Lovedank Speaks to Headchef - The Grinder Icons!

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Lovedank Interview’s with Industry Friends

Lovedank Speaks to Headchef – The Grinder Icons!

This is the second instalment of our interview series and we have gone BIG with the SCOOP! We promised to bring you weed industry interviews from across the cannabis community so here we are, delivering on that promise!

Live Dank Love Dank 🕊

Scoop 2: Grinder Icons Headchef

Headchef is particularly special to us at Lovedank because their Headchef Spaceman Grinder was one of the first high end flower shredder’s that we started stocking for resale. Our idea was to sell products that aren’t necessarily the cheapest but offer value due to their style and quality. Headchef was the first brand that we fell in love with that matched that criteria. It really is as simple as that.

Over time, we have developed a friendly relationship which has resulted in this SCOOP. Together with @otfd420, we thought about what we wanted to address in this interview and set up a phone interview with Mr Headchef himself!

The Interviewer

Pre Word

Lovedank Speaks to Headchef – The Grinder Icons!

Everyone who uses cannabis flower would have, at some point, the need to use a grinder.

Not all grinders are equal, that is one thing I have found myself, as you will read below. On that very point, most people in the community have seen or at the least, heard about Headchef grinders.

My first experience was when a friend found one when we were all on a trip to Centre Parcs, Elveden Forest a few years back. This smart grinder even had a full kief catcher, making it an even sweeter find. I was instantly jealous, not only did he get the bigger room, he got the free grinder and kief.

Equally, I was impressed with the build, the branding and the overall finish of the grinder. And at the time, I could never have imagined, a few years later I would be interviewing the creator of this very brand and company.

With all of that in mind, I must confess to being a tad worried I would balls up this fairly important and, for me at least, fairly big opportunity to interview a company I really like!

So, I setup my laptop to record, set my mobile up to also record and called the guys at Head Chef. To say they are a nice bunch is an understatement, within minutes we were all chatting and joking away, and I hope this translates in the write up!

I won’t bore you with the introductions and all that, so let’s jump straight into it!!

The Interview

Lovedank Speaks to Headchef – The Grinder Icons!

How did Headchef start and come about initially?

“At the time there was no one really grabbing hold of the market with regards to branding, people were doing things, but not much with regards to an actual brand. One or two companies were doing specialist things, but you could never get stock, or get in touch with them. I was already doing stuff with C1 and wholesaling, and I felt this had the potential for being a good brand. I originally thought of the name, it kind of popped into my head.

Back then, 2006, one thing is, things were a bit more easy going, so these kind of things were starting to be accepted more, but I still wanted this to be accessible to everyone. Headchef sounded like a food company, and it was a herb grinder, but those in the know, knew what it was really. It was inoffensive. It made people comfortable around it and it looked good in a shop.”

“So the name just popped up and you went with it? How about the design?”

“Yea, the name was just something that I thought up. It kept with the vibe I was going for, subtle and yet obvious if you were in the know. Head shops where still a big thing, and herbs are what chefs use. The logo came from a guy I had done previous work with. I gave him the idea and rough spec, and he came back with lots of designs.

I picked the one that I felt translated well and would work well on a grinder.”

“So that’s how it was born?”

“Yeah, it was a case of trying to make something that could be sold easily, look good, with a brand and do the job it was supposed to do, well.”

“The logo is very well known now within the community.

Was it a conscious decision initially, to make it so you could change the Headchef look for each grinder, taking say the Samurai into account, you have a different Headchef character for that grinder?”

Lovedank Speaks to Headchef – The Grinder Icons!

“When I first developed the logo I really didn’t have future different characters in mind. When I came up with the Samurai I thoughtabout the Samurai helmet and asked the design team to come up with a version with a Samurai helmet on. They did and it looked ace so we went with that. The video came after that. Once the Samurai Headchef had been born it was natural for us to come up with other charachters. So it was not planned but more of an organic evolution….”

“Being fully accessible has been important to creating and launching your brand. I can imagine that has done you well what with the boom in CBD flower and people starting to see the health side to it?”

“Very much so. People are really starting to open their eyes with CBD. Its becoming a health aspect in people’s everyday lives. I have a friend who is a tiler, and he uses CBD.

I was speaking with him about it and mentioned how he ran out of the oil he was using. He noticed it immediately. Being a
tiler, he was on his knees a fair bit of the day, and he really noticed it when standing up and working. CBD really helps him. Headchefs brand, I hope, can now go with this healthy lifestyle kind of living, whilst maintaining its original feel.”

“We know from previous conversations with your helpful team that you concentrated on the one flagship grinder to start with in terms of Headchef, continued to develop the grinder over time and then started to introduce new colours.

Tell us about the tweaks you made to your original flagship grinder?”

“Well, it has been organic to be honest. Talking with manufacturers discussing things and testing things. It all goes from there really.“

“How about testing the grinders? There are the obvious legal issues around how you can test in the UK with, shall we say, real life scenarios, so how do you go about that?”

“I am lucky, my brother lives and works in Amsterdam, so he always helps. But in general, people in the office give them to friends and we have people that are always happy to help.

Its funny because testing has helped us a lot. We have had issues with some grinders, and the testing has stopped these things going to the market. So, we do take that seriously as we would never want to release an inferior product.

Having said that, even if the grinder works, we still look at improving them down the line. Advancements in the manufacturing can also help change and improve things.”

“Testing must be important, I bought a grinder once that ended up being terrible. The paint on the grinder started coming off into the flower and on my hands and then the part that stops the metal rubbing came off, so the metal started rubbing against itself and shedding even more paint and metal into the flower!

It was NOT a Headchef grinder, obviously.”

“Yeah, it can be done very wrong. Testing the product before release is very important. We would hate to release a product that got bad reviews and did not work. You should not get paint on your hands from a grinder!

We are lucky we have been doing it a while, and have a good basis to start from. The very first grinder I ever worked on was the Bud Buddy. At the time, around 98 or 99, all you could get were the wooden grinders with pins in it.

Being in Sheffield we found someone who could manufacture them with aluminium and steel pins.

So the very first grinder we did, although not with Headchef, was made in the UK. We have tried to do it now, but it’s just not possible, and that’s a real shame.“

When starting Headchef, did you have any companies that particularly inspired you?

“Well, I had done some already myself. But we knew a few other companies that were working on things, and we looked at what they had done. I had also run a head shop and so had seen a fair bit already. But with all honesty the bud buddy was the initial spark all those years ago.”

Lovedank Speaks to Headchef – The Grinder Icons!

“Do you see much room for innovation with regards to grinders.. it’s a very established design, do you see it changing?”

“Its such a fundamentally good design, it can’t really change much. We are always trying to think of new ways of doing it, but that design is very effective. However, this new grinder, The Future, whilst fundamentally the same design, the teeth are different.

It creates a fluffier grind. So in that respect there is room for changes. Another thing we are thinking about is a battery powered version, but it must be done properly. It needs to be gentle, and not just rip the herb to shreds.”

“Considering what a grinder is used for, did this have a negative impact on starting the business?”

“Yes for sure, we have had scrapes with the press in the past. Back when we had the head shop, we did get negative press as it was so new. Financial institutes have been difficult, but I think that is the norm in this industry. Also, family funnily enough. But in general, we have done OK. I think if you treat people well, and don’t dick people about and treat people with respect, you can get along fine. Britain is tolerant, so that helps.”

“How do you go about marketing with Headchef?

It must have been difficult before social media and these things to help push your brand.”

“Initially it was getting in the car or jumping on a train and going to areas. You would then try and find the local head shop, or someone who would look the part and be able to point us in the right direction. Then try and sell the product to the shop. You couldn’t google the area first, you actually had to track the shops down the old school way.

We also did some festivals and shows handing out flyers and things like that. Now, we use social media. I do think we came onto social media a bit late, but that’s really starting to take off now, and its great. Networking with people and just having that link with our customers has made a huge difference for us.

It has almost re sparked our passion (not that we needed it), but we are really enjoying that aspect of the business now.

Even more so through the whole Covid thing, it has genuinely lifted my spirits, so we see it as a great positive now, and obviously, building the brand along the way.”

Fun Scenarios to Conclude 😀

Lovedank Speaks to Headchef – The Grinder Icons!

Your stuck on an island with copious amounts of cannabis growing ready to harvest. What Headchef grinder do you hope you packed in your luggage?

“The Hardcore Hexellance. We had a blue one out about 4 months ago, they sold like hot cakes. Just got three new colours coming in soon, black orange & white. I would take the matte black one, its 62mm, so nice and big, with a solid hard grind action on it.

A real hardcore grinder.“

Also, what strain are you hoping it is growing?

“Well, it’ll be hot so not something to crazy, maybe a nice bit of Jack Herer to help me through the long days.“

“You wake up tomorrow and somehow you have time travelled 100 years into the future.

What Headchef grinder innovations do you like to think you would see?”

“Hahahaha brilliant. OK, a grinder that uses your electromagnetic force that grinds when you place your hand near it and is set to your frequency so only you can use it. You don’t even need to touch, just place your hand near it and it grinds. “

(At this point he started making strange
buzzing noises to demonstrate the sound it would make) 😆 .

And that was that. Pleasantries & compliments exchanged, follow up interview and sample Future grinder for review promised.

Lovedank Speaks to Headchef – The Grinder Icons!

Where can you buy Headchef Items?

Lovedank has been selling Headchef items for some time so naturally, you can buy them from us. We only stock genuine Headchef Items and you can find a range of the Headchef items that we sell h ere .