic cultivation was “extremely hard work” but had become a key differentiator in Puro’s B2B model – one the award judges clearly recognised.
“We’re exporting pallets, moving into containers full of product out of Marlborough and into Australia, the UK, Germany, across 12 or 13 regular customers around the world,” he said.
“About 20 unique SKUs have hit the market with our product as the starting ingredient.”
Marlborough Chamber of Commerce chief executive Kylie Cornelius said Puro’s success was well-deserved.
“Despite facing significant regulatory setbacks and challenges, Puro has stayed the course and built something remarkable,” she said.
“Their business showcases the best of our region – it embraces new technology, invests in skilled local people, and builds on our incredible climate and land.
“It’s going to be incredibly exciting to watch them grow and continue putting our region on the global stage.”
Puro will complete transplanting its final batches of plants over the coming weeks, with harvest scheduled for early 2026.