Jermasa Dees, 37, started STL Space Treats, an infused treat company, out of necessity. "I had already dipped my little pinky toe in it," she says about making edibles. But when COVID-19 hit, she realized she would need to focus more on her burgeoning side hustle.
At the time, Dees was a general manager at a vegan bakery that closed temporarily due to the pandemic. Dees needed income and acted fast.
"I just was playing around," she says. "I didn't know what I was doing. I started getting good feedback, and then when my back was against the wall, I needed to sink or swim. Either I'm going to do it or not. So I took a chance on me."
Dees already had a customer base. She made cakes privately for clients (and still does if you want to try her non-infused baked goods). "I can do that in my sleep, make a cake with no problem," she says.
But when it came to infusing treats, she wasn't so confident. She started with brownies. "The reason it was brownies was because someone [I knew] bought some vegan, infused brownies, and they were not baked all the way. They were raw." Dees knew that she could make something better than that.
"That's what lit a fire under my ass for real," she says.
Still, Dees needed to learn a bit more about infusing and wanted to find a product that had a longer shelf-life than brownies. She started studying how to make candy and says that having the free time during the pandemic helped her develop her skills and build her business.
"If we would have never went through that pandemic, I would have never picked Space Treats back up," she says.
Now, Dees can create all kinds of foods infused with THC, Delta-8 or CBD. She can do low-dose or high-dose treats. (We tried her 50 mg THC gummy, and it was a knock out in more ways than one.) She can also cater to any diet. Her treats run the gamut from standard diet to gluten-free to vegan. And not everything has to be a dessert; she is also known for her infused fried rice.
"You can infuse anything," she says. "You can infuse juice. You can infuse alcohol."
Dees is able to take on clients because she has a caregiver license. "I get clients daily," Dees says. "Some of these clients make me cry. Some people call me and say they have an uncle going through stage 3 chemo, and [my] gummies are the only thing that soothes him."
One of Dees' earliest clients was her own 84-year-old grandmother, who deals with chronic pain. For her, Dees makes infused Cheez-It-style crackers. "I just love how what I'm doing is helping people," Dees says. "It's not even about the money."
Dees' success has gotten her noticed by none other than weed-enthusiast Afroman. For New Years Eve, STL Space Treats was asked to cater the VIP lounge at Broadway Boat Bar. The Lounge's concept was that it was all infused food. Dees brought her fried rice, and everyone loved it, and it led to more bookings for STL Space Treats.
When she was starting out, Dees did events around Missouri to promote her product. "Now it's to a point where people contact me," she says. Despite the growing popularity, STL Space Treats is still just a team of one. (Though Dees' boyfriend helps.)
She rents out space in a commercial kitchen where she creates the treats. She packages them herself and takes them to events or delivers them to clients. She's always grateful when her boyfriend can come along to an event, otherwise it's difficult to even take a bathroom break. Dees would love to be able to add employees and a business mentor, but her biggest frustration is with social media.
"It's harder to advertise my company because you get blocked," she says. The social media companies will flag her for offering infused products, despite Dees being careful in her wording and photo selection. "Every two days, I'm waking up to something that says you are banned, you can't do this," she says. "It can be something as simple as a flier. I hate that cannabis is so taboo. This is from the Earth. I'm not selling you crack."
Despite the issues, including trouble finding a bank, Dees loves what she does. She co-hosts Galactic Wednesdays every week from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. with Rooted Buds, where she offers her fried rice and other infused foods. The event includes networking and games. Visit @stlspacetreats on Instagram for more information.
The event has grown an audience, and Dees calls it a calm and relaxing atmosphere. She hopes one day to open a store or to see her stuff in dispensaries across Missouri. "I'm going to see what happens with that," she says. "The only way I'm going to get it is if I try."
Subscribe to Riverfront Times newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
