Tyson 2.0’s worldwide campaign to conquer the cannabis industry continues in our latest, most exciting market: Thailand. The country isn’t your typical cannabis sector. New regulations, new audiences, and new opportunities. To navigate through these foreign waters we partnered up with Frost, an esteemed Thai cannabis entity.

Behind Frost’s vision and success is Charles Hempfling, the company’s COO and a veteran of the weed game. To celebrate the official launch, we chatted with Charles to bring you a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Frost, the partnership with Tyson 2.0, and the future of cannabis in Thailand.

Before Charles started Frost, he took a chance and accepted a CBD cultivation job in Thailand. At the time, the country had recently legalized medical marijuana, but he quickly caught wind that Thailand was moving toward decriminalization. Having a background in budtending and large-scale cultivation, Charles saw an opportunity to create something new and jumped at the opportunity.

“I had an idea for a West-Coast-kind-of-looking consumer cannabis brand…Whether you look at Cookies, Jungle Boys, [or] whether you look at a lot of these companies, it’s not, in my opinion, it’s not hard to have kind of a baseline or an image that you want to build a company with…But I’d also worked for a very good vertically integrated company…So, I had experience and knowledge of how to build a cannabis company that has the appropriate culture while still having a good reputation but being broad-based for consumers.”

Charles pitched the idea to colleagues who were already immersed in mass-scale pineapple cultivation in Thailand and were looking to get into the cannabis industry. After one lunch meeting, Charles said the stars aligned, and the rest was history. He had the backing and the vision and hit the ground running.

Frost kicked off in a big way. Charles teamed up with Rolling Loud, the largest international hip-hop festival, and sold weed at the event. It put Frost’s name on the map and introduced tourists and locals to the newest cannabis kids on the block. Frost had arrived, and Charles was ready to keep the momentum rolling.

Part of Charles’s plan to create a west-coast themed company included teaming up with the highest quality cannabis brands from the United States and bringing them to Thailand. With that, Tyson 2.0 was on his radar.

“I’ve been watching Tyson [2.0] for a while, obviously. Watching the Instagram account go up, as well as watching the market penetration. Seeing Tyson expand state by state and having good products in the brand…I know Mike’s passion, but the unique thing, for Tyson 2.0 and Thailand, was because…I think Mike is one of the most famous people in the history of the world.”

Mike Tyson is not just a solidified icon in Thailand because of his general star power. Muay Thai is deeply embedded in the country, and kids grow up watching Mike’s iconic performances in the ring. Not to mention, Mike made an appearance in the film Hangover 3, which took place in Thailand – all too perfect.

So, with the emerging Thailand cannabis market and Mike already being a household name, the partnership made all too much sense.

Operating in Thailand opens up a world of possibilities, from new edible flavors to unique strains to fresh packaging concepts. And by partnering with Frost, who has built a reputation for cultivating some of the best products in the country, we’re here to blow expectations out of the water.

Proposed revisions on cannabis regulations in Thailand recently made headlines in the marijuana space. The newest president has made it publicly known that he wants to pump the breaks on the country’s path toward recreational cannabis. But Frost is prepared for these changes and have already made the necessary adjustments to ensure the business can operate no matter where the winds blow.

“We switched our dispensary to a Thai traditional clinic, which seems to be the model that things are likely heading towards in Thailand. So, when we sell our rosin in-house for instance, now, we do it 100% legally by issuing a medical card, a prescription card. We have a licensed pharmacist. We have a licensed doctor on staff…And we’re excited to be the first company [in] Thailand that’s doing that just in anticipation of new regulation, but also to protect our consumers and our patients…”

As of now, dispensaries can sell flower to recreational users as long as they’re 20 years old and not pregnant. However, purchasing rosin requires a medical card, which Frost is offering to patients via their in-house doctor. By transitioning to a traditional clinic, Charles is fully prepared to continue operating even if more stringent regulations are put in place.

As Thailand’s economy grows and more tourists flood in, Charles has big expectations for the market, “Because of Thailand kind of hitting its economic stride, so to speak, Thailand is coming out of the developing world into the global economy very quickly now, so I see Tyson 2.0 helping build Thailand to maybe the second or third biggest cannabis market in the world very quickly here in the next few years.”

Charles isn’t just looking at Thailand. A number of other Southeastern Asian countries are entertaining the idea of legalizing cannabis to some capacity, and he’s ready to bring Frost and Tyson 2.0 into those emerging markets.

“ I think you’re gonna see Malaysia in the next two years. I think you’re going to see Japan quicker than you think… I don’t look at just having the Tyson license in Thailand. I look at the Tyson license as potential in all of Southeast Asia with Frost.”

But for now, we have reason to celebrate. Tyson 2.0 is officially available in Thailand. By partnering with Frost, we’re not just entering another market; we’re blazing a new trail and shaping the future of cannabis in the region. So, now’s the time to visit Thailand and witness history being made and spark up some Tyson 2.0 gas!