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Improving quality of life
Ora Pharm is a health and wellness company developing high-quality, sustainably-produced medicinal cannabis in Waikato, New Zealand.
Our vision is to provide patients, caregivers and doctors with premium plant-based healthcare products that support everyday wellbeing and improve quality of life.
Our founder’s story
Zoe began life battling illness. For years, doctors tried to diagnose her, but tests were inconclusive and medications didn’t work. At age 15, she decided to remove gluten from her diet and her health improved immediately. It was her first experience of taking control of her own health.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with endometriosis while working at Curaleaf in the United States, now the world’s largest legal cannabis company. Zoe was Director of Engineering at Curaleaf and played a leading role in the company’s expansion.
Knowing that she didn’t want to take opioids for pain relief, which were ineffective and had severe side effects, Zoe tried a CBD tincture. It was her first time using a medicinal cannabis product.
Alongside Zoe’s personal experience, she found many people were self-medicating with cannabis to manage a wide range of health issues. She's observed how legislative changes have paved the way for more patients to seek professional help and access safe, high-quality cannabis products.
As a result, doctor-patient conversations have also become more open and collaborative, often leading to the diagnosis of underlying conditions, better care, and improved health outcomes.
Zoe’s personal experiences with medicinal cannabis - as well as her work in the industry in the United States - led her to start Ora Pharm.
“I’ve heard countless stories similar to my own. It’s made me very passionate about using Ora Pharm as a vessel to help people take back control of their health and enjoy life to the fullest.”
Welcome to our home
Ora Pharm is located on a beautiful Waikato farm in the agricultural heartland of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Surrounded by market gardens, the property has its own microclimate of optimal growing conditions to ensure high yields year-round.
The nutrient rich soil and mild weather will allow us to cultivate healthy cannabis plants and produce natural therapeutics that are unique to this part of the world.
Our Responsibility To The Land
Ora Pharm’s commitment to supporting health and wellness extends to the whenua (land). We see it as our responsibility to preserve and protect our environment and the planet we call home.
Our facilities are specially designed to reduce energy and water usage. We will be drawing most of our energy from the sun and collecting rainwater from the roofs to help with watering our plants.
Our property has more than an acre of native forest and we have implemented a trapping programme to help control invasive predators and increase native bird populations.
We are exploring ways to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices at all levels of the company, from cultivation to product packaging.
Nature meets science
Ora Pharm is harnessing the natural therapeutic properties of cannabis to develop pharmaceutical-grade healthcare products.
From our state-of-the-art facility in Waikato, New Zealand, we will cultivate, process, and manufacture quality-assured medicinal cannabis using our industry-leading proprietary processes.
We put patients first. All our products will be carefully formulated to support the health of patients suffering from a wide range of conditions.
Our Practices & Standards
Excellence
Innovation
Expertise
From farm to pharmacy
Ora Pharm will use seed-to-sale software to trace each plant at every stage of its lifecycle. This will enable us to uphold the highest quality standards.
But more importantly, it provides patients, caregivers, and doctors with the confidence of knowing that our medicinal cannabis is pure, safe, and handled with care.
Meet Our Team
We’re united by a vision of empowering patients to reclaim their wellness and improve their quality of life.
Zoe Reece
Zoe is a Civil/Structural Engineer and Manager with experience in the mining and construction sectors in New Zealand and Australia, and the cannabis industry in the United States.
She was the Director of Engineering and Project Manager at Curaleaf, the largest cannabis company in the United States, where she learned how to develop and scale a successful cannabis business from end-to-end.
Zoe played a leading role in the company’s expansion by completing the design, planning, build, upgrade and start-up of more than 80 operational facilities in two years.
She was also involved in implementing legislation for Curaleaf in 16 states and helped to prepare license applications for other countries.
Her experience in the cannabis industry is invaluable to the growth and development of Ora Pharm in New Zealand and globally.
Stuart Wilcox
Stuart is an international distribution and operations advisor with extensive experience in the cannabis industry in the United States.
He’s the former COO and SVP of Curaleaf, the largest cannabis operator in the US, and most recently led business expansion efforts in emerging markets.
Stuart brings more than 30 years of agriculture experience, more than 10 years of hydroponic cultivation experience, and 24 years’ experience of processing plants into oils and other value-added products.
Nadia Scott
With more than 20 years of commercial marketing experience in Australasia, Europe and the US, Nadia’s track record of revenue and brand growth is exceptional.
She has played a key role as a member of marketing and executive leadership teams for global industry leaders Adidas, L’Oréal, Bendon, Hallmark, Morphy Richards and most recently Macpac, where she transformed the brand over five years contributing to in excess of $80 million in top line growth.
Nadia brings a strong network, along with the depth of skills and knowledge in strategy, marketing, sales, retail and digital to build a comprehensive platform for growth at Ora Pharm.
Mark Matthews
Mark is a Business Consultant and Advisor with decades of executive-level experience in the healthcare and natural products industries in New Zealand.
Prior to focussing on consulting and advisory roles, he was CEO of Good Health Products New Zealand, Chief Executive Officer at Nutralife New Zealand, Chief Operating Officer at Vitaco New Zealand, and Managing Director of Healtheries New Zealand.
Mark has considerable experience in strategic and business planning, growing revenue, developing export markets, launching new products, and financial management in large companies.
Jason Rogers
Jason is a Professional Director and Investment Specialist with extensive experience working with iwi settlement trusts, private companies and joint ventures.
He currently holds Chairman, Director and Trustee positions on a number of boards for iwi organisations where he’s responsible for managing investments and delivering commercial returns across a wide range of sectors, including forestry, fisheries, and agriculture.
Jason also has a background in finance and management and worked for Top 4 global accounting firm Ernst & Young for five years in Auckland, San Francisco and London.
Karl Reece
Karl has built a career as a Business Manager who excels in building effective teams that are dedicated to continuous improvement and innovation, developing solutions for difficult problems, and driven to achieving results.
Having a strong background in Operations and Maintenance helps him to contribute tangible ideas and develop new strategies that can be embedded easily into the business.
Karl’s previous roles include being an operations manager for LafargeHolcim in Australia and the US.
Dr. Roger Negrete
Dr. Negrete joins Ora Pharm after spending his career researching cannabinoids and how they regulate pain management in Europe. His work has been published in esteemed scientific journals and presented at conferences all over the world.
Dr. Negrete will oversee Ora Pharm’s research programme and develop the educational materials for the company, bridging the gap with medical professionals.
Dr. Warren King
Dr. King is a Senior Research Scientist with AgResearch in Hamilton. He has been an agricultural scientist for more than 25 years, both in Australia and New Zealand.
A recurrent theme throughout his career has been the ecology and management of pastures, including the interaction with the environment.
Key research focuses include understanding the drivers of pasture performance, and identification of the impact of insect pests at a farm scale.
Recent projects include novel and innovative technologies that have the potential to transform the performance of pastoral systems.
He is currently the President of the New Zealand Grassland Association.
Our Founder's Story
Ora Pharm founder and CEO Zoe Reece’s passion for sharing the life-changing benefits of medicinal cannabis comes from her personal health journey. Her empathy for others struggling with health problems and experience helping to grow the largest legal cannabis company in the United States motivated her to start Ora Pharm.
Zoe began life battling illness. For years, doctors tried to diagnose her, but tests were inconclusive and medications didn’t work. At age 15, she decided to remove gluten from her diet and her health improved immediately. It was her first experience of taking control of her own health.
In 2018, she was diagnosed with endometriosis while working at Curaleaf in the United States, now the world’s largest legal cannabis company. Zoe was Director of Engineering at Curaleaf and played a leading role in the company’s expansion.
Knowing that she didn’t want to take opioids for pain relief, which were ineffective and had severe side effects, Zoe tried a CBD tincture. It was her first time using a medicinal cannabis product.
“My pain just melted away. That’s when I realised that cannabis has true therapeutic potential.”
Alongside Zoe’s personal experience, she found many people were self-medicating with cannabis to manage a wide range of health issues. She’s observed how legislative changes have paved the way for more patients to seek professional help and access safe, high-quality cannabis products.
As a result, doctor-patient conversations have also become more open and collaborative, often leading to the diagnosis of underlying conditions, better care, and improved health outcomes.
Zoe’s personal experiences with medicinal cannabis – as well as her work in the industry in the United States – led her to start Ora Pharm.
“I’ve heard countless stories similar to my own. It’s made me very passionate about using Ora Pharm as a vessel to help people take back control of their health and enjoy life to the fullest.”
Our Home
WELCOME TO OUR HOME
Ora Pharm is located on a beautiful Waikato farm in the agricultural heartland of Aotearoa, New Zealand. Surrounded by market gardens, the property has its own microclimate of optimal growing conditions to ensure high yields year-round.
The nutrient rich soil and mild weather will allow us to cultivate healthy cannabis plants and produce natural therapeutics that are unique to this part of the world.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE LAND
Ora Pharm’s commitment to supporting health and wellness extends to the whenua (land). We see it as our responsibility to preserve and protect our environment and the planet we call home.
Our facilities are specially designed to reduce energy and water usage. We will be drawing most of our energy from the sun and collecting rainwater from the roofs to help with watering our plants.
Our property has more than an acre of native forest and we have implemented a trapping programme to help control invasive predators and increase native bird populations.
We are exploring ways to incorporate environmentally sustainable practices at all levels of the company, from cultivation to product packaging.
Our Vision
NATURE MEETS SCIENCE
Ora Pharm is harnessing the natural therapeutic properties of cannabis to develop pharmaceutical-grade healthcare products.
From our state-of-the-art facility in Waikato, New Zealand, we will cultivate, process, and manufacture quality-assured medicinal cannabis using our industry-leading proprietary processes.
We put patients first. All our products will be carefully formulated to support the health of patients suffering from a wide range of conditions.
OUR PRACTICES & STANDARDS
Ora Pharm will adopt international agricultural and manufacturing best practices and meet New Zealand Ministry of Health and European Pharmacopoeia quality standards.
EXCELLENCE
Ora Pharm is committed to producing New Zealand’s highest-quality medicinal cannabis products for domestic and export markets.
INNOVATION
We’re investing in research and development to create advanced condition-specific formulations that utilise native New Zealand botanicals.
EXPERTISE
Our expert team has global experience in developing safe, effective medicinal cannabis products from seed to sale.
FROM FARM TO PHARMACY
Ora Pharm will use seed-to-sale software to trace each plant at every stage of its lifecycle. This will enable us to uphold the highest quality standards. But more importantly, it provides patients, caregivers, and doctors with the confidence of knowing that our medicinal cannabis is pure, safe, and handled with care.
Meet Our Team
At the heart of Ora Pharm is a talented team of world-class experts dedicated to developing New Zealand’s finest medicinal cannabis products.
We’re united by a vision of empowering patients to reclaim their wellness and improve their quality of life.
Stay Informed
Get the latest medicinal cannabis news, research, and company updates.