Christopher Bateman
39
Co-owner
Parks and Rec and Lilac Labs
Christopher Bateman recognizes just how lucky he is.
A former nuclear reactor operator in the U.S. Navy, Bateman left the military in 2002 with a spinal cord injury that leaves 90% of its patients unable to walk.
But Bateman persevered through the injury, using the GI Bill to earn degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology. Now a foster father of seven children, he eventually co-founded Parks and Rec and Lilac Labs, two brands that manufacture cannabis extracts in Washington.
The company was originally planned as a large-scale extractor that would process biomass for the hundreds of state-licensed producers in Washington state. However, those plans never came to fruition, and the company was forced to change its strategy when the bottom fell out of the market.
“It was more of a survival game at that point,” Bateman says.
The company downsized and began taking advantage of Bateman’s experience as a flavoring chemist, a skill he developed when designing specialty flavors for the e-cig market.
The moves have paid off tremendously, with the company now producing 20,000 to 30,000 cartridges per month, as well as infused joints and other products, and seeing 37% revenue growth in 2023, at a time when the Washington market overall shrunk by 23%, Bateman says. And perhaps more impressive is the company’s 72% long-term retention rate among consumers.
“We want to be a household name and everyday brand nationally,” he says.