With the global cannabis market estimated to be worth $7.7 billion, it’s no surprise that a range of ancillary industries are developing alongside it at a rapid pace. Entrepreneurs from myriad industries are applying their varied experiences to help further innovation in the cannabis sector, building companies that specialize in everything from legal services to media networks. With the U.S. market poised for growth, we can expect to see the growth of these ancillary industries to continue in the coming months and years.
Here are the top ancillary components of the cannabis sector, according to entrepreneurs in the industries themselves:
Packaging
“My favorite ancillary cannabis industry is packaging. Currently there are limited offerings for child resistant packaging, so there are tremendous opportunities for organizations like KUSH Bottles to create custom packaging solutions that will refine cannabis brands.”
—Krista Whitley, CEO of Altitude Products, a conglomerate of cannabis companies such as Social Media Unicorn, a canna-brand marketing & sales agency, Bella, a line of cannabis products designed by and tailored to women, and The Weekend Box, a monthly variety box of the top products in cannabis
Banking
“The field of cannabis banking has proven itself to be among the leading ancillary industries to the cannabis sector. Currently, there are several dozen financial institutions providing legitimate, compliant, transparent bank accounts to about 1,000 licensees out of roughly 15,000, growing at an estimated 3%-5% per month. Plus there are about the same number of ancillaries that provide products and services to licensees also requiring transparent compliant banking. Informed consensus is that 2018 is the year that the issues of banking and merchant services will no longer trouble the marijuana industry, positioning ancillary vendors and providers in this space for extraordinary growth.”
—Nathaniel Gurien, CEO of FINCANN, a company bringing compliant banking and payment solutions to the legal cannabis industry
A Wide Range of Business Verticals
“It’s interesting to observe cannabis entrepreneurs developing and leveraging new and existing products and services for the cannabis industry. Repurposing real estate at the retail and industrial level has exploded across all legal cannabis states. Delivery services, mobile applications, industrial extraction, hydroponics, commercial kitchens, restaurants, legal services, accounting and taxation services, security, transport, retail design firms, marketing and design agencies, media networks, testing labs, and the list continues. The cannabis industry is just that – an industry that is supported across all imaginable business verticals.”
–Robert Fireman, CEO of MariMed Inc., a national consulting and management firm that provides total solutions for the design, development, operation, funding and optimization of legal medical cannabis cultivation centers and dispensaries
Vaporizers
“With legalization and decriminalization being brought to the forefront around the world, we’re seeing a influx of new users and those that are revisiting cannabis after many years. These users tend to gravitate towards non-threatening, easy-to-use ancillary products such as vaporizers. They’re discreet, portable, and overall a healthier way to consume. Not only that, with cannabis consumption being normalized, vaporizers allow a user to easily micro-dose so that they can go about their day. Over the past 5 years, we’ve seen an explosion of products entering the market in order to capitalize on the average 300% growth that we’ve seen year over year.”
—Shauntel Ludwig, Vice President of Operations for DaVinci, a popular dry herb vaporizer company with products that have high-tech features ranging from precision temperature controls, to state of the art heating methods, to increased battery life
Apps
“I believe the canna-tech space will experience significant growth in the next few years. Specifically, consumer based mobile apps that connect cannabis buyers with sellers and brands will play an increasingly important role in the cannabis sales process. Apps, like Cannacopia that provide recommendations to buyers, can encourage, and increase sales of a variety of different products by providing the consumer with far greater information than what can be provided them at the retail level. When integrated with inventories of specific retailers, apps can provide a more efficient way for dispensaries to handle a greater volume of customers and encourage higher per ticket sales.”
—Mike Weiss, President/Founder of Cannacopia, a mobile app that enables you to discover which marijuana strains help you feel the way you want, based on your desired mental mood, physical effects, medical condition, and taste preferences
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