Richard Lee’s Post

Coming back from MJBiz has me feeling tired (w/ memories that make it so worth it), inspired, grateful and re-energized for the next year ahead - and I didn't even realize this show marked number 10 for me. Even if I did just find my first gray hair, I wouldn't change eight years in cannabis for anything. '15 & '16 in the Rio were the "puppy dog years" where everything was insatiably exciting. Tennis ball distractions everywhere all at once. In '17 we were actually allowed in the LV Convention Center... w/ no smoking allowed outside... yeah right. Everyone was trying to figure out how to gain traction in the medical markets and prepare for the opening of CA / NV / ME / MA rec. NOLA '18 will always be special because it's when Calyx Containers first launched! And what an amazing journey it's been since. This year felt different. Probably the first we saw YoY decline in attendance but the conversations we had were all much higher quality. Gone are the days of "I'm only here to learn what's going on in weed" as everybody walking the show was there w/ a purpose and to do biz. This was the first year I understood the Chandelier Bar is really the cannabis industry watering hole... it was awesome to see so many old friends and make some new ones. This week usually serves as a point of reflection for me: what have we accomplished since the last show and what is our community saying as needs that aren't currently being serviced. Simon and I have become fascinated w/ how packaging can influence subconscious consumer buying habits. It always puts the biggest smile on my face when we can geek out on the latest trends w/ our clients - and obviously to see how these packaging decisions tangibly improve their sales. If you look closely at the labels in this video, they all have a slightly different design... but maintain overall brand integrity. Cannabis has a brand new packaging playground w/ recent evolution of the technology that made the 'Share A Coke' campaign possible. We've been heads down launching CalyxFX for labels this year. Hearing the response to our advanced printing & decorations capabilities was incredible 🙏 and the equipment we've invested in can print on the same films that get converted to pouches/mylars... So yes, we are a full service label printer - not just for our containers anymore. And yes, we've set up our supply chain to domestically produce flexible packaging for meeting even more of our clients' needs. Calyx WavePack, our flexible packaging line, uses our manufacturing and material science expertise to create a new wave of child-resistant cannabis packaging. Can't wait to debut some WavePack designs amplified w/ Calyx FX too 🎨🧠 A huge thank you to everyone who came out and made a big work week a whole lotta fun too. There is nothing that will ever replace in person interaction. Now right back to work getting ready for 2024. Any thoughts on where our industry will be come next year's MJBiz?

What a ride! Embarc's California State Fair activation wrapped, and I'm still buzzing. We built a dispensary/museum in the middle of the fair and saw thousands and thousands of people pass through over 17 days. What really stayed with me was the crowd's curiosity about cannabis. Attendees wandered in from art exhibits and hypnotist shows to our cannabis education area. They learned about the plant's history, its effects, and could then buy and consume on-site. We’ve never been able to take a customer on a journey like that before. We met folks who'd never considered consuming, asking wide-eyed questions about everything. And seeing older attendees get emotional about cannabis being normalized hit HARD for me. I have to say, our team knocked it out of the park despite the challenges. Stocking enough product for 17 days was trickier than we thought. And our systems got a real, high-volume, rapid fire workout. But we figured it out together, just like we always do. We showed that cannabis can fit right in at mainstream events. And, we did this in collaboration with our partners at Equity Trade Network (we had dinner in SF last night still talking about how surreal that experience was). In a way, it felt like a glimpse into the future. Alas, no time to get sentimental.... To Outside Lands we ride ✌️ Our team is onsite and ready to kick off our 4th year at this event. This is the first time Embarc is taking a more consumer facing role. We've been working up to this moment and I'm incredibly proud and excited. It's going to be a great weekend. Anyone else going to Outside Lands? #cannabis #cannabismarketing #events #marketing #cannabiscommunity

It was a great Hall of Flowers this past week.  My anecdotal take-aways: - There were a ton of brands I’ve never heard of. I think this is great, as the entrepreneurial spirit lives on in this industry. That being said, I wonder how many will survive until next HOF.  I didn’t see much differentiation or anything unique. Cool packaging, but a brand needs to stand for more than that.  - As mentioned above, I didn’t see anything particularly new, but not just as it relates to brands but actual product as well.  In years past, I’d seen product innovation, whether it be cannabis infused macrons, or an edible in the form of a lipstick, both of which I thought were clever. I absolutely could have missed new ideas at this year’s show, so feel free to comment and let me know. - Many of the big brands didn’t exhibit.  What does that mean?  The anecdotal consensus on the Show floor was that while the larger established brands can always continue to add doors, they already have the contacts. It’s a small industry. They have the relationships, so why spend on an expensive booth when they can just make a phone call. - I spoke with at least 3 people from different established brands that said they’ve pulled out of California all together for the foreseeable future. They’re leveraging their brand awareness to launch in other states. And, they’ll wait out California and when things start to normalize, customers start to pay, then they’ll re-visit possibly entering the market. However, none of the 3 individuals expressed any urgency or immediate desire to re-enter.  What does that tell you about the state of the cannabis industry in California? Regardless of the take-aways above, the energy was great, the scrappiness of the Industry perseveres, and the cannabis industry has some of the best individuals it could ask for to lead the charge.  Curious to know the thoughts of others as it relates to their experience at HOF this past week...

We cannot say enough about Canadian Health Food Association LaunchPad and how it helped Pleasure Pods advance in the CPG Industry(listen to find how). We've met some pretty amazing people in this CPG Industry, but the 2 people that have made an impact since our winning is Phil Chang and Kenny Vannucci. They've given us guidance and insight into this world of CPG. Being so new to this industry, but not to entrepreneurship, we needed it. So many factors to consider, especially in pricing, as your margin can make or break you, which we've heard from other founders. They continue to be our go to as consultants. Providing us with transparency, honesty, knowledge, SEO's, keywords, package designers, distributors, brokers, go-to-market planning and so much more. I recommend both of them for there many, many, many years in the CPG industry and incredible wealth of knowledge, as much as I recommend the CHFA LaunchPad for new brands trying to make a mark in the CPG Industry.

BIOMEDevice: What are your big takeaways from this 2023 session? I’ll go first: When the beer line is long, just get in line with your beer and continue networking while you wait for beer two. Share in the comments, and let’s keep these conversations going! #BioMedBoston #MedTechInnovators #GameChangers 

Hold my 🥣 ... Nice try at that sleight of hand, throwing shade At least you can dip, dive, duck, dodge, and evade This is a rap battle not a rap massage But we gotta focus on the people, make this industry large We see you talking about community, culture and soul Talk is cheap, we gonna find you smokin a bowl? No time to sit in boardrooms, chillin' in suits Time to rally in the streets, we lacin' up our boots We are true Cabbage culture, you know who's ridin with us? #MMD got #HighHopes, you should join this bus. We reppin' High at 9 News, The Canna Boss Babes too, Our team is the rocket, Happy Cabbage to the moon! We hear you tho, spitting real truths, Lets get them into the streets, out of the booths. Let's forget the clashes, unite for the plan, Raising this community, where the story began. Let's work together, let's #deschedule this mess, Happy Cabbage servin' as a tool to success. When you're ready for glory, we'll be ready to blaze, Let's look to the future, create new ways. If you're down to rock, let's meet face to face, Gather this community, pick the time and place. --- For real though Darren Weiss this has been fun. Love the engagement! It's not always easy doing this cannabis thing, but little moments like these remind me we are all in this together. Would love to bring this energy to an event in Chicago. Just let us know when works, we'll cover the tab.

Did anyone watch the latest episode of Dragon's Den with clean skincare brand NINI Organics? 👀 Spoiler alert: they got three offers and ended up with a deal. ✅ I loved the story behind the brand, the founders, their experience and knowledge, the focus on natural and organic ingredients and that one founder had a MUA background and the other had taken the time to study formulation. They also had passion, determination and plans for the future - as well as £1.3 million turnover and 20k social media followers. I agreed with the Dragons on their branding and packaging - I originally googled Mimi Organics as I struggled to read the font on their logo. I also wonder if the fact that one of the founders is currently formulating everything will get trickier as the brand scales. I thought it was interesting that a couple of the Dragon's mentioned how challenging and how much work and money it would take to break into the beauty market, and in particular their plans to expand as a spa brand as well as a consumer one. What do you think? Is it tough to enter the beauty industry without serious, significant investment? Seeing a lot of conversation about this recently! 💰 #beautyindustry #beauty #skincare #cleanbeauty #dragonsden #entrepreneurship #skincareproducts

SNDL Inc. CEO Zachary George recently had a very informative long-form Q&A session with Pablo Zuanic. I strongly suggest anyone who's new to SNDL check it out (Perhaps new people from Skymint Cannabis, Parallel, Surterra Wellness, NETA (New England Treatment Access, LLC), or GoodBlend wanting to learn more). I've done my best to type up a transcript of the Q&A, because the audio version on Twitter/X may not be available long-term, many people aren't able to access that recording because they don't have an account there, and the closed captions are almost never accurate there or on Youtube, unfortunately. This should make it easier for anyone who wants to read along or who finds it easier to share quotes without having to type them yourself, as well as provide a searchable place for quick reference. https://lnkd.in/gSUiBzwg Here's a taste of some of the informative quotes: "It's a great point. You know, we've repeatedly made sure that our quarterly press releases include mention that we have not raised cash through equity offerings since July of 2021. You know, we believe in earning the right to take risk. We believe that the disciplined deployment of capital is one of the best ways that we can earn the trust of our investors in the marketplace. And, so, we are really focused on intelligent and disciplined, you know, deployment of our existing cash balances and we are also expecting that capital base - or that unrestricted cash - to actually grow with some of the credit exposure we have amortizing or being monetized back to us, you know, over the next 12-24 months." "Absolutely, and look, just as a preface here, we're commercial partners with most of the top operators both upstream and downstream in Canada. So, those commercial relationships are really critical to us, whether it's on a B2B basis, or whether we are distributors of their brands and products. So, I don't want to overstate this, or sort of spike the football, but I would ask the question: When you look across the landscape and you look at some of the acquisitions that have occurred in the space, you know, who has more to show for their M&A activity at the end of the day? And, I think, when you look at the last three years for us where, clearly, most of our revenue growth, which, as of year-end, you know, our compounded annual growth rate of revenue was over 120%. That has come largely through acquisitions, but this isn't a case where we acquired market share which then collapsed on us, so to speak. These are real operating businesses. Clearly, in Canada right now, retail is a great place to be. It's garnering superior economics relative to where upstream operators are sitting." Thank you to everyone who checks it out! #MSOS #Florida #Michigan #medical #cannabis #cannabisindustry

Concerning having a good pitch, three Cs are extremely important. The three Cs are as follows: Clarity. Confidence. Courage. In sales, there's something known as transfer of emotions. Simply known as make the client feel positive as you feel positive.👍