LeafLink List 2021 Stories: Hear From the Winners
LeafLink List is our annual celebration of the top performing brands, retailers, and products over the course of 2021. This year, we wanted to learn more about stories behind operators that have topped the charts. From interesting origin stories to a now-established company culture, here’s what they had to say about their success thus far.
Brand Winners
1906
Awards: Best Brand Profiles, Top-Selling Ingestibles, Fastest-Growing Ingestibles
How did your company get its start?
“We started 1906 because we believe cannabis is the greatest medicine on earth. Our goal is to make cannabis a trusted, normal part of daily wellness with products that are easy to understand and easy to fit into your life and offer the most healthful format of cannabis available.
1906 is named for the last time cannabis was widely accepted as a beneficial medicine. The Wiley Act was passed the following year, beginning nearly a century of misguided cannabis prohibition with devastating consequences. We say it’s high time to make cannabis accessible and understandable for all—for the greater good (and the greater fun).”
Biko
Award: Leaders in Social Responsibility
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
“Biko’s business is unique due to the founder, the vision, and the quality. Biko products prioritize cannabinoid education, COA transparency, and support active creativity. Biko’s star product — JUSEYO DIAMONDS — was awarded 5th place infused preroll finalist in the 2021 Emerald Cup. Timeka Drew, as CEO and Founder, is normalizing black women as curators of luxury cannabis experiences.”
Cann
Awards: Best Brand Profile
Tell us about your Company Culture
“Our culture is powered by our core values:
Set higher standards: we’re in relentless pursuit of the best and believe the magic is every small detail. Play well with others: we stand with one foot in two industries: we respect the legacy and aim to serve all partners in and out of cannabis. Embrace the pool water: we learn from mistakes without ego (and with a sense of humor)Believe in it: we make the impossible happen and don’t let anything stop us from finding the “yes” in a sea of “no”.”
Cannalicious Labs
Award: Early Adopters
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
”Cannalicious is always looking for new and innovative ways to improve the market as well as enhance the user experience. We incorporate a wide range of cannabinoids other than THC into our products and try our best to educate consumers on the benefits of cannabis as a whole. We also specialize in RSO and have the best-selling lineup in the state of Michigan.”
CLOVR
Award: Best Brand Profiles, Fastest-Growing Pre-Rolls
How did your company get its start?
”CLOVR was founded in 2019 by a group of Kansas City investors who had previously worked in the Colorado cannabis market. Once the possibility of Missouri having a medical marijuana market arose it was all hands on deck in their home state to help legalize and become a part of the industry.”
Cookies
Award: Fastest-Growing Brand
How did your company get its start?
”CEO and Co-Founder Berner started his cannabis career as a budtender in the Bay Area during California’s early days as a medical cannabis forerunner. He quickly realized there were not any “brands” and the cannabis itself was sold in very unappealing bags, so he wanted to establish a brand with appealing packaging.
And he didn’t just want in the game for himself, he wanted to bring up others too. Berner partnered with Bay Area cultivator and breeder Jai “Jigga” Chang to create Cookies, a strain of medical marijuana they formerly marketed as “Girl Scout Cookies.” In 2010, the cannabis strain was paired with a streetwear clothing line (Cookies SF) which gave birth to a cannabis company and clothing line, resulting in an entire cannabis enterprise.”
LEVIA
Award: Fastest-Growing Brands
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
”LEVIA products are great tasting and provide a fast and predictable onset from a choice of sativa, hybrid or indica cannabis, a consistent experience, and NO hangover – all made with the finest locally-sourced buds and simple all-natural ingredients. Each 12 oz can of seltzer has zero calories, zero sugar, and contains 5mg THC. Available in 3 different flavors/experiences and at over 100 dispensaries (medicinal and recreational) in MA.”
Hooga
Award: Leaders in Social Responsibility
What is your company culture like?
“Hooga is a way of life. Hooga promotes happiness through work-life balance that seems to disrupt with a freetown mindset that allows for the ability to create, craft, and innovate in a market in unique ways. We feel that the freedom of our team allows for room to think, grow, lead, learn, and love. We make sure to cherish the little things in life.
Our parent organization, Yes Cannabis, believes that new age products and innovative concepts will drive the market more than a pretty label and to compound ensures the companies under its umbrella do more than just provide products to consumers but find a way to benefit the earth and all that live on it. We adopt this practice as Hooga and craft unique concentrate offerings that come from the heart while offering recyclable packaging and providing a percentage of proceeds to charity through marketing campaigns that occur on a quarterly basis.”
Khemia
Award: Leaders in Social Responsibility
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
“Khemia is different from most brands because we have created our business around keeping legacy manufacturers working in our industry. Every employee and team member has been somehow involved in the industry before it was an industry. Our team has over 37 years of combined experience running and operating cannabis businesses.
Khemia also has a unique product offering. We offer a SKU called a Rose Petal Pre Roll that is always a collaborative SKU with a well-known legacy cultivator. Some of our partners have been Gold Seal, Woodland Roots, Sonoma Family Farms. We have future Rose Petal Pre Rolls in the cue with brands like Ball Family Farms, THC Designs and more.
Our Soulshine bubble hash line is exciting too. I mean who doesn’t want their soul to shine, right? We know that Khemia’s bubble hash is the way to do it! Currently we have 1g bubble hash jars and bubble hash infused pre-rolls that launched this November.
Our Zen Sip drink mix line is DELISH! It is gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, vegan, made with organic ingredients, and FULL OF FLAVOR!”
Mary’s Medicinals
Awards: Top-Selling Ingestibles, Top-Selling Topicals
How did your company get its start?
”Mary’s Medicinals was founded in 2012 by two powerhouse women looking to offer a line of therapeutic cannabis products that offered consistency, accurate dosing and a sense of reliability that didn’t currently exist in the market.
Born in Denver, Colorado, Mary’s pioneered transdermal cannabis by way of creating the first ever time-release cannabinoid patch in 2013. At this time, the benefits of cannabis were known, but there were no delivery methods that offered an efficient and consistent way for regimen users to consume.
Thus, Mary’s was born, and the success of its cutting-edge delivery methods lead to a comprehensive line embracing the versatility of the cannabis plant powered by science and innovation.”
Shop Mary’s Medicinals on LeafLink
Medically Correct
Award: Best Customer Service
How did your company get its start?
“One of the cannabis industry’s most successful companies for over a decade, Medically Correct is driven by its mission to make infused products safe and accessible to patients in need. Founded by Bob Eschino and Rick Scarpello, the duo partnered with Derek Cumings, an innovative extraction expert, and Josh Fink, a classically trained pastry chef, to create incredibles. The sensational line known for novelty chocolate bars is now accompanied by other innovative brands including Nové Luxury Edibles, Quiq, and Clear Creek Extracts, with Zēlo coming soon.”
Shop Medically Correct on LeafLink
Nebula
Award: Best Customer Service
How did your company get its start?
”Nebula is a husband and wife local Arizona company! We came to the cannabis market with a bang starting in January of 2021. Our product line of Nectars (THC infused syrups) was created by Chef CJ Johnson (an AZ chef for more than 12 years) over time while he served the valley some of the best foods. Once perfected we set out to be the best liquid edible in dispensaries, providing our patients with a superior product. Thank you!”
Noble Nectar Extracts
Award: Best Advertising
What is your company culture like?
”Noble Nectar is dedicated to maintaining the highest quality available in patient care through the caliber of our products. By having a knowledgeable team of individuals dedicated to our process, our mission is to help spread quality medicine throughout the state of Oklahoma and always place our patients first. The culture of Noble Nectar Extracts is quite simple – we create the best products we can for the patients because we also are the patients, and you can see that intention in everything that we do.”
Raw Garden
Awards: Top-Selling Brands, Fastest-Growing Cartridges, Fastest-Growing Concentrates, Top Brand by Market – CA
How did your company get its start?
“John De Friel, a 4th-generation farmer and chemical and biological engineer, and Thomas Martin, a 5th generation farmer, both took an interest in understanding the genetics of cannabis and established Raw Garden in 2015.
De Friel studied the genomic sequencing of cannabis and created a sequence assisted breeding program applying next-gen DNA sequencing technologies, high-throughput phenotyping, and machine learning to identify and integrate sets of genes coding for high value traits in cannabis. Martin currently leads the R&D, agricultural, and manufacturing teams.
Today, Raw Garden relies on its PhD and MSc scientists to guide the organization’s plant breeding, genomics, biotechnology, integrated pest management, and data science programs. Tens of thousands of plants are evaluated each year with only the top 1% being selected, a nod to Raw Garden’s commitment to quality and innovation.
Raw Garden houses more than 2,000 distinct cultivars of cannabis and more than 25 million seeds in its bank, making it one of the largest cannabis seed programs in the world.”
STIIIZY
Award: Fastest-Growing Brands
How did your company get its start?
“STIIIZY is a veteran-owned cannabis company, known as an innovative, award-winning, California-based cannabis brand. Founded in 2017 as a pioneering vape company, STIIIZY has evolved into so much more. Today, STIIIZY has become one of the world’s most treasured cannabis brands with its class defining retail stores and amazing cannabis products. Always Innovating, always Inspiring,
always Influencing: Stay STIIIZY”
Sunderstorm/Kanha
Award: Best Advertising
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
”Here at Kanha, we pride ourselves in making sure every product out in the market surpasses the expectations of consumers by having the same great taste, consistency, and all natural ingredients that sets us apart.
We continuously strive to produce innovative products such as our Kanha Nano, which were the first fast-acting gummies in the industry. When you open a bag of Kanha, our goal is to make sure your experience with cannabis is a blissful and joyful journey.”
The Greenery Hash Factory
Award: Best Customer Service
How did your company get its start?
“Our business was founded by Joel Cameron and Brian Capsay, who are both locals from Durango who wanted to see more traditional, solventless options on the wholesale market. Today, The Greenery Hash Factory is the only company in Colorado producing traditional, kief-based concentrates, and their products can be found in over 270 dispensaries across the state.”
Shop The Greenery Hash Factory on LeafLink
Trucenta
Award: Early Adopters
How did your company get its start?
“The “Cannabis Bloom” is positioned to be the next tech boom as the industry continues to expand and move towards federal legalization. The Michigan business community has the opportunity to optimize the impact of the cannabis industry. Trucenta was founded in 2015 on an idea and handshake to make such an impact.
Today, our privately held company employs over 200 team members in outdoor and indoor cultivation, processing, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and BREEZE retail locations. We have the ability to process close to 100,000 pounds of biomass per month utilizing both hydrocarbon and ethanol. The cannabis industry has its unprecedented challenges, but it’s exhilarating and we are deeply passionate about being a caretaker of the Michigan cannabis industry.”
Unrivaled
Award: Early Adopters
How did your company get its start?
“Unrivaled came to life as a partnership between a number of long-time experienced cannabis operators across regions, utilizing a public vehicle to vertically integrate and decisively act as the leading west coast cannabis MSO. Our brands and dispensaries were among the first to be licensed in California and Oregon, and we’ve built a culture-driven business since our inception.
We believe the dominant cannabis brands of the future will be from the West Coast, and are building a team focused on executing the best cannabis genetics, product R&D and brand experiences that will set the standard for the future of cannabis across the globe.”
Check out LeafLinkList.com for the full list of 2021 LeafLink List-winning brands, retailers, and products!
Product and Market Winners
Cannavative
Award: Top Brand by Market – NV
What is your company culture like?
We are a small, but mighty organization of like-minded cannabis consumers, whose mission is to simply create clean consistent cannabis products that we all enjoy
Canopy Growth Corp.
Award: Top Brand by Market – SK
What is your company culture like?
“Our mission is an expression of what we value, and what we’re building towards. At Canopy, we are channeling the power of this extraordinary plant – to build an organization made with intention and defined by purpose, serving as a new model for a transformational industry.
Our work starts with understanding our consumer better than anyone else. We leverage best-in-class insights to guide our innovations, creating authentic brands and high-quality products that are loved for their deep connection to human desires and needs.
Our vision comes to life through our objectives: harnessing the power of the plant, building a best-in-class CPG company, and fostering a purpose-driven atmosphere. These objectives push us to take on big challenges, to live our ideals, and to fight for the meaningful changes we know are possible.
With an approach grounded in our responsibility – to use cannabis to build a better world, to inspire our team members, and to advance social justice – we are focused on achieving our ambitious goals.”
Shop Canopy Growth on LeafLink
City Trees
Award: Fastest-Growing Concentrates, Top-Selling Concentrates
How did your company get its start?
”City Trees got started in 2016 with a passion for delivering the highest quality cannabis products to the Nevada market at an affordable price. We are born and bred in North Las Vegas and remain true to our local roots. The city brings us drive, innovation, and a will to keep pushing forward. The trees bring us connection, clarity, and a grounding that helps heal the world around us. We combine years of expertise in cannabis cultivation, extraction, and distribution to deliver the highest quality THC distillate products in Nevada. Using our proprietary extraction processes and relentless attention to detail we craft a variety of clean boutique cannabis products that deliver consistent results. Sustain Your State with City Trees.”
Elevated
Award: Top Brand by Market – NM
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
“We have developed the philosophy that fusing science and nature is key to creating a quality product that improves wellness and self care. Through our evolving technology, we are delivering a pure, powerful, consistent potency that is achieving a holistic relationship with Cannabis. We are using the power of plant-based medicine to unlock the full potential of the Elevated lifestyle.”
Fire Eater
Award: Fastest-Growing Beverages
How did your company get its start?
“It started in Anchorage at a place called Pot Luck Events. We would take different products in and ask members to give us feedback so we could improve, only intending to be part of the kitchen staff for the club. We hadn’t anticipated joining this industry ourselves, but with the support and encouragement from our very close friend Theresa Collins we started to create a brand and people started to recognize it.
We initiated a license in Anchorage but ended up losing our location so we relocated to the Kenai peninsula. We officially went into production in 2018 and hit store shelves that summer. We didn’t have a lot of start-up capital or investors, we started out as small and as quickly as we could get our first products out the door. Everything went straight back into the business to buy more equipment and add to our product menu.”
Shop Fire Eater on LeafLink
Fluresh
Award: Fastest-Growing Flower
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
“At Fluresh, we know that cannabis is so much more than a one-size fits all prescription or the incoherent experience portrayed in the past. It offers nuanced solutions to numerous physical and emotional conditions so when you match a unique individual with the right product, the possibilities are endless. Fluresh is dedicated to designing premium cannabis products to fit your ever-dynamic life so each member of our community can experience cannabis’s potential in a way that feels right to them.”
Green Cross Colorado/CannaPunch
Award: Top-Selling Topical
How did your company get its start?
Marine Veteran and Chemical Engineer, Daniel Griffin, received the very first MIPMF license in the state of Colorado in 2009. His knowledge and passion permanently transformed the Colorado cannabis space with the introduction of Sons Of Sativa, the first cannabis-infused beverage anywhere in the marketplace. Since that time, Daniel’s innovations have went on to create a groundbreaking portfolio of brands that are prominent cornerstones of the Marijuana industry. Names like Cannapunch, Dutch Girl, Highly Edible and Nordic Goddess are just some of the gifts he’s bestowed upon our industry and have become the blueprints that many competitors analyze to achieve their industry success.
GOOD Cannabis
Award: Top Brand by Market – Alaska
What is your company culture like?
”We focus on community. Alaska is a small state that has a community feel. Given the challenges of living in Alaska, we all depend on each other. We strive to strengthen our community by being good community members and giving back as much as we can.”
Shop GOOD Cannabis on LeafLink
High Grade
Award: Top-Selling Medical
What sets you apart from the marketplace?
“At High Grade, we go to extreme lengths to do everything in-house and under one roof. We call this our “Soil-To-Oil” process. From cultivation to extraction, to trimming and packaging, the constant quest for quality control is unwavering.
Our mantra of “Do Good, Be Good. The rest is easy.” echoes throughout everything we do, in and out of our state-of-the-art facility. We are committed to using only the best practices, never using harmful herbicides and pesticides, and always staying open to the pulse of our communities. We view cannabis as a vehicle to #ElevateHigher personally, professionally, and environmentally.”
Indiva
Award: Top Brand by Market – Ontario
How did your company get its start?
”Indiva is all about combining great things. Indica and sativa. Experience and expertise. Cannabis and the community. No matter what we do, Indiva honours the past while keeping our sights set on the future. Great things come in pairs, which is why we partner with established and much-beloved cannabis brands to bring Canadians the cannabis products they deserve. We’re passionate about uncovering the very best the cannabis industry has to offer. From flower and capsules to gummies and chocolate, Indiva’s dedication to providing innovative and exceptional cannabis products to consumers shines through.
Our mission is simple: normalize cannabis use while setting new standards for quality and creativity.”
Lady Gray
Award: Fastest-Growing Beverages
How did your company get its start?
”We started with a tiny crew emphasizing quality ingredients to create a feminine forward brand to help alleviate some of the stigma associated with what we believe is a health and wellness product. In the last five years we’ve only gained momentum to help facilitate this vision which we’re entirely grateful to our customers for supporting!”
Lime Cannabis Co.
Award: Leaders in Social Responsibility, Fastest-Growing Ingestibles
How did your company get its start?
“Sergey called Giovanti one day in April of 2019 and said he had obtained a license in Los Angeles. Giovanti packed a backpack,hopped on the next flight out of San Francisco and the rest was history. We brainstormed for a week straight, night and day about the brand we wanted to build. We came up with the name Lime because the best things in life come with a Lime on the side. #itslimetime”
Magic Number
Award: Fastest-Growing Beverages
How did your company get its start?
Like a lot of great Oregon companies, Magic Number started in a garage with a modest investment in a grand idea.
It was back in 2014 and friends Dan Pilver and Alex Berger were independently experimenting with home brewing ideas. A special education teacher by day, Dan was looking for a creative outlet and testing ginger beer formulations. Alex was working on an elixir of his own, utilizing a tonic recipe. Fueled by a sense of adventure, a dash of humor, and the belief in the healing powers of cannabis, the duo combined their efforts and decided to focus on making a cannabis-infused ginger beer in various strengths to meet the needs of a range of canna-enthusiasts…hence the motto “What’s Your Magic Number?”.
MariMed Inc./Betty’s Eddies
Award: Top-Selling Medical
What sets you apart from the marketplace?
“MariMed is setting the standard for craft cannabis at scale; we produce premium cannabis that even the most discerning users enjoy. It starts with our cultivation process. Our cannabis is small-batch grown with a hands-on approach, with each of our flower rooms containing customized environmental controls that are designed for the particular strains grown in them.
Every one of our plants is individually cared for by our trained staff, whereas most other operators are heavily reliant on automation. From the flower rooms through the recyclable, glass jars we use to protect our cannabis from degrading light, our customers know that when they purchase MariMed’s Nature’s Heritage cannabis, they are truly getting a premium, craft product.”
Shop Betty’s Eddies on LeafLink
Michigan Organic Rub
Award: Fastest-Growing Topicals
How did your company get its start?
“My name is Vince Volovlek and I’m the founder of Michigan Organic Rub.
In 2013, I was involved in a near death accident in a side by side ATV where I almost lost my arm and had my artery severed. After multiple surgeries, suffering numerous complications from the 10+ pharmaceuticals I was prescribed to take, I started to seek a more natural way of healing from my injuries.
After doing months of research, I came up with what is now known as Michigan Organic Rub. I had no intentions on creating a brand, I just wanted to get my life back. After passing it out to some friends and family, the feedback I was receiving was something I could not ignore. Thus “”Michigan Organic Rub”” was born.
We currently make 7 scents of our award-winning rubs in 2 different ratios, an all-vegan “after-sun” moisturizing lotion, “Chapstix” coming in peppermint and coconut flavor and vegan THC capsules. Thank you for healing with Michigan Organic Rub and choosing to “rub some MORE on it”.”
Shop Michigan Organic Rub on LeafLink
MKX Oil Co.
Award: Fastest-Growing Medical
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
“At MKX our top concerns are quality and consistency. We look to offer products that you can count on time and time again to give you the exact effect you’re looking for every time.”
Pacific Stone
Award: Top-Selling Flower, Fastest-Growing Pre-Rolls, Top-Selling Pre-Rolls
How did your company get its start?
“Pacific Stone was founded in 2015 as a labor of love by friends and family from the 805 who were passionate about growing clean, consistent and affordable cannabis for California.
We’re cannabis cultivators and sixth-generation Dutch greenhouse growers who built the coastal indoor greenhouses we cultivate in. We only sell what our team grows, cures and packs to bring you farm-direct cannabis at the best price, year-round:
Single Source. Family-owned and operated. Indoor-greenhouse cannabis. California’s best-selling flower (thanks Leaf Link and California cannabis fans!)”
Shop Pacific Stone on LeafLink
Redbud Roots
Award: Fastest-Growing Concentrates
How did your company get its start?
“Founded in 2017, by Dave Murray, Jim Finely, Chris Fanta and Alex Leonowicz––as Michigan’s premiere Medical craft cannabis cultivator, producer, and supplier. Obtaining Recreational licensing early in 2020. Offering over 30 products covering the entire spectrum of the cannabis field, Redbud Roots is a source for both medical and adult-use products.”
Red Run Cannabis Co.
Award: Top-Selling Beverages
How did your company get its start?
Red Run is an entirely grass-roots, vertically integrated enterprise that bootstrapped its startup from scratch. Our team was heavily involved with the legalization movement in Alaska, we’ve been fighting the good fight from the get-go. Our core team is comprised of HIGHLY eclectic talent that has been together from the beginning and truly cares about Cannabis and the Cannabis community. From the beginning, our desire was to create Cannabis-based products that promote well-being.
Shop Red Run Cannabis Co. on LeafLink
Roll One
Award: Top Brand by Market – Utah
What is your company culture like?
“Since day one we’ve been focused on improving lives through the goodness of cannabis. That’s why everything from our cultivation efforts, to our retail stores, to the brands we create and carry are crafted and curated to deliver an unrivaled experience for our customers. We believe that if you put the best care into your cannabis, it’ll take the best care of you.”
Seven Leaves
Award: Fastest-Growing Flower
What sets you apart from the marketplace?
Seven Leaves believes in efficiencies without diluting quality. Our facility is run off of 100% renewable energy from SMUD. The plants are grown in rockwool which has a 46% savings in water use. The medium is then recycled for reuse. Our flowers are only hand-trimmed. Our customer service is on top of it and our passion for the plants and flowers is unwavering. Seven Leaves is active in their local community, sitting on nonprofit boards and donating to CASA, Dream Quest Teen Center, and St John’s Program for Real Change Women’s House. Seven Leaves loves employing people from their community.
Source Cannabis
Award: Fastest-Growing Flower
What sets you apart from the marketplace?
“We only cultivate cannabis we are proud to consume ourselves. Every step of our Clean Green Certified process is sourced with love and executed with the highest standards. We continue to achieve this by growing indoor with the principles of nature: living soil and with all-natural fertilizers. We are proud to provide the cleanest green you’ve ever seen.”
Shop Source Cannabis on LeafLink
Sundial
Award: Top Brand by Market – AB
How did your company get its start?
“We are a licensed cannabis producer based in Alberta. Sundial products are naturally grown and made with Just Cannabis. We develop our products with your needs in mind to help you live your best life. Growing safe and consistent cannabis isn’t something we take lightly. Our customers trust us to deliver a variety of high-quality products and to help them make informed decisions. We honour that trust by filling our world-class growing facilities with world-class people – experienced growers, researchers, quality-assurance specialists and more, all experts in the art and science of growing cannabis.”
Shop Sundial Cannabis on LeafLink
Timeless Vapes
Award: Top-Selling Cartridges, Fastest-Growing Medical, Top Brand by Market – AZ
What is your company culture like?
”Community, Culture, and Legacy are the building blocks of what we do at Timeless. We always have, and will continue to work with local businesses, artists, charities, dispensary partners and support the movements that we believe impact our industry and world for the better.”
Shop Timeless Vapes on LeafLink
Treetown Cannabis
Award: Top-Selling Ingestibles
What is your company culture like?
”Here at Treetown, you’ll find a team of creative, motivated, and passionate people who are committed to providing the best cannabis-infused products on the market. We’re committed to quality, collaboration, and innovation. We believe in working hard and having a good time in the process. We’re proud of our Michigan roots and value our role in the community.”
Shop Treetown Cannabis on LeafLink
WUNDER
Award: Fastest-Growing Beverages
How did your company get its start?
“WUNDER began with three people who wondered a better way to socialize with friends and relax with family. Alexi, father of three, Phil, OG cannasseur, and Christian, former-finance canna-curious adventurer, wondered about a better alternative to alcohol. This wonder turned into a mission, a movement that allows us all to embrace healthier choices while seeking joyful experiences—so that we can unwind when we need to, be present for what matters most, and show up as our best selves afterward.”
Retailer Winners
3rd Street Dispensary
Award: Top Retailer by Market – MO
How did your company get its start?
“We are a 100% local, veteran-owned and family-operated business. The Annens and Westhues, Co-founders, first met as neighbors do. Fast forward to the day we discussed a marijuana business and partnership – there’s an icebreaker.
We recognized our fit immediately, all sharing personal experiences where marijuana did or could’ve positively impacted a loved one’s quality of life. The work started right away on the grueling application process and while waiting with fingers crossed on the state’s scoring, the remodeling and forming our vison and operations from scratch began.”
CannaVana
Award: Top Retailer – MA
How did your company get its start?
“Mario started CannaVana in 2016 as a non-profit medical license holder. In 2014 Mario ripped his Meniscus while in a motorcycle accident. He did not want to take pain killers, so he turned to Cannabis. While at a trade show in Boston, his knee started to act up, to the point he could barley walk. He found a booth giving out CBD cream. He applied it, and minutes later he was able to walk. Mario turned to Ricardo and said “we can sell this because it works.” CannaVana believes in the products that we are selling. We listen to our customer needs and concerns to continuously order the best products in the Massachusetts market, while keeping them affordable for everyone. CannaVana opened the doors on July 29th 2020.”
Curaleaf
Award: Early Adopters
What is your company culture like?
Curaleaf cares, the company works hard to combat social injustices we are directly impacted by. We value the impact we make as an organization and put several resources towards making sure our impacts in the industry match our input to solve some of those injustices.
Durango Organics
Award: Market Influencers
What is your company culture like?
We are all about the Colorado lifestyle down here: skiing, mountain biking, camping, live music. Working hard and playing hard, enjoying our beautiful community, and of course the love of Marijuana!
Harborside
Award: Top Retailer – CA
What sets you apart from the rest of the market?
“As one of the oldest, largest and most respected cannabis retailers in the world, Harborside has played an instrumental role in making cannabis safe and accessible to a broad and diverse community of California consumers.
Harborside stores are known for having the world’s best-curated selection of award-winning flower, concentrates, edibles and other cannabis products from California’s most respected growers and manufacturers.”
LUCID
Award: Top Retailer by Market
What sets you apart from the marketplace?
“We are proud to offer our customers a class-leading retail store environment staffed by the most knowledgeable and friendly staff in the industry.
A multiple award winning brand, LUCID is proud to be an innovator providing an unrivaled customer experience. Our customers’ loyalty are a testament to that.”
Mint Cannabis
Award: Top-Purchasing Retailers
What sets you apart from the marketplace?
“We are in the business of passing extra margin along to our patients. We aren’t called “Mint Deals” for nothing! Offering the best products at the absolute best price point we can get you is our primary goal, alongside making sure our staff are always happy and taken care of. A positive work environment makes for a positive retail experience for everyone!”
Nirvana Center
Award: Top-Purchasing Retailers, Top Retailer by Market – AZ
How did your company get its start?
“With our first location being in Phoenix, we’ve been serving the Arizona community for the last 5 years! We are family-owned and operated, with a passion for cannabis and its powerful healing properties. Nirvana Center focuses on a true experience of tranquility and wellness, with educated budtenders that can guide patients through their transactional history.
Everyone reacts to cannabis differently, so it’s our goal to curate solutions that work for every type of patient! Experience wellness with us every day at Nirvana Center, where you can find a wide variety of products and brands that will fit your cannabis needs.”
Preserve Oregon
Award: Taste Testers
What is your company culture like?
“We all have a strong connection to family whether that’s our own kids or just bring people together for a cause. We treat each other like family, our customers like family, and our vendors like family. This amazing plant we call a weed, puts food on our tables, brings people together and supports healing and reflections. That’s family to us.”
Thrive
Award: Fastest-Growing Retailers, Top Retailer by State – IL
What is your company culture like?
“Thrive has amazing employees who all want the same thing- to help others have safe access to cannabis in IL. When everyone shares a common goal, its helps build relationships within our team which is the driving force of our business. Without such amazing , hardworking employees – this would not be possible.”
Check out LeafLinkList.com for the full list of 2021 LeafLink List-winning brands, retailers, and products!