From Clean Cannabis to CLEANN: The Story Behind the Brand

How two Vermont entrepreneurs turned a passion for clean cultivation into one of the most transparent THC beverage brands on the market.

CLEANN was founded by Devin Dannat and Derek Porter, two Vermont entrepreneurs who built their reputation in craft cannabis before expanding into the hemp-derived THC beverage space. What started as The Clean Cannabis Company, a premium indoor cultivation operation in Hardwick, VT, evolved into Clean International and the CLEANN brand: a sparkling apple cider infused with the highest-purity hemp-derived delta-9 THC available, produced exclusively by a single-source certified organic Vermont farm.

Who Are the Founders of CLEANN?

Derek Porter is a former chef with a deep passion for medicinal plants and cannabis advocacy. His culinary background shaped how he thinks about product quality: clean inputs, controlled processes, and an end product you’d be proud to put your name on.

Devin Dannat is an accomplished furniture maker and experienced cultivator whose personal health journey led him to cannabis. His background in precision craftsmanship (previously working in the wood coatings industry) translated directly into the meticulous approach Clean Cannabis became known for.

Together, they share a philosophy that runs through everything they build: if it’s not clean, it doesn’t carry the name.

What Was The Clean Cannabis Company?

The Clean Cannabis Company was a Vermont-licensed indoor cannabis cultivation and manufacturing operation based in Hardwick, VT. Dannat and Porter self-funded the venture with help from family, investing nearly $450,000 in a state-of-the-art 12,000-square-foot grow facility with advanced lighting and environmental controls.

The operation wasn’t built to be the biggest. It was built to be the cleanest. Their facility was designed from the ground up to eliminate contaminants, with every aspect of cultivation optimized for purity over volume. Premium small-batch cannabis, grown in a controlled indoor environment, free from harsh chemicals and synthetic inputs.

How Did Clean Cannabis Become CLEANN?

The transition from cannabis cultivation to THC beverages wasn’t a pivot. It was an expansion of the same core principle. Dannat and Porter saw a growing market of consumers looking for a clean, social alternative to alcohol. They also saw that most THC beverage brands were cutting corners on sourcing, using commodity distillate with little transparency about origin or process.

They formed Clean International Inc. and launched CLEANN: a premium hemp-derived delta-9 THC sparkling apple cider that applies the same obsessive quality standards from their cannabis operation to a federally legal, consumer-ready beverage format.

The key decision: partnering exclusively with a single-source certified organic Vermont farm, a certified organic hemp farm in Proctor, VT, for their THC supply. This farm uses proprietary, in-house-built extraction equipment and food-grade ethanol processing to produce some of the highest-purity hemp-derived THC distillate in the industry. That distillate goes into CLEANN and CLEANN only.

Why Does the Founders’ Cannabis Background Matter for a THC Drink?

In a THC beverage market projected to exceed $1 billion in 2025, most brands are marketing companies first and product companies second. They source generic distillate, slap a label on it, and compete on branding alone.

CLEANN’s founders came from the opposite direction. They built a licensed cultivation operation. They understand plant genetics, extraction chemistry, and what actually goes into producing a clean cannabinoid product. That operational knowledge is baked into every decision, from the exclusive partnership with a single-source certified organic Vermont farm to the full-batch traceability system to the commitment to zero artificial ingredients.

What Makes CLEANN Different from Other THC Drinks?

The answer goes back to the founders. CLEANN is different because it was built by people who actually understand cannabis, not by a marketing team chasing a trend. Specifically: exclusive THC supply from a single-source certified organic Vermont farm (single-source, certified organic, proprietary extraction), full traceability from seed to can, third-party lab testing with COA for every batch, zero artificial ingredients, and founded by licensed cannabis cultivators.

About CLEANN

CLEANN is a premium hemp-derived delta-9 THC sparkling apple cider founded by Devin Dannat and Derek Porter. Produced by Clean International Inc. in Vermont, CLEANN uses exclusively sourced organic THC from a single-source certified organic Vermont farm and contains only natural ingredients. Every batch is third-party lab tested. CLEANN is legal under the 2018 Farm Bill and available direct-to-consumer at sipcleann.com with expanding retail distribution.