Jaleel White launches his own weed company dubbed Purple Urkel with 710 Labs launching April 20

Jaleel White launches his own weed company dubbed Purple Urkel with 710 Labs slated to launch April 20

More than 20 years after skyrocketing to fame as Steve Urkel, Jaleel White is using that beloved character to start his new weed company.

The 43-year-old actor is launching his new company called ItsPurpl, which will feature variants of the popular Purple Urkel strain.

White is launching the company with 710 Labs, launching on dispensary shelves in California starting on April 20, according to Forbes

Purple Urkel: More than 20 years after skyrocketing to fame as Steve Urkel, Jaleel White is using that beloved character to start his new weed company

While the launch will only be in California for now, there will be the potential to grow to more marketplaces in the future.

As for the impetus behind this company, White, who currently voices Gene the Genie on DuckTales, said he simply didn’t see a ‘leader’ in purple weed out there.

‘The thing that always stood out to me was there no clear brand leader for fire purple weed,’ White said.

Launch: While the launch will only be in California for now, there will be the potential to grow to more marketplaces in the future

Launch: While the launch will only be in California for now, there will be the potential to grow to more marketplaces in the future

‘It made no sense to me, that no company of significance had claimed this lane, so why not me?’ he added.

White added that he connected with 710 Labs founder Brad Melshenker on a flight and they hit it off, though Melshenker insisted the brand has never sought celebrity endorsements.

‘We tend to let the product speak for itself. But over the years Jaleel and I became friends and organically our conversations developed into a project,’ Melshenker said. 

Why not: 'It made no sense to me, that no company of significance had claimed this lane, so why not me?' he added

Why not: ‘It made no sense to me, that no company of significance had claimed this lane, so why not me?’ he added

‘He was on a journey to find the real Purple Urkel from back in the early 2000’s. Not only that, he wanted to find the most flavorful purple cultivars and had been collecting seeds with his friend Sean over the years just for this purpose,’ Melshenker added.

White also marveled at the quality of the strain, adding it’s been ‘surreal’ and that he feels, ‘a little bit like Willy Wonka’ because the flavor was reminiscent of grape candy.

He added there had been other businessmen who had ideas that, ‘felt very exploitative of the Urkel character and money-minded.’

Journey: 'He was on a journey to find the real Purple Urkel from back in the early 2000’s. Not only that, he wanted to find the most flavorful purple cultivars and had been collecting seeds with his friend Sean over the years just for this purpose,' Melshenker added

Journey: ‘He was on a journey to find the real Purple Urkel from back in the early 2000’s. Not only that, he wanted to find the most flavorful purple cultivars and had been collecting seeds with his friend Sean over the years just for this purpose,’ Melshenker added

The Purple Urkel will be sold as eighths, plus vape pens with 710 Labs’ proprietary live resin pods, plus Noodle Doinks, described as, ‘a fat, hand rolled joint that uses a fusilli noodle as the crutch.’

After California launches, Urkel is hoping to bring Purple Urkel to The Big Apple as its next launch.

‘New York has always shown me a lot of love so hopefully it won’t take too too long to get ItsPurpl products to the Big Apple. I want every state in the union, to keep it all the way real. I envision product releases in Canada and Europe one day in the future,’ he said.

Products: The Purple Urkel will be sold as eighths, plus vape pens with 710 Labs’ proprietary live resin pods, plus Noodle Doinks, described as, 'a fat, hand rolled joint that uses a fusilli noodle as the crutch

Products: The Purple Urkel will be sold as eighths, plus vape pens with 710 Labs’ proprietary live resin pods, plus Noodle Doinks, described as, ‘a fat, hand rolled joint that uses a fusilli noodle as the crutch