As cannabis and hemp markets continue to mature, and consumer expectations grow, operators face increasing pressure to create products that are not only compliant, but also consistent, stable, scalable, and capable of delivering a reliable experience. This is especially true in rapidly growing categories such as beverages, edibles, powders, tinctures, and oral delivery formats, where challenges like onset time, bioavailability, shelf stability, formulation complexity, and production costs can significantly impact success.
Many brands struggle to balance product performance with operational efficiency. Traditional emulsion technologies often require specialized equipment, third-party processing, complex formulations, and just-in-time manufacturing logistics. At the same time, consumers are becoming more educated and demanding products that are fast-acting, consistent, and formulated with high-quality ingredients.
Understanding Cannabinoid Delivery Systems: Why Formulation Matters
Not all cannabinoid-infused products are created equal. While cannabinoids such as THC and CBD may be the active ingredients consumers seek, the way those compounds are delivered can have a significant impact on product performance, consistency, consumer experience, and manufacturing efficiency.
Cannabinoids are naturally lipophilic, meaning they dissolve in oils rather than water. This presents a unique challenge for product developers, particularly in categories such as beverages, gummies, tinctures, and other oral delivery formats where uniform dispersion, stability, and bioavailability are critical.
To address these challenges, manufacturers have increasingly turned to advanced delivery systems designed to improve how cannabinoids are incorporated into finished products and absorbed by the body.
Meet Micellae: An ACT LAB Cannabinoid Delivery System Vendor Partner
Micellae is working to address these challenges through its O2W Self-Microemulsifying Drug Delivery System (SMEDDS), a technology originally developed with pharmaceutical principles in mind. Designed to improve cannabinoid delivery while simplifying manufacturing, O2W offers cannabis and hemp operators an alternative approach to creating nano-sized cannabinoid formulations without the capital investment and complexity often associated with traditional emulsion systems.
In this edition of Vendor Voices, we sat down with the Jason Stark, Chief Commercial Officer at Micellae, to discuss their technology, the future of cannabis and hemp product development, and the important role laboratory testing plays in bringing innovative products to market.
Q&A: Micellae x ACT LAB
About Micellae
Q: Where is Micellae based, and what markets do you serve?
A: Micellae is based in Toronto, Canada and Miami, FL and serves both the cannabis and hemp industries, along with other health and wellness markets. Our focus is helping brands and manufacturers create better cannabinoid products, especially in beverages, edibles, powders, and oral formats.
Q: What sets your cannabinoid delivery system apart in the cannabis and hemp space?
A: What makes Micellae different is that our O2W Base Oil is designed to make cannabinoids easier to work with, easier to absorb, and easier to scale. Unlike many systems that require expensive equipment and complicated processing, O2W is made to be simple, effective, and versatile. It helps brands create products with better performance while reducing the headaches that often come with formulation and production.
Q: Describe the benefits of Micellae’s pharmaceutical industry background.
A: Micellae brings a pharmaceutical diligence into the cannabis space. That means we focus heavily on science, consistency, safety, and real product performance. Instead of just creating something that works in theory, we build delivery systems that are meant to perform reliably in real finished products and real manufacturing environments. This includes testing through pre-clinical trials with toxicological and PK Studies.
About the Tech: Micellae’s O2W Self-Microemulsifying Drug Delivery System (SMEDDS)
Q: What are the benefits of Micellae’s O2W self-microemulsifying drug delivery system (SMEDDS)?
A: O2W offers a number of important benefits. It is designed to improve the delivery of cannabinoids, support faster onset, and help create more stable finished products. It is also a water-free concentrate, which means customers do not need to worry about the stability of “pre-emulsions” and can work from a much more efficient starting point. On the production side, O2W is valuable because it can be used without the kind of heavy processing equipment that many other emulsion systems require, all while achieving nano particle sizing.
Q: How does Micellae’s O2W technology contribute to improved cannabinoid delivery and stability in finished products?
A: O2W helps cannabinoids perform better by making them much easier to disperse in finished products. Because cannabinoids are naturally oil-based and difficult to work into water-friendly systems, they can create major formulation challenges. O2W helps bridge that gap, which can lead to better absorption, more reliable performance, and stronger product stability over time.
O2W was originally created as a Drug Delivery System, in which the Micelle formation actually mimics how the body would naturally process and absorb oils into the blood stream. O2W mirrors the lymphatic absorption that our bodies naturally do and thus allow for very high levels of bioavailability and efficacy.
How Micellae’s Cannabinoid Delivery Technology Supports Cannabis and Hemp Brands
Q: What advantages does O2W offer for State licensed cannabis companies vs hemp companies??
A: O2W brings value to both state licensed cannabis operators and hemp brands, but in different ways. In state licensed cannabis markets, it helps companies break into the “Nano” realm of products without the high CAPEX equipment spends on high pressure homogenizers, sophisticated formulations or costly contracts with emulsion suppliers. O2W provides simpler production with a Mix, Stir and Infuse process. Seriously, it is that easy to create fast acting, nano particle size delivery with products like Drops, Shots, Beverages and edibles. This also lends to greater uniformity of products when expanding SKUs from one state to another for companies with operations in multiple states.
In the hemp space, it helps brands create shelf stable oils that can be easily combined with water when ready. Because O2W is a water-free system, when combined with cannabinoids, it can be kept on the shelf for up to 12 months without fear of microbial development or cannabinoid degradation. When ready to formulate, you can grab the “Loaded” O2W, combine with water and be ready to go! Additionally, this takes away the “just-in-time” logistics that traditional Pre-Emulsions force operators into.
Both state licensed companies and hemp companies get to capitalize on the superb performance of O2W and capture Nano Particle size technology within their product suites.
Q: What are the challenges in the development of edibles and beverages and how can Micellae help brands overcome them?
A: Edibles and beverages are some of the hardest products to get right in cannabis. Brands often run into issues like poor taste, slow or inconsistent onset, uneven dosing, high costs, separation, and short shelf life. Micellae helps solve these problems by giving brands a delivery system that is designed to improve dispersion, stability, consistency, and usability, while also making the manufacturing process easier, efficient and more affordable.
Additionally, due to the level of ease, ability to emulsify on site and no equipment needed, formulation can occur SIGNIFICANTLY faster by keeping all of the processes in-house without the need to weight for third party providers or wait on sonicators to finish running.
Q: With federal language set to take effect this November that could cap hemp products at 0.4 mg of THC per unit, how is Micellae helping brands prepare?
A: This is the question we hear most right now. Roughly half the conversations we have with hemp beverage brands are about contingency planning: what happens to a 5 or 10 mg product line if the 0.4 mg cap becomes reality in November?
Our answer was to build for it ahead of time. Working with an experienced cannabinoid researcher, we developed a 0.4 mg THC formulation that pairs that small amount of THC with select minor cannabinoids like CBG and CBC, a touch of CBD, and a targeted terpene blend. Because O2W is a true delivery system, those ingredients are actually absorbed and felt rather than lost in the can. We’ll be honest about what it is: nobody should expect a 0.4 mg drink to feel like a 10 mg drink. What it delivers is a light, pleasant lift, something closer to a gentle euphoria that takes the edge off. It’s sessionable, it’s enjoyable, and it still gives people the social-drinking experience they’re reaching for.
Just as important is how it fits into manufacturing. The formulation was designed as a direct swap for the 5 and 10 mg emulsions brands are running today. Same workflow, same equipment, new label. If the cap takes effect, a brand can keep its cans on the shelf, protect its retail relationships, and hold its place in the market instead of going dark. If the rules land differently, switching back is just as simple. We’ve been sampling the formulation with operators and consumers for months and the feedback has been encouraging.
Low-dose products also raise the stakes on testing. At 0.4 mg there is no margin for dosing error, so accurate potency work from a trusted lab partner like ACT LAB stops being a checkbox and becomes part of the product itself.
Micellae’s Commitment to Consumer Safety
Q: Describe the dangers of Polyethylene Glycols (PEGs) and why it’s important the O2W is free of them?
A: More and more brands are paying attention to what is in their formulas, and many are looking for cleaner, more consumer-friendly ingredient systems. PEGs have raised questions for some formulators and consumers, especially in products where ingredient quality and long-term brand trust matter. That is one reason being PEG-free is important to us. O2W gives brands a more modern formulation option that supports a cleaner label story without relying on PEG-based chemistry.
There are also valid concerns around PEG-related impurities and gut health. Depending on how PEG-based ingredients are manufactured, they can contain trace levels of 1,4-dioxane and ethylene oxide, which FDA has described as carcinogenic, impurities in ethoxylated additives, and the National Toxicology Program lists 1,4-dioxane as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen. Separately, PEG exposure has been shown in animal studies and bowel-prep research to alter gut microbiota composition, which is another reason many formulators prefer to avoid PEG-based systems when a PEG-free alternative is available.
About Partnering with ACT LAB
Q: What role has lab testing played in your product development?
A: Lab testing has been a key part of our development process. It helps us confirm that our technology is performing the way it should in terms of potency, consistency, stability, and safety. Testing is not just a final step for us; it is part of how we improve the product, build confidence, and support our partners.
With a background as a technology intended for the Pharma space, the level of testing we have done on emulsions as a Drug Delivery System far exceeds that of many other commercially available options. Some of these tests include Pharmacokinetic (PK) Testing, Pre-Clinical Trials, Toxicology trials, and particle size analysis.
Q: Why is it important for brands in the cannabis space to work with trusted, high-quality labs like ACT LAB?
A: In cannabis, trust matters. Brands need to know their products are safe, compliant, and consistent, and they need testing partners who can help them catch issues before those issues become expensive problems. Working with a trusted lab like ACT LAB helps brands make smarter decisions, protect their reputation, and bring better products to market. At the end of the day ACT LAB helps make navigating highly regulated markets that rely on testing much easier to operate in.
Q: How does ACT LAB’s approach to testing align with your commitment to safety and quality?
A: ACT LAB’s focus on quality, accuracy, and dependable testing lines up well with the way we approach product development. At Micellae, we care deeply about building technology that performs in the real world, and that only works when testing is done at a high level. Strong lab partners are essential to helping innovative companies maintain quality and continue improving.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Micellae
Q: What role do you see your technology playing in the future of finished product development and testing?
A: We believe the future of cannabis product development will be about more than just getting cannabinoids into a product. It will be about creating products that are stable, repeatable, fast-acting, easy to manufacture, and backed by real testing. O2W is built for that future. It gives brands a platform they can use to create better products while also giving labs more opportunities to validate stability, consistency, and overall performance.
Q: How do you plan to continue innovating in this space?
A: We plan to keep innovating by expanding what O2W can do across more product types, continuing to improve formulation performance, and working closely with brands to solve real-world development challenges. Our goal is to keep bringing high-level thinking into cannabis and hemp in a way that is practical, scalable, and useful for operators trying to build great products.
Softgels are another format where we’re seeing strong interest. Because O2W is a water-free system, it’s naturally compatible with softgel manufacturing. The interesting part is what happens after you swallow one: when loaded O2W reaches the fluids in your stomach, it spontaneously forms an emulsion with nano-sized particles. Those particles can be absorbed through the lymphatic system, which supports faster onset, improved bioavailability, and more consistent performance.
Lastly, with the future of cannabis being rescheduled, there are lots of cannabinoid research programs that Micellae will be involved with to further the use of cannabis nationally and hopefully internationally to aid in bringing the relief of people in a significant way.
Enhance Your Testing Knowledge with ACT LAB
As consumer expectations increase and product categories become more sophisticated, cannabis and hemp brands are looking for technologies that improve performance without adding complexity to manufacturing. From bioavailability and onset time to stability and scalability, formulation science is becoming an increasingly important differentiator in the marketplace.
Micellae’s O2W technology represents one approach to addressing these challenges by combining pharmaceutical-inspired development principles with practical manufacturing applications. As the industry continues to evolve, innovations that support consistency, product quality, and data-driven validation will play an important role in helping operators build consumer trust and bring differentiated products to market.
ACT LAB is proud to spotlight partners like Micellae that are advancing science, innovation, and quality throughout the cannabis and hemp industries. Through collaborative testing, validation, and shared expertise, we’re working together to ensure that every product on the shelf meets the highest benchmarks for safety, consistency, and consumer trust.
Stay tuned to our blog for more partner spotlights, industry trend alerts, and other valuable insights. If you have questions or are ready to partner with us, request testing today to start the conversation.
