Ball Family Farms (BFF) is a Los Angeles-based indoor cannabis cultivator with an enormous Southern California footprint. Brothers Charles and Chris Ball own the brand that has become known for its proprietary strains like Daniel LaRusso and Nino Brown. Now, the company is branching out and lifting fellow Black cannabis entrepreneurs in an initiative called Rare Breeds.
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“This is about giving real growers a lane,” says Chris Ball, Founder and CEO of Ball Family Farms. “For too long, the people who built this culture have been left out of the legal game. Rare Breeds is how we change that—by putting legacy talent front and center and creating real opportunities from the ground up.”
Rare Breeds gives legacy cultivators sitting on prime genetics the opportunity to learn how to bring that flavor to a mainstream market. BFF shepherds the future strain creators with mentorship, tools, and a platform to bring rare breeds from “the street to the storefront.”
The company launched the program with its first protege. Zak Alkatib, better known as Hoodbaby, is known for honing admirably unique genetics as a self-taught home grower. He never imagined bringing the coveted flavors to market until meeting with BFF cultivation facility manager Oscar Figueroa, who introduced Hoodbaby to Chris Ball.
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The pair solidified things over a joint of Hoodbaby product, and the cultivator became the inaugural Rare Breeds phenohunter. This work culminates in Invader Zim, a cross of Runtz, Zkittles, and Animal Cookies. The first test run sold out in a day. Don’t worry, though. The official June release should have a bit more inventory.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to the incredible work BFF is known for,” Hoodbaby said. “With Invader Zim, I’m showing what real craft cannabis can be—no gimmicks, just real terps, and real genetics that hit exactly how they should.”
The flower is described as having a citrus-candied scent underscored by smooth gassiness. Invader Zim provides a full-body smoke that is unforgettable. Hoodbaby owns the genetics despite the products being manufactured and marketed under the Ball Family Farms brand. If he chooses to walk away from the partnership, he can legally take all Invader Zim IP with him.
Those in California must wait until June to find some of this new weed. As for California weed growers who want to be the next Rare Breeder, official contest details will be available in August. Super-interested cultivators can sign up for early access and updates on the BFF website.
