Devin Cooley sees a lot of innovation in the cannabis industry, and wants to take on HVAC solutions for cannabis grow operations with solar energy panels.

“We can go green while growing green,” said Cooley, SunTrac president and COO. Tempe, Arizona-based SunTrac is solar-powered thermal hybrid air conditioning system that uses 30-40 percent less electricity to drop operating costs and keep space cool.

In the last year, industry regulators and consultants have called for cannabis growers to use sustainable practices.

Grow operations have a long road ahead of them when it comes to compliance and moving out of the black market to adapt to regulations, especially in California. On Dec. 22, California held a state briefing on environmental rules that await growers entering California’s legal market in January.

California’s agriculture department received fewer than 200 applications from growers in December, and has accepted four. “In Humboldt County, where an estimated 15,000 pot farmers grow illicitly . . . only 2,300 have applied for the required local growing permits,” according to the Associated Press.

HVAC, dehumidification and ventilation makes up 50 percent of a grow’s electricity load, and lighting accounts for 33 percent, according to Solar Power World.

Cooley said growers and cultivators can use high-efficiency SunTrac panels to offset cooling costs. With federal legalization of cannabis grows, hybrid products like SunTrac would become eligible for federal income tax credits of up to 30 percent.

Cooley talked about the basics of solar power panels and how they integrate with existing systems.

How can growers integrate renewable energy?

Indoor growers in Nevada and southern California use air conditioning, and we can help manage the indoor cultivation.

Growers are focused on lighting, so it’s an unsatisfied part of the industry. No one is helping to be creative or sustainable with HVAC, even though they are innovative in everything else they’re doing.

Is the energy consistent, even when it’s not sunny?

Integrated systems don’t change the way [the air conditioner] operates. Even if it’s cloudy for a week, there’s no concern for it being detrimental to the grower.

How does the SunTrac panel work?

An air conditioner has a compressor, you squeeze the gas to change the temperature. With SunTrac you can increase the pressure and temperature through the sun and not the motor, because there’s a solar booster for the compressor.

The air conditioner will use less energy and it offsets the need for generating electricity – like a car going 75 mph in fifth gear, but we use less gas to get to the speed.

How can growers get set up with SunTrac panels?

Installation costs between $6,000 to $8,000. The upgrade pays for itself in three years or less. With old air conditioners, they die. But with SunTrac, there’s the opportunity to break even.

We integrate with every standard air conditioning system. We’re brand agnostic to get set up and integrate our product. We’ll upgrade existing systems, and maintenance is easy – there are no heavy requirements.

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Cannabis business security goes beyond adhering to common state regulations that call for video and audio surveillance.

Due to federal regulations, many cannabis businesses remain cash-only, which makes secure cash transportation another priority.

Tom Siciliano, president of Canna Security America, puts emphasis on compliance when it comes to security regulations for cannabis businesses. Canna Security America protects cannabis businesses, their clients and their cash by providing surveillance, security guards and cash transportation services.

Canna Security America worked on the rule-making committee in the Colorado Department of Revenue and helped to formulate the state’s cannabis business security regulations. The security company has quadrupled in size from $600,000 in revenue in 2014, to $800,000 in 2015, to $2.3 million in 2016, and now close to $3.8 million in revenue in 2017, Siciliano said.

Siciliano shared insight into focus areas for cannabis industry security standards.

Have the security regulations for Colorado to be a model for other states?

Our company was part of writing initial regulations in Colorado. Recently I visited Cathedral City Council in Palm Springs, CA to talk about a large project, a 489,000 square foot facility. They wanted to hear about the security aspect and how the business would impact their community.

Our priorities are making sure that we follow regulations, expand how we help dispensaries and cultivators to strengthen how they protect their assets, and promote the security aspect to let agencies know their communities are safe.

What’s important for industry security standards?

Our industry needs to strengthen our image. New companies have done foolish things in not taking care of compliance and not following regulations. I’m trying to create a company based upon integrity, efficiency, paying bills and taxes on time, and supporting the industry as a whole.

The goal is to help people in larger industries see that if you do it right, communities will accept you more easily.

How does CSA help businesses adhere to regulations?

We’re focused on adhering to the regulations we’re working with, and how we can provide banking and transportation most efficiently.

1. We provide consulting for people getting licenses, with 100 percent success.
2. We offer state-of-the-art security systems with cameras and CCTVs.
3. We provide highly trained guards.
4. We’re one of the few that can provide cash transportation nationally.

What should businesses look for in cash transportation services?

At trade shows, you see a lot of exhibitors talking to customers saying, “We will help you move your cash, bring your money to our attorney.” But it’s paramount to a company as large as ours to do it right, and to keep everyone’s money safe.

We’re servicing three banks in Colorado and work with local banking to move customers’ cash to the National Reserve. We use a 900 sq. ft. vault and a Cummins machine that records the serial number of every bill. The dispensary owner gets cash in their account, and the bank is satisfied.

What’s a typical day for a CSA guard?

We spend an enormous amount of time training our guards on how you carry yourself and your firearms. We see our guards as an arm to our client. Our guards are also representative to the customer – they interact with customers and support their needs on a daily basis.

We had a guard called because a customer fell. The patron had passed out and lost vital signs. Our employee performed chest compressions and saved the person’s life.

How can entrepreneurs anticipate their security needs?

Anyone getting started needs a business plan first for financing, and following state and municipality regulations, which includes security. We work with new business owners to help them understand the components of security.

Where do you put the security cameras – what kind of cameras? Can you remote access into a location? Are only certain people allowed in certain areas? When [officials] are awarding licenses in their community, they will look for a complete and comprehensive security plan.

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Commercialization of cannabis has increased the need for quality control and science-based education within the industry. The Patient Focused Certification Program, a project of Americans for Safe Access, aims to address both of these needs.

Jahan Marcu, Ph.D., has helped set worldwide standards for the cannabis industry as director for the Patient Focused Certification Program. Dr. Marcu is also Chief Scientific Officer for Americans for Safe Access. He serves on the board of directors of the International Association for Cannabinoids as Medicine (IACM). He received his Ph.D. for significant contributions to the study of the structure and function of the CB1 receptor, and the role of the endocannabinoid system in bone.

For Marcu, science-based education is essential to cannabis businesses.

“Consistency and quality of information is a liability for operations if staff are providing information to patients that is not based in scientific literature,” he said.

Only 20 percent of dispensary employees surveyed reported receiving medical/scientific training on cannabis, according to a 2016 survey. Almost 90 percent of physicians-in-training said they do not feel prepared to prescribe medical marijuana in a 2017 survey.

The Patient Focused Certification Program offers third-party certification and support services to companies cultivating, manufacturing, analyzing or distributing medical cannabis products and is the nation’s only certification program based upon American Herbal Products Association and American Herbal Pharmacopoeia standards. PFC business certification and professional training is available in all medical cannabis states including the District of Columbia.

Marcu talked about the cannabis industry’s need for education and quality standards with Cashinbis.

How did you first get involved with the Patient Focused Certification program?

I had already been volunteering over 10 years, and we had worked with them using standards that had been adopted in over 20 states. We developed the first training standards, so that medical professionals and people working in dispensaries have proper training and can be a reliable source of information for patients.

Health professionals can get CME [Continuing Medical Education] credits through us, whether they work in pharmaceutical, dispensaries – we have the accreditation you need for cannabis. One of the greatest barriers is health care professionals having access to cannabis education. We need to shout to the world that education is available.

What is it like to set global standards for the cannabis industry?

Sometimes I feel like the world’s luckiest paleontologist – I get to walk with the dinosaurs.

I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and we have companies that can meet pharmaceutical and botanical quality. It’s fulfilling to get to ensure that there’s safe and legal access to medical cannabis.

What’s new with PFC?

Patient focused certification is Penn. State Nurses Association accredited. We have live trainings in Pennsylvania and Maryland as well as online training available. The newest classes are for an extraction and safety workshop: the pros and cons, safety risks and how to minimize them, and personal safety equipment.

How many companies are accredited?

Globally we’ve had over 100 applications in 12 months. Some are huge farms or multi-state companies. We have contracts with over 70 percent of cultivators in Maryland, and our program is mandated in Guam and Delaware.

Are there any upcoming plans to partner with universities?

Everyone wants to offer this education because it’s a public health need. We have university partners around the world and will continue to partner with institutions. A lot of institutions are embracing this, but some have more flexibility than others.

How have business developments in the cannabis industry impacted the scientific community?

Not very many companies have supported cannabis research. Research is largely supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

What are the risks of the commercialization of cannabis?

As with any product that becomes commercialized, the chance for error increases with production. On the triangle of best practices, science and technology are on opposite sides and quality control is on the bottom. Technology moves faster than science, so quality control balances out the discrepancy between how fast technology and science move. For example with cell phones – we don’t know how long term cell phone use affects us, and technology moves faster than science can research it, but quality control can help prevent any side effects.

What’s the current focus for cannabis research?

Terpenes, the compounds that give cannabis its aroma, are already an area of interest. We have the technology now to study metabolites. I think we’ll go from a very narrow view of potency toward studying metabolomics to move toward a very personalized medicine. Knowing what’s in the plant material is important. Focusing on cannabinoids is great, but I think it’s the entourage effect of looking at the whole plant.

How does the American scientific community stack up compared to the rest of the world when it comes to cannabis research?

People forget the first cannabinoid was isolated in the U.S. CB1 receptors were discovered in the U.S. as well.

The U.S. is one of the leaders in cannabis research – we have of the oldest standardized strains of cannabis at the farm at the University of Mississippi.

The researchers [in the US] have a challenge because there’s a limited number of people who can engage in research for cannabis. But over 40 years, there’s been an incredible effort to generate a lot of data on it.

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Dan Williams was announced as EnviroGrow’s new Chief Executive Officer Sept. 19. He’s worked in the cannabis industry since 2009 as the founder and CEO of Canna Security America. Now, he’s focused on the future of cannabis grow facilities.

Fort Collins-based EnviroGrow creates state-of-the-art custom grow facilities for clients in their 60,000 square foot warehouse in Bridgeport, Connecticut, including vegetative rooms, flower rooms, dry/cure rooms, and certified C1D1/D2 extraction labs. Then they ship the complete grow room to their client’s facility.

Dan said, “I’ve seen grow facilities go over budget, using two to three contractors. That can take up to 12 weeks. Ours can easily be set up in two to four weeks. It’s a really open-ended way of approaching grow facilities, and it’s really necessary.”

The trend in cannabis is large-scale facilities from 10,000 to 200,000 square feet as states are giving out a limited amount of cultivator licenses.

“I believe EnviroGrow is perfectly positioned to meet this need as our product provides new cannabis businesses with a solution to the biggest barriers to market: speed to market, optimum grow performance technologies, and competitive pricing keeping their projects within budget and without overage,” Dan said in an EnviroGrow release.

Dan talked with Cashinbis about the future of EnviroGrow and cannabis industry grow facilities.

You’ve seen hundreds of grow rooms around the country. What makes a good one?

There’s so many ways of setting these up. Larger companies have more investments – they have the funding to build facilities the way they want them. We’re moving toward modular set-ups to contain any contaminants in the veg/flower areas. After one contaminant destroys the entire crop, people learn to modulate which also allows overlapping grow times.

What has been your focus in re-branding EnviroGrow?

There’s been so much development since 2012. Using nationally recognized engineering firms Fuss & O’Neill and Plump Engineering, EnviroGrow has been able to develop huge labs similar to pharmaceutical companies. Not everyone knew, so we’re getting all the information on that engineering development up on the website.

We re-launched the EnviroGrow website with extensive FAQs on the veg/flower rooms and extraction labs. You can see information like how many pounds of water are removed from cannabis per day – I don’t think anyone has yet put millions of dollars into equipment to determine how much water is removed.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned so far?

The amount of technology that goes into these grows. EnviroGrow has put over $2 million into engineering of cannabis grow technology. For the first time I’m seeing how investment in engineering can really pay off for maximum growth potential. As we’re updating the website – I don’t think I’ve ever seen statistics like that before. Our extraction rooms are engineered down to the square inch, and we can track everything using environmental control systems.

What are the challenges in creating large scale grow facilities and how do you approach them?

The challenge is usable square feet and how to optimize – we design the interior modular rooms, the veg/flower rooms. Instead of needing larger spaces, we can build up and expand the space using a second mezzanine level so we’re able to increase 50,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet – we’re able to double it.

Extraction labs are highly regulated by both the cannabis industry and fire codes. Denver city has the highest level of regulation, so if our labs meet Denver code, they’ll meet code in any city.

It’s very interesting to see how strict these fire codes are. Fire regulations are much more strict than the cannabis regulations. You’re dealing with hydrocarbon and THC in the extraction labs, and you have to do that in a room that is fire retardant. There’s a C1D1 [lab] regulation that you have to cover all the light switches so they can’t create a spark. [Cannabis business owners] forget that extraction labs are treated like pharmaceutical labs – they can explode. They quickly learn – new potential [EnviroGrow] clients are surprised to find that it’s one of their biggest barriers into the industry.

What’s most important to cannabis industry CEOs right now?

The initiative right now is being able to keep up with growth in the industry while keeping a high level of product integrity. We want to make sure as we’re growing quickly, we’re not losing quality. Quality control is important to the industry.

Who inspires you most within the cannabis industry?

The new small business owners – entrepreneurs who’d never started a business before. People in the cannabis industry tend to start small and grow something out of nothing. Watching people do that with a small nest egg is very inspiring.

Did you ever imagine you’d build your career in the cannabis industry?

I thought it would be a flash in the pan.

The cannabis industry is like a family.

We’d have gatherings in our backyards and all of us were thinking there were threats that they’d search our houses, seize our bank accounts. It was scary having a family and wondering ‘Is the DEA going to bust in any minute?’

Eight years later, seeing it broaden to so many states – professionals in this industry have to be more professional than other companies because of the stigma. But we’re proud of starting from the mom-and-pops. I’m proud of everyone that’s been involved.

When I found EnviroGrow, I didn’t know there was a next step in grow facilities – it’s no longer the days of the garage and tarp separators between growth cycles.

What’s in the future for EnviroGrow?

This year will be big. We have the new website. Over the last 12 weeks we’ve had tremendous response. EnviroGrow is currently undergoing its Series A capital raise. We encourage accredited investors to contact us regarding this investment opportunity.

We’re working on all the systems and research for how these systems work to take the burden off people joining the industry, so stay tuned.

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Research has shown that there are two motivating factors that drive repeat business in the United States: access to a loyalty program and dispensary text message marketing software to build a relationship with customers. Keep customers coming through your door with a killer dispensary rewards and loyalty program in place.

Using marketing tools, you can create, schedule, automate, and send specific campaigns to segmented groups based on their interests or their spending habits to increase traffic and sales.

To attract customers of all segments and interests, try sending any (or all) of these five examples of effective promos/offers for dispensary rewards:

Dispensary Promotions/Offers for New Customers

You got a new customer in your store and sign up for your program, so how do you ensure they come back? When new customers sign up for your dispensary loyalty program, break out the welcome campaigns. Your goal is to make your new members feel as though they are part of your businesses family, so send them a warm welcome with an enticing incentive to come back to your store.

Here’s a good campaign to send to your new members: “Welcome to [business name]’s family! We’re so happy to have you, we want to offer you a little something special. Come in before [expiration date] and save 10% your entire purchase!”

10% doesn’t sound right to you? Offering a 10% discount is fairly common, but if that doesn’t work for your dispensary, you can definitely alter it. Other common ‘welcome’ incentives can be a free gift or a BOGO offer.

Thank your VIPs

Every businesses goal is to get as many VIP, high-spending customers as possible, and the best way to get your everyday customers to that level is to thank them. Creating an offer or special exclusively for your VIP’s will encourage more of your everyday customers to get on the VIP level, and by rewarding your more frequent customers, you’re showing them how much you care.

To entice your everyday customers to get on the VIP level, you should send a campaign letting them know about the VIP perks: “This weekend only, get 10% off your entire purchase and all VIP’s will get an extra 20% off their entire purchase!”

Adding signage around your store about the specials VIP’s get will also entice your everyday customers to spend more to get to that VIP level.

Minimum Purchase Specials

Do you have that one special item that just seems to be outperforming all others? Or something that you think your customers would really LOVE getting for free or extremely discounted? Sending out a text message campaign offering that item for free when a spend threshold is met results in significantly higher spending per visit.

Here’s a great example of a minimum purchase special campaign: “It’s Penny Pre-Roll day! Get a pre-roll for a PENNY for every $100 spent today!”

Typically a minimum purchase campaign results in a 65% higher spend than an average campaign.

Daily Deals

Nearly every dispensary runs at least one type of daily deal. Shatterday, Waxxy Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, Pre-Roll Friday, and more are becoming more and more common in the cannabis industry.

Sending out a campaign letting your customers know about your daily deals will get your customers excited to hear from you every day (or on the anticipated days) and result in seeing more and more regular loyal customers.

The most popular daily deals are Shatterday Saturday, Tasty Tuesday, Waxxy Wednesday, and [Business Name] Thursday.

Shatterday Saturday campaigns are just that, about Shatter! While Tasty Tuesday is a great time to promote your delicious edibles, and Waxxy Wednesday to push your deals on Wax.

On Thursday’s dispensaries should send out enticing campaigns that will get customers rushing to their store to get their weekend goods, since Thursday is the most popular day for weekend shopping, on average.

After a few weeks, your customers will be eagerly waiting by their phones anticipating that daily deal!

Happy Hour

Ever have a slow time at your dispensary? Or maybe an extremely busy time?

Try sending out a happy hour campaign! If you’re anticipating a slow time or even a busy time, sending a campaign with an enticing promotion or special will get more customers running to your store. The best promotion to send when you’re anticipating a slow time is a very enticing special or offer, like a percentage of a popular item, or a free item with a spend threshold or product buy (buy a cartridge and get a free battery).

Why would you want more traffic when you’re already busy? Well, usually when you’re anticipating a busy time, you have more budtenders at your store, so some more customers should be no sweat and thus a great time to incentivize your customers to come in with a friend. A great campaign to send when you’re at your busiest is: “Come in with a friend and both get x% off your entire purchase”

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KushKards are greeting cards designed to attach a cannabis product gift like a pre-roll – and ways to attach dab cards and concentrates are coming soon.

Americans purchase approximately 6.5 billion greeting cards each year, according to the Greeting Card Association. KushKards offers 35 handmade card designs, with some seasonal products, and a line of cannabis industry friendly stationary.

Denver-based KushKards went mainstream last year with products featured in New York Fashion Week gift bags, and an appearance at the arts & crafts industry’s Renegade Craft Fair. Available to purchase online, KushKards are also available in over 10 retail locations in five states.

CEO Lauren Miele had a corporate job in Manhattan as an accessory designer for Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target when she started making handmade cards with a cannabis theme.

The idea of gifting cannabis was new. I didn’t want to put weed in a Hallmark bag or something – it seemed cheesy.

Soon, she was giving handmade KushKards for holidays, and friends started asking to buy them. “I created a collection so that I could mass produce them,” she said. Before she knew it, Miele was ready to leave her corporate job (and New York) to join the green rush.

With support from cannabis networking organization WomenGrow, her business started to expand. “WomenGrow were definitely a huge part of my growth. I found out about them when I moved to Denver for my business in 2015,” she said.

Miele said word of mouth is priceless in the cannabis industry, as businesses offer diversity from state to state.

“We do a lot of events to get out into the community. For Valentine’s Day, we did a pop-up shop at The Herbal Cure in Denver. It was ‘buy a card, get a pre-roll for free.’ I sold most of the cards.”

“The energy in Denver is moving fast, and a lot of new people are coming into the cannabis industry. It’s an open space,” she said.

In a stroke of serendipity, Miele found her business partner Daniel Kidd, CEO of Kush Candles, on Instagram. Kush Candles, also based in Denver, makes terpene-infused cannabis candles. “The combination of a KushKard with a Kush Candle is the perfect gift with a lift, we like to say.”

In February, KushKards and Kush Candles had a booth at Champs Trade Show in Las Vegas, with plans to go international this year.

Since we were not like most of the companies and products there, our booth stood out and was most often said it looked like something out of Pinterest. An amazing experience for both of us entrepreneurs to play with the big boys of the industry.

“We showed up and got placement into 50 more shops. It is exciting to see what is happening to the types of products being introduced to the cannabis industry and glad we are here to bring the home, gift, accent type,” Miele said.

Pre-rolls are the way to someone’s heart according to KushKards customers – The Valentine’s Day ‘High Love You’ card was a top seller. “I thought Christmastime was my biggest holiday, but this time I learned Valentine’s Day is my holiday,” she said.

Miele’s favorite KushKards are ‘All I Weed is You’ and ‘Let’s Blaze Through The Rainy Day.’

The Donut is popular, it’s a different take on a get well card. A few of our get well cards do very well. Some customers say they are giving them to medical cannabis patients.

KushKards has released new product lines of ‘stoner stationary’ – “It’s a play off KushKards but for cannabis creatives and professionals, to help normalize cannabis related activities,” she said.

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Steve Sakala is growing hemp on one of only three farms contracted by the state of Hawaii.

“When the permits come out this year, each of the three rounds will have 10-12 permits, so by the end of 2018, we could have 30-40 farms in Hawaii with the potential to grow hemp,” Sakala said. As a leader in regenerative farming, Sakala has a vision for sustainable hemp to revitalize Hawaiian agriculture.

Sakala, an outspoken regenerative agriculture and Hawaii hemp activist who was awarded the first contract to grow hemp in the state, is CEO of three companies: the hemp farm Green Hawaii Genetics, CBD oil and hemp products brand Mana Artisan Botanics, and Honaunau Farm Wellness Retreat, a resort that offers education and tours on sustainable farming.

Green Hawaii Genetics and two other farms, run by the University of Hawaii and a group in Maui, have RFPs from the Hawaii Department of Agriculture to do strain testing and development.

“Can hemp revitalize Hawaiian agriculture? I think it can,” Sakala said. “Hemp has a role to play in bringing awareness back to sustainable agriculture as a self-sufficiency practice.”

Sakala shared his vision for the future of hemp and cannabis in Hawaii with Cashinbis.

What was it like getting the first license to grow hemp in Hawaii, after so many years of activism?

It’s bittersweet because being a pioneer is rewarding in a lot of ways, and it has its challenges. We had been working for a number of years for the best way forward, and we had really great support from the Department of Agriculture. Legislators worked on bills for over 30 years in Hawaii before we got the hemp law two years ago. Senator Mike Gabbard – he actually sealed the deal and got the hemp law passed with his political capital and continues to be a great hemp supporter.

Having hemp in the ground is incredibly satisfying. We’re not able to do any product development from that crop yet – we’re basically just testing genetics for the state and developing new genetics that might work well here in Hawaii.

It looks like the hemp permits will be out sometime in March, sometime this month, in which case we’re looking forward to using Hawaiian grown hemp for all kinds of product development.

Why does Hawaii need a sustainable hemp industry?

Most of our agriculture industries in Hawaii are challenged in some way. We have lots of pests causing challenges, and the high land prices create a challenge to being a sustainable farmer in Hawaii from an economic standpoint. The fact that hemp is re-emerging as a cash crop that has the potential to revitalize our agricultural economy, it has a major role to play here in Hawaii.

We have to direct the hemp industry toward sustainability. I have this fear that hemp will become another mono-crop, that we won’t treat it in a way that really weaves it in with other cultural practices. Whatever state hemp is growing in, it has to be sustainable.

As hemp farms and cannabis farms are being created from the ground up, how can they prioritize sustainability?

The cannabis farms in Hawaii have traditionally been mom-and-pop, so we saw the sustainability piece as an integrated part of a family farm. Unfortunately, legislators have forced dispensaries to grow indoors – in my opinion, that’s headed in the wrong direction off the bat.

From Hawaii Farmers Union and now as an individual with my business, I’m continually lobbying my legislators to think about sustainability as that building block for this type of legislation. We should be using greenhouses, and growing under the sun, minimizing electricity and lights so we can really take advantage of the Hawaii tropical environment and build a sustainable model that can be replicated in other places.

Cover cropping, crop rotation, biological pest control, micro-organisms (and looking at those and how we can increase our uptake) – all of those pieces are approaches are the building blocks of sustainability.

How are things now for Hawaii’s dispensaries? Many were struggling to open last year.

None of the big island dispensaries are open yet, they all have challenges with permits and licenses with the state. Mana Botanics has a contract with a dispensary in Oahu, so they’re carrying our products. It seems like things are going well for them. I think we’re on the way to seeing a robust industry. One of the things I lobbied for when the bill was up for dispensaries was reciprocity.

Sometime this year, Hawaiian dispensaries will have reciprocity with other medical states and that should really open up the industry for them.

Does that mean if you’re a medical cannabis patient in another state, you could go to Hawaii and visit a dispensary?

Correct. They haven’t implemented that regulation yet, but it’s in the legislation for 2018, so I think they’re still creating how those rules and regulations will work.

It will be a really good thing for the state’s dispensaries because we have a fairly small population here in Hawaii – only 1.3 million throughout the state and seven major islands. Here on the big island, we only have about 180,000, so to make it economically viable for dispensaries, we thought that was going to be a key piece.

What kind of opportunities would recreational cannabis open up for entrepreneurs looking at Hawaii?

We’re definitely looking ahead a few years here. I was talking to one of our senators, Will Espero, he’s a great cannabis advocate here in Hawaii, and he and other senators agree that we’re probably five years out from recreational cannabis in Hawaii. It’s going to offer major opportunities for entrepreneurs here in Hawaii when that happens.

We hope that it doesn’t follow the same model as the dispensaries, where it was very limited to big entities. My hope is that if we went toward legalization there will be a concerted effort by legislators to really support small-scale entrepreneurs, and divide up the permits into retail, grows, so there are more opportunities.

Are Hawaiian farmers supportive of hemp?

We’re going to have similar problems to other states with medical cannabis and hemp growing in the same localities, near each other. The questions come up to us: Are you going to be growing hundreds of males in your crop, and is that going to pollinate my medical cannabis and ruin it? In general, farmers are very excited, but there is concern from medical cannabis growers that the hemp could be a danger.

We need to reach out to new key players that are interested in hemp, and make sure they are part of the dialogue on how to be good neighbors.

Because there’s potential with cannabinoid extraction from hemp, there’s a lot of people looking for their contribution in a small way. I think that’s where a lot of excitement comes from.

How would the Industrial Hemp Farming Act impact your company?

I’m excited about having a completely Hawaiian grown product. Hawaii has this agriculture brand known across the world, whether its pineapple, coffee, macadamia nuts, chocolate – to be able to add cannabinoid products grown in Hawaii to that list, was for me, having been in the cannabis industry 20 years, this is what I’ve been waiting for my entire life.

So that’s how it will impact my company – Now we’ll be able to say all the ingredients in our products are Hawaiian grown. I hope that speaks to growing a really grassroots Hawaiian industry, and we’re looking to support local farmers by buying organic honey, and organic cinnamon, to support the local agricultural economy. It’s farm-to-table in a CBD bottle.

Honey is a prominent ingredient in Mana Artisan Botanics CBD products – Why is that?

We have honey in both of our tinctures. Part of the reason is that when we started creating Mana Botanics, we wanted to highlight products and ingredients from Hawaii, and Lehua honey is one of the world’s rarest honey. It’s an amazing, white crystallized, really unique flavored honey. I’ve had THC honey and thought – let’s see how this works with CBD to highlight this ingredient, and it turned out beautiful.

We really like supporting our local farms, and we get a lot of feedback from people who really like the flavor of the hemp extract combined with the honey. Of course, honey has medicinal value, so we get some people who use it for skin topicals and things like that. Really, it’s to create a product that highlights local Hawaiian agriculture and the diversity that we have here.

You just launched a new product, and a new online store. What else is in the works this year?

We’re really excited about the Hawaiian Turmeric Hemp Oil 3X line, it’s our most concentrated phytocannabinoid product with 450 ml per fluid oz. It’s combined with turmeric, which works with the endocannabinoid system. We’re not just creating another CBD business, but we want to infuse the chemicals that work in synergy with hemp. We’re looking at other botanicals and spices that work with the cannabinoid system for innovative recipes and ingredients that highlight flavor, health and wellness.

We created a non-profit 501c3 called Holistic Research & Education Foundation. What that will do is take money from donations and private foundations to fund cannabis research in university and institutional settings. I think we’ve seen research that cannabis works and now we need to know why it works. Looking at the endocannabinoid system, genetic markers that make people more receptive to cannabinoids – we’ll have a much better idea of how to approach cannabis as a first option rather than a last option in the medical world, so that we can avoid some of the negative effects of pharmaceuticals. We’re excited to start to fund some of these studies, and that’s how we will be supporting our passion for education.

Would you consider adding a cannabis tourism component to Honaunau Farm?

I would love to – I think that’s a big potential. Honaunau Farm is a little bit bigger than I’m able to keep up now that I have a product-based business and I’m growing hemp for the state. We already do a lot of ag tours at Honaunau Farm and adding cannabis to that would be a great addition. With the guest house and a way to host people, it’s something I’m looking quite seriously at.

What makes you so passionate about Hawaiian agriculture?

The reason I came to Hawaii is my root passion: regenerative agriculture or sustainable agriculture. Having studied sustainability in college and getting my degree in natural resources, I decided to go to Peace Corps and spent four years in West Africa working with farmers. During my time in West Africa, I realized agriculture is the foundation of all culture.

Until we make our agricultural systems sustainable and regenerative, we are not moving in the right direction as a human species and we can see the detriment that our corporate industrial agricultural systems are creating in our environment.

I’ve dedicated my life and my passion to building models for people to experience the regenerative lifestyle, and that has been transferred into cannabis. All cannabis should be organic and sustainably grown. If we’re going to promote it as something that’s healthy for people – even if it’s recreational, it’s still medicinal – people should know that they have an opportunity to benefit not just themselves, but supporting sustainable farmers, and supporting the land to be treated in a sustainable way for generations. It all translates into a much healthier environment.

It’s my hope that consumers start to demand these healthy products. Organic products are still in a minority, but the organic food industry is the fastest growing segment of that industry. For some reason, we haven’t seen that translated into the cannabis industry yet. It’s my hope that people will become more educated, and drive the demand for it.

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In the cannabis industry, a data threat can easily become a physical threat.

Cyber attacks and ransomware jeopardize not only business operations and patient privacy, but the safety of cannabis industry employees like drivers and dispensary staff.

GeekTek CEO Eric Schlissel said, “As a business owner, it does make sense to be paranoid about your data.” Based in Los Angeles, GeekTek pushes past the boundaries of a traditional IT service provider with a security-first approach.

Malicious cyber activity cost the U.S. economy between $57 billion and $109 billion in 2016, the White House Council of Economic Advisers estimated in a February 2018 report.

Besides foreign hackers, threats come from domestic corporate competitors, activists seeking to advance a political agenda, and organized crime, the report said.

In January, 600 cannabis businesses experienced a cyber attack when MJ Freeway, a Colorado-based provider of seed-to-sale software, suffered a major crash. MJ Freeway is also used by government regulators in Nevada and Washington.

In statements, the company believed the attacker’s goal was to destroy rather than steal data. Mark Mermelstein, MJ Freeway’s cybersecurity lawyer, noted that the attack occurred during a local contract process, and said “You could imagine a scenario where a competitor, a bidder for this RFP, tried to disable one of the leading candidates to win this contract,” according to LA Weekly.

On Feb. 3, Washington state government’s seed-to-sale software experienced a cyber attack that gave the attacker access to cannabis products delivery routes.

The hacker “was able to gain the route information of industry manifests filed between February 1-4 and transporter vehicle information, including VIN, license plate number, and vehicle type,” according to Ganjapreneuer, which reported the issue was resolved.

Data threats like these concern cannabis business owners, who fear theft, sabotage or violence toward their own employees. Cip Paulsen, owner of Washington growing operation Grow State, said after the Leaf Data attack, “It’s a huge concern mostly for my employees. [The attackers] know where [cannabis products are] leaving from, they know it’s going over to Seattle, or Olympia, or whatever. They could possibly know how much merchandise is in there,” Paulsen told Spokane local news. “They could hijack us . . .  in the middle of the night when there’s no traffic and rob and or kill people. And it not only revolves around us but it revolves around the general public.”

“Cannabis operators can easily implement the best elements of other industries which have developed strong solutions to the data security challenge,”  Schlissel said.

A thought leader when it comes to protecting cannabis industry data assets, Schlissel has written for the National Association of Cannabis Businesses Insights newsletter and Cannabis Magazine, and has spoken on data security strategies in cannabis distribution and transportation at the California Cannabis Business Conference, and moderated a panel on data security at the 2017 New West Summit. In 2018, he will be speaking at the World Medical Cannabis Conference & Expo (PA), Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo (CA), and CannaGrow Expo (CA).

GeekTek Protect is designed to safeguard cannabis industry data assets by auditing systems, deploying security monitoring systems, encrypting all devices, deploying two-factor authentication on all devices and centralizing access control.

Schlissel talked about data threats to the cannabis industry with Cashinbis.

What was your entry point to working with cannabis businesses?

My entry point was a client pitch a few years ago – it was a local organization with no infrastructure. I did an assessment and it was kind of a mess. I became an investor in a few companies and started asking people what they were doing. We can add tremendous value to the industry as a managed IT securities firm.

This topic has become increasingly important. Up until recently, businesses weren’t paying attention to IT security. Cannabis businesses are figuring out how to be compliant with regulations, and companies are now realizing, ‘We need to scale and compete with companies that have been in the industry longer, or have scaled already.’ It’s easier to solve those problems before they happen.

What kind of data security concerns are specific to cannabis businesses?

Much like other businesses, they are primarily concerned with privacy – many of them handle patient data. They may or may not have the HIPAA data built in.

Hackers are interested in companies that deal in cash, which is common in the cannabis industry.

Security cameras are relatively accessible to the network, so people could be watching the cameras and watching their network. That’s why businesses need encryption and active firewalls. Also, this issue of cannabis businesses not slowing down enough to realize they have to form policies related to cybersecurity.

In other industries, cybersecurity often relates to the actual property. People don’t understand that investors are looking for people to protect their intellectual property, and their investment.

What special challenges are presented by seed-to-sale software?

With seed-to-sale, we’re looking at information consistency for the entirety of the life cycle. If you’re growing and need to push data off, or if you’re a lab bringing data in, it needs to be encrypted.

With track-and-trace software, businesses are working with a lot of new platforms out there that aren’t entirely secure. For example AWS [Amazon Web Services] aren’t entirely secure. Some platforms are less secure than others. At GeekTek, we can do an infrastructure ID and find the weak spots in the platform.

What are cannabis companies’ most important data assets?

Patient data is incredibly important, as is your intellectual property. Every company generates intellectual property – you need to protect the cover data. Data ends up in places you don’t need it to, like in the latest formulation for your edible.

Encrypt and protect everything. As a business owner, it does make sense to be paranoid about your data. With ransomware, you could lose everything.

How can a business know if they’ve experienced a cyber attack?

It starts with a link on an email or website. For one of our clients, the CFO got an email from the CEO saying to wire money immediately. That’s an example of spear phishing – the email was from an account that looked real. There needs to be education: every single employee at your company needs to know if an email is suspect. We provide cloud-based security for every client. If someone from tech support calls for your password, how does someone know they’re really from tech support?

In a cyber attack, documents get renamed. A document named yourword.doc could be changed to yourword.csc. If you see that, unplug everything from the power and then call people who know what they’re doing.

What’s in the future for the cannabis industry?

We’re looking forward to the industry maturing and seeing businesses flourishing. This is a very exciting time for the industry and we’re looking at opportunities for innovation across the board. We love solving problems. It’s the perfect time for us to be a part of this and see continued growth all around.

The post GeekTek: Addressing Data Threats in Seed-to-Sale Software appeared first on .

Representing one of the most vital components of the cannabis ecosystem, seed-to-sale is arguably the hottest market segment in the cannabis industry. And, one company has been making a big splash in the industry! With a seed round of funding that was led by Snoop Dogg’s venture capital firm (Casa Verde Capital), Trellis Software has quickly emerged as one of the hottest startups in the cannabis industry.

Given the tapestry of regulations that vary significantly from state-to-state (and country-to-country), coupled with the fact cannabis remains federally illegal, maintaining compliance as a cannabis business owner can be a daunting task. The goal of seed-to-sale platforms to help businesses stay compliant. But, given the unique needs of distinct businesses within a diverse supply chain, seed-to-sale has become highly fragmented leading to confusion and overwhelm among many cannabis business owners trying to understand the differences between providers and how they should decide on a solution.

Fortunately, we had the opportunity to sit down with Pranav Sood (founder of Trellis Software), to help even the most tech-challenged business owner make sense of seed-to-sale.

In this interview, Pranav shares his insights as an entrepreneur in this exciting space. Pranav provides essential foundational knowledge on what seed-to-sale is and why it’s so vital to our industry. He addresses some of the most common questions business owners in the cannabis space have about seed-to-sale, such as:

• What is seed-to-sale? Is it different from track-and-trace?
• Why is seed-to-sale so important in the cannabis ecosystem?
• What was the inspiration for Pranav to found one of the hottest startups in the cannabis industry
• Lay of the Land: What does the cannabis supply chain look like and what business segments comprise the supply chain?
• What should I look for in a seed-to-sale system and how do I choose the right solution for my business?

What is Seed-to-Sale?

Before we get started, let’s define seed-to-sale. (We’ll take a deeper dive in the interview.) In the simplest terms, seed-to-sale software refers to cannabis tracking and compliance platforms that help cannabis businesses across the supply chain — from cultivation to retail — maintain compliance with local regulatory agencies.

Seed-to-sale also helps regulatory agencies oversee, manage and enforce compliance. From a consumer perspective, it helps protect customers against contaminated or mislabeled products.

[The interview was edited for length, but you can listen to it in its entirety on NerdCast, a science and technology podcast. Listen to “S01E03 Entrepreneur & Founder of Trellis, Pranav Sood, Talks Compliance & Seed-to-Sale” on Spreaker.]

Jeremy: Pranav, great to have you on today as a guest! Let’s start off with a little bit of your background. Share with us a little bit about your personal background and then what inspired you to develop Trellis’ seed-to-sale platform:

Pranav:  Sure. I come from a business background. I went to a school in Canada called Ivey School of Business and once I went through that, I worked for Deloitte doing corporate strategy consulting for two years, then I launched a small venture. I took my venture to Dragons’ Den, which is like the Shark Tank of Canada. I went on the show got a deal, so I was building this business while working at Deloitte. I left both around the same time in 2013.

I got involved with Trellis when the new regulations came out in Canada, which was around 2014.  The new medical regulations essentially commercialized the industry — from a homegrow model where you get a license to grow, towards a federally licensed commercial model. It is a very unique model where licensed producers not only produce the product, but they also sell directly to the patient. And I knew this was pretty unique in that you don’t really see vertically integrated markets in regulated industries like that.

Because I was just interested in new policy, I read the regulations. I basically knew what the old system was, now I know what the new system is, and it was such a vast difference that I knew there weren’t any solutions out there that would be able to handle or manage the process.

There’s no real other industry I’ve seen that combines manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, retail, distribution, all in a vertically integrated market, and this is the responsibility of the licensed producer. I knew, obviously, there wouldn’t be any tools in place to help manage something like that.

I knew someone that was in the industry, asked them if they were applying for a permit and they were, and then together we confirmed there weren’t any tools. We partnered together to build something very custom to the industry and to their workflows. After that, we essentially scaled and worked with several other clients.

I would say 95% of our software was really built based on feedback. We have an idea of how things work or could work. But, It’s really our clients that use it in the field who give us ideas on how technology can help mitigate or even eliminate their pain points.

After expanding out in this [California] market, fine-tuning the product, we’re now in super growth mode. We’ve been growing very quickly, month over month for the end of last year, and moving into the beginning of this year. We’ve got some major projects that we’re working on coming out over 2018 as well.

Jeremy: You raised $2M in your seed round with the investment led by Snoop Dogg’s VC firm, Casa Verde. How did that happen? How did it help you (beyond providing capital)?

Pranav: Coming out of Gateway’s Accelerator program, our next step was to raise our seed round and build a team that can help scale the business. We were introduced to Casa Verde through a few different sources and after a thorough due diligence process, CVC provided a term sheet that would set the stage for the round. Being one of the stronger investment opportunities in the industry, we were able to garner investment from several strategic investors. Outside of the capital, we are excited about working with our investor group that has expertise in cannabis, technology, and institutional finance.

Jeremy: You started in Canada, and now you’re now in Oakland as part of Gateway, a cannabis-focused incubator. How’s the experience been working in that sort of ecosystem?

Pranav: We did start the company in Canada, where our development team continues to reside. I moved to Oakland in May 2016 for Gateway and graduated in September 2016, so we would be considered alumni. We were actually part of the first cohort ever and proud of it. The experience was tremendously impactful to our success. It gave us the opportunity to connect with and integrate into the Californian cannabis community and arguably in the birthplace of the cannabis movement, Oakland. Our office is now in downtown Oakland, neighbors with Oaksterdam. We met our first California clients through Gateway, who we collaborated with to fine tune our software. The rest was history.

Seed-to Sale Defined

Jeremy: So seed-to-sale, it’s a huge buzzword in the cannabis industry. Most people connected to the legal cannabis industry hear the term constantly. But, I don’t know that everyone fully grasps what exactly it means. Most people have a rough idea what it is, but for the edification of listeners or readers, can you explain in simple terms, what seed-to-sale is and why it’s so important?

Pranav: Yes, for sure. It’s basically the process of bar coding or using some sort of unique identification process to identify any cannabis material from start to finish. So when you think of cultivation, that could be from seed, that could be from a clone. But, essentially, you need a system in place that can track and trace your product from beginning of production to the end. In our case, when you bring in seeds or clones into the system, it gets an inventory ID, then you create batches of plants. Each plant gets a plant’s ID, and those IDs are transferred through the system with scanners until the plants get to flowering.

At that point, you create a harvest batch which gets its own unique identifier, and then you record how much yield you got in that batch and what plants went into it. All along the way, you’re recording any transformation of the actual product, and you’re assigning a unique identifier. By the time you get to the end of it, if you wanted to you could scan your final packaged product and go all the way to the supply chain and be able to identify the source of it. Seed-to-sale generally gets a bad rep in the industry because it can be cumbersome. That’s why people like us exist to make it easier. But, the value of it is really … from my perspective, public safety. Think of a recall scenario, right?

These are actual scenarios that people in Colorado, in Canada, etc. have already faced under a regulated market. You need to have a sound system in place where it’s keeping track of the transformations of your product, and being able to isolate where the problem is, what batch that came from and then be able to identify where products from that batch are. Whether it’s currently on site, or it’s been sent out in an order, and then initiate a whole collection and destruction process. You can only go to that extent by having a good system in place, and that’s where seed to sale and track & trace comes from.

Jeremy:  What’s the difference between seed-to-sale and track-and-trace. Are they interchangeable?

Pranav: Very interchangeable. The state basically calls it a track & trace. Seed-to-sale refers to compliance-focused systems that encompass managing the inventory from the start of production all the way through the end sale, to the customer and being able to track it all the way back. But, for the sake of this discussion, it’s interchangeable.

The Cannabis Supply Chain

Jeremy:  Now, within the cannabis ecosystem, from cultivation to retail, how do you characterize the segments within the supply chain.  Who all uses seed-to-sale?

Pranav: Everyone. The best way that I’ve heard it described is segmented into four categories. You start with cultivation, extraction, distribution, and retail. Then you’ve could have a couple ancillary services along the way, like processing, labs for testing, and technology. Generally, the supply chain is cultivation, extraction, distribution, and retail. Along the whole supply chain, every player needs to be able to track their inbound material, what they’re doing with that material, and then where that material goes.

So for cultivators, where did that seed or clones come from? Are they from existing plants, or from other vendors? Then it’s tracking harvests and their sale to a distributor. The distributor would sell to the manufacturer who uses the trim. But, without the regulated distributor requirements, cultivators could likely sell directly to the extractors. Manufacturers log the trim coming in and the oil going out, ID’ing where it came from, how much there is, and tracking everything in between. That oil is then sold back to the distributor to go to the dispensary.

The distributor would sell to the dispensary and the retailer needs to track what’s coming in, including what the lot IDs / Batch IDs are and where it’s coming from? And then, who the retailer is selling it to. If there’s a recall scenario retail needs to identify the source, and if the source is the distributor, for example, they’d have to look into it and identify their source. If it ends up being the cultivator, then the cultivator has to figure out what ended up happening with that batch. Where it’s all at, and work with other players to manage the recall process. But, that’s essentially the whole benefit of track and trace being able to identify a product from start to finish, even though it’s moving across the supply chain.

Jeremy: Within the supply chain, I’d imagine that each of these segments has very unique needs. Some solutions would probably be better for companies operating in let’s say retail, while other solutions would be better for companies that aren’t consumer facing.

Pranav: Yeah. From our perspective, we actually see it in two segments. B2B and B2C. Everything B2B, we found to be fairly similar standards, in terms of the inventory tracking, and seed to sale requirements. The key differences are in the workflows between production and retail. For example, for cultivators, we have a whole set of cultivation modules to track, plants, and the different stages. How many are being destroyed? How many have been transferred? Etc. Then you have your whole harvest module, with specific components that will track the transformation of the product within the harvest process, and that’s where the real nuances come in. Then once you have that bulk product, distribution will take it to package, or pass it through to extraction who would extract and fill. We made dedicated modules for each of these areas that fit into the broader supply chain.

We found the requirements across the supply chain to be pretty much the same outside of a few specifics in each module that track the workflows of the conversion of that product. Inventory management stays the same, but the workflow is very different when you’re talking about retail.

Seed-to-sale is a broad category and we don’t really play in retail. We focus mostly on production and distribution because from the B2B perspective, those workflows tend to be similar outside of the actual transformation of the product, which we build specific modules for: cultivation, extraction, and distribution.

Jeremy: As an outsider looking at the market, the market seems sort of fragmented. It’s like, well, these guys are stronger at features best suited for cultivators, while these guys over here are stronger on the retail side. Given your focus, who do you guys run head to head with most?

Pranav: There are very few people like us that end up doing many parts of the value chain. Most people end up focusing on just retail, which is POS providers, or they focus on distribution or cultivation. We haven’t really seen anyone really target the extraction space specifically. The folks that we end up going head to head against most often are MJ Freeway, for example, or BioTrackTHC. The difference there being these guys are incumbent competitors that have built for early, early regulation.

How to Choose a Seed-to-Sale Provider for Your Cannabis Business

Jeremy: From a business owner’s perspective, what sort of advice would you give in terms of determining what the best solution is for my business?

Pranav: The best advice I would say is for anyone, not just people looking for seed-to-sale, or track and trace software. Look at your options and take a look at everything and take the time to make an informed decision because we definitely help a lot of people in the industry, and we’ve got great momentum in terms of people being really excited about our product. If you think about inventory management or track and trace, it’s somewhat a boring area, but if you can make it helpful, customers are super engaged and excited about the product.

But, that being said, we may not be the right fit for everyone. People are going to look at their software systems in different ways, and they’re going to want different outcomes from their software. So, some folks really like data-centric, and they’re like, “Yeah, compliance is just table stakes, but we need the data, so we know how to operate better, so we know how to become more efficient etc.” That’s the value here and that’s why I’m looking for software while other people are like, “Look, I have to do this for compliance if I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t, but I do have to.”

Depending on what you’re looking for, what you’re budget is. Take a look at all the different options out there, and some will stick better than others, but you really got to look at everything to make sure it’s sufficient.

Jeremy:  Perfect. Actually, that’s a great lead-in to my next question. Who would be your ideal customer versus your least ideal customer?

Pranav: We don’t have any least ideal customers, but what our customer base looks like right now, and we’ve been fortunate that this has happened, we’ve essentially got the largest operations in California. I think the reason being is that most of these folks were early adopters. Having large operations, they have more at stake, and there’s definitely a lot more scrutiny, and there’s a lot more to be gained by being fully compliant, first to market in their industry. Those are the folks that went out and did the research, and looked around and saw that there was, and these are the same folks that need to resolve growing pains from scaling.

Our customer base tends to be larger brands, larger volume companies, operations, and definitely, we have a stronghold in cultivation and extraction. We just started focusing on distribution. We have our first initial set off standalone distributors that are using the software, and then we also have customers that stack multiple permits together, so they may have a cultivation permit, but they also have a distribution permit to self-distribute. 80% of our customers end up using the distribution software to either self-distribute or as a standalone distributor.

Those three verticals would be our core, with higher volume folks that benefit from a large set of data and are data-driven. Then on the smaller side, we have a very flexible pricing structure that aligns with the size of the operation and the functions that they’re using. We can scale with our customers and we can manage smaller sized operators all the way to the largest operators in the state. Anyone that cares about their data and that wants to improve their workflow, and their inventory management using technology would be the ideal customer. I guess that’s a long-winded way of saying size doesn’t matter. It’s really about the value you’re seeing coming out of the software.

Seed-to-Sale Competitive Differentiators

Jeremy: You actually sort of answered my next question. But maybe in like 60 seconds, how does Trellis differentiate from its competition?

Pranav: I would say it’s probably a mix of two main things. The first being product, not only regulatory compliance but also very detailed workflow management. We continuously get feedback on how our cultivation software is so detailed and so flexible that it just works plug and play in almost every type of environment for cultivation, and that only happens by listening to feedback and getting those details into the product. By and large, we definitely make a good impression on the ease of use, the intuitiveness, and then the value of the data that the software presents and obviously managing the compliance with the Metrc integration.

It’s table stakes for us. I don’t think anyone would use our software unless that was part of the deal, but it’s that additional gravy on top which is being able to manage my workflow, I’m able to manage my employees, I’m able to see my raw materials , my end products, I’m able to see my fully loaded cost per gram of what I’m producing, so I can make better decisions for my business. Those are definitely key, and then our core belief that customer support and customer service is the driving force of the business.

It’s part of our core values to get feedback, and that’s also the reason why folks end up either switching to us or choosing us over our competitor. Our response times are much higher, we care about the product, we care about people’s opinion and how they’re using the product, and we want feedback. It has gotten to a point where our customers actually get excited about new releases because we incorporate their feedback and they’re like, “Oh, I suggested that and now I’m seeing it in my software.”

Again, I feel that in terms of inventory management, seed to sale, ERP, generally, it’s not something that folks get excited about. So, we’ve been blessed to have a customer base that cares that much and is as excited as we are. I think that really stems from our focus on customer support, being there, being available, and being collaborative and responsive to our customers.

Jeremy: I’m not sure if you can talk about this or not, but I heard you’re coming out with a big new feature that’s not available at all within the industry. Is that something you can share a little bit about, or is it confidential right now?

Pranav: We can talk about it. We’re coming out with our task manager, and then we’re coming out with a few really high visibility integrations with some key partners. So, I’ll keep that on the low, but there’s definitely a lot of collaborations that we’re working on, but I think it’s all with the intent of driving the best user experience for the users and giving them the flexibility to use other systems with Trellis as the backbone of their inventory tracking.

Jeremy: You’re launching your Series A round in mid-2018, right? Have recent statements from AG Sessions impacted investors perspectives on investing in the industry? We are launching our Series A mid-2018.

Thus far, we have not seen the impact of Sessions statement flow down to investors, but we also have not been actively raising at the time of the Cole memo being rescinded. Being an ancillary software company, it is much easier for investors to wrap their heads around our business model and the numbers ultimately drive the decision. We are revenue generating, close to breakeven and have demonstrated significant growth in a short period of time. Agnostic of the industry, we feel this would be a strong investment opportunity.

Jeremy: If someone is interested in learning more about Trellis, what’s the next step they should take?

Pranav: What we would ask is if they could go on our website and request a demo through the “Request a Demo” button [located at the top right of the website.]

The post From Seed-to-Sale, Trellis Founder Pranav Sood Talks Cannabis, Compliance & Entrepreneurship appeared first on .

Supreme Organics brings pop art inspired branding to edible cannabis products with colorful, Andy Warhol-style design.

Based in Los Angeles, Supreme Organics is a cannabis edibles brand best known for its gummies and fruit chews. They also make peanut butter cups, gourmet chocolate truffles, peppermint patties, hard sweets in rare flavors like blackberry and grapefruit hibiscus, plus inedible cannabis products like raw flower, oils, and concentrates.

Supreme Organics edibles are made in the company’s downtown Los Angeles kitchen. The company controls every step of the process in-house and calls it seed-to-you, “which is our version of the whole farm-to-table thing.”

Since California legalized recreational cannabis in January, CEO Michael Hurt said the company has been working on getting up to speed with new edibles regulations.

“Los Angeles has been like running an ultra-marathon on no sleep, literally,” Hurt said. “We’re still tying up loose ends with licensing, but orders are going crazy. People are finally receptive to the brand, but we’re fighting an uphill battle with what we can do. We’re taking our Gummies and Hard Sweets from 150mg (15 10mg servings) down to 100mg (10 10mg servings) because of the new California regulations regarding packaging.”

Supreme Organics reached out to customers for suggestions for new product names, as the new rules ban edible companies from using words like ‘candy’ that could appeal to children; their hard candies are now called hard sweets.

The edibles company supports cannabis industry charities like CannaKids and Marine Qweenz by sponsoring The Big Lebongski, a California bowling league with teams from cannabis companies. This Christmas, the bowling league gifted one patient their supply of CBD oil.

Hurt talked to Cashinbis about the inspiration for branding Supreme Organics.

How did you enter the cannabis industry?

I’ve been doing this since 2002 – doing edibles since 2009 – making cookies, brownies, lemon bars, things like that, but I realized it didn’t stand out at all. I started thinking, what were my favorite candies? I guess I shouldn’t name names, but it was popular, mainstream candy bars, and gummies.

Our fruit chews are very popular, but they’ve been out of stock. Fruit chews are coming back, but it’s cost prohibitive to do all the labor required.

What inspired your brand design?

A company in Mexico did our branding. Our logo was done by a gentleman here in L.A. Cameron Harris, our chief marketing guy, and I came up with inspiration boards and references for our vision of the brand.

We were inspired by pop art. We wanted to have fun with it, without marketing to kids at all. It’s a cannabis product, but I wanted to stay as far away as possible from a Rastafarian look. I think we hit the nail on the head. People say it reminds them of Willy Wonka.

I love pop art – the message and the symbolism. We’re working from a very specific state of mind that we can’t define for everyone, but it shows in everything we do.

We’re thinking about with every ad, every Instagram post. We want to have fun and inspire everyone else to have fun. But you have to be safe – you have to be socially responsible.

How are your products distributed?

We have a dispensary. It’s not branded right now because that’s not where our focus is.

People can get our products throughout California, and we’re working on licensing the brand in Oregon, Nevada, Washington and Colorado.

You’re missing out if you haven’t tried our Cups yet. Available in Almond, Caramel, and Chocolate, our cups are made with all natural ingredients including 40mg of THC (4 servings of 10mg THC). We grow all our cannabis organically, with no chemicals or pesticides, so we are confident in the most important ingredient in our edibles. Plus they taste amazing. So amazing, that they won Best California Edibles. If that isn’t a good reason to try them, well then we don’t know what is

A post shared by Supreme Organics (@supremeorganics) on Feb 2, 2018 at 2:31pm PST

What’s new for Supreme Organics this year?

We’re launching a vape cartridges and oil line. It’s definitely art-inspired. We have a high profile artist doing the packaging, who’s internationally known brand collaborations with multinational companies.

We have a license in Uraguay that allows us to export in the coming months. Soon we’ll be exporting to other countries. We’re trying to do it right.

What’s your vision for the future of the cannabis industry?

I think the future of the cannabis industry will have parallels with the craft beer industry. We already have a number of very large brands, but I want to keep it on a craft level with a lot of boutique cannabis brands. That’s where the cannabis industry is going to be – at the end of the day, we have a lot of connoisseurs.

Variety is the spice of life. That’s why we created a combo pack, with all four flavors of our hard candy. Because sometimes, it’s too hard to just choose one. And like all of our edibles, our hard candy is made with organic and GMO free ingredients. All crafted by our amazing chef in our Downtown Los Angeles kitchen with 10mg organic THC per candy. #lemon #blackberry #grapefruithibiscus #rootbeer

A post shared by Supreme Organics (@supremeorganics) on Dec 27, 2017 at 2:49pm PST

Will you continue to support cannabis charities?

Absolutely. We’re starting a foundation in the name of Supreme Organics to provide scholarships to kids, focused on jobs for the industry – genetics, chemical engineering.

We’ll also continue our homeless outreach, with a focus on the veterans. We’ll keep supporting CannaKids and Marine Qweenz. I’m an army veteran myself, so I want to keep supporting veterans.

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The cannabis industry is converging with standard consumer goods – that’s the premise behind cannabis-infused Mountjoy Sparkling Water.  CEO Alex Mountjoy said in an industry that is producing increasingly familiar products, his brand aims to produce high quality consumer goods at the level of national brands.

“I’ve been in consumer goods for 22 years and always wanted to start a national beverage brand,” said Mountjoy, who was inspired by a friend who helped design the Monster can.

Mountjoy’s brand taps into a U.S. obsession with wellness – the cannabis product’s imagery suggests that Mountjoy Sparkling Water could seamlessly fit in with the Instagram crowd, with bottles being carried into yoga studios and sipped at parties.

Mountjoy shared the story of Mountjoy Sparkling Water’s brand development with Cashinbis.

What do you see in the future for cannabis industry consumer goods?

Given what we’ve seen, there’s a strong rationale underlying cannabis as a healthy lifestyle product that is indisputable, but it might take a while to realize its full potential. Cannabis consumer goods should be available as interstate commerce. I want to see Mountjoy Sparkling Water in the nation’s fridge.

Rather than defining new ways to reach consumers, it’s largely about trying to be the best we can be in an industry that’s becoming increasingly familiar in the way consumers interact with brands. We’re getting away from the iconic pot leaf and there’s little tolerance for crude, rustic themes. Anything with low level marketing or design is on the way out.

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How do you see cannabis infused sparkling water fitting into consumer lifestyles?

Sparkling water has characteristics that make it a pick-me-up – it refreshes the spirit. It’s a healthy product that can accelerate the absorption of pills in your system. I thought: Can I create an ultra fast-acting THC buzz with sparkling water? My family has been making sparkling water for many years. We had the know-how and the brand. We have origins in a tabletop family product, and this is the first cannabis product that deserves a place in every fridge in the country.

It blurs the line. It satisfies basic human needs, physical and psychological. Yes, it’s fun and recreational, but it’s also healthy and treats you well. It’s sugar-free, balancing, and a source of energy.

People can buy it in traditional medical marijuana outlets. Because it’s so accessible, people use it for pain relief in combination with other products, to ease anxiety, and all the standard medical marijuana uses.

Why are you marketing Mountjoy Sparkling Water as an alternative to alcoholic beverages?

It doesn’t bring out bad qualities in a person the way alcohol does. It’s the perfect alternative because we don’t drink just to get drunk, we drink for the social experience. Most of us have a love-hate relationship with alcohol. It feels good but can lead to a lifelong struggle. We don’t want to change our social routine. Mountjoy Sparkling is the perfect way to fit the routine and our cultural experience, with no conscious modification of existing behavior.

What inspired the recent redesign of your products?

With our experience in consumer goods, we wanted a photogenic bottle that people would take photos of and it would look great. For the elements in the label, the flavors are all expressed in the design. Rather than put an orange on the label, we put a design that is symbolic of an orange without using an orange. There’s a tendency with sparkling water brands to show spray, bubbles or water droplets. We wanted to convey that experience, but not literally.

What’s coming up for your brand in 2018?

We just signed a major distribution agreement for mainstream beverage in “Texas West” – in the first half of 2018, consumers will be able to buy our THC- and CBD-infused products in that part of the country.

We’re releasing a couple new flavors and a CBD-only version, available in early 2018. They will be available in grocery stores and liquor stores – you’ll start to see it in California and Texas markets.

The CBD version is not psychoactive, and there is no taste difference [to the THC version.]

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