Donning a white coat and a hairnet, pushing a cart down a long hall, you might think Corinne Devine is preparing for a major experiment.

But it’s not what you might think. She’s in the process of making CBD gummies.

What You Need To Know

  • Empire Standard produces CBD gummies, and products from hemp extract

  • Corinne Devine moved back to Binghamton, where she discovered the growing hemp industry

  • Jim Castetter began producing hemp wine in 1997

“I’m adding the gummy base to the top of the double boiler so that it gets a gentle heat for melting,” said Corinne Devine, Empire Standard product development director.

Devine moved to California after graduating to work in the cannabis field. Years later, she returned to Binghamton, where she now works as the director of product development at a hemp extract partner known as Empire Standard.

The family-run business works in everything from manufacturing, product development and fulfillment.

“I started being interested when I was a senior at Binghamton University studying bio-chemistry. Cannabis was something that I was interested in recreationally in my free time and then I decided to combine the two, my education and my interests,” said Devine.

A short time after returning to Binghamton, Devine met Kaelan Castetter, whose father started producing hemp infused wine back in 1997. With adult-use cannabis on the way to legalization, Castetter already had the wheels in motion to transition.

“We’ve taken advantage of that and built up a facility and capabilities that allow us to transition right over to THC and start creating finished goods and products for what’s estimated to be a $3.7 billion annual marketplace," said Kaelan Castetter, Empire Standard's CEO.

And employees like Devine are thrilled to be a part of it.

“It’s awesome. I like to bring ideas to fruition, make ideas a reality. People come to us and they have an idea and a dream for a product and then we get to make it real,” said Devine.