Creating A CULTA
CULTA’s Wholesale Director Jared Miller shares on how their vertical cannabis business is thriving in Maryland
What does it take to excel as CULTA has in the Maryland market? What do you see as unique to Maryland?
CULTA was founded by Maryland natives in 2015 to focus on craft cannabis and cannabis concentrates. We partnered with some well-established growers from Colorado and the rest is history.
CULTA is a team-first, people-oriented culture. We have one common passion: craft cannabis. Many patients and activists on the East Coast have been involved in this culture for a long time but CULTA is now recognized both regionally and nationally.
How does CULTA think about building new partnerships with companies in relation to its own brands?
It’s all about synergy, communication, and alignment. Finding other like-minded teams to build relationships with is the best place to start.
CULTA just successfully launched a partnership with Cookies, one of California’s top cannabis brands. How were you involved in that? How has the market received it?
The partnership made sense and they trust our cultivators to grow the best cannabis on their behalf. It was received very well — in fact, the reception was even better than expected. Anticipation and word-of-mouth were huge drivers behind the success of the launch.
California authenticity, Berner’s celebrity status, and the draw of something new made for a big success. Cannabis culture is very strong. This type of event or products add that much more legitimacy to an already burgeoning market. It’s a celebration for a group of people that have been persecuted for their beliefs and practices for decades.
Give us some broader insight into the wholesale side of things in Maryland. How does CULTA interact with wholesale partners?
There is a great demand for our products throughout the entire Maryland market. This allows us to be in distribution in over 70 accounts statewide. We work together with these partners to not only deliver quality product but also brand support. We continue to interact with them by providing budtender training, brand education, product assets, and overall industry consulting. We always want to be viewed as the preferred vendor or brand for our retail partners.
There’s a well-reported issue of bad actors and supply chain payment issues in other markets. Is this something CULTA has seen?
Yes, retail is a lot tougher than some might think and 280e makes it even harder, educating and preparing the retailers for tax implications they can expect. We make sure to never over-extend ourselves and keep a day-to-day pulse on our accounts receivable terms.
How have you seen COVID-19 impacting the wholesale market within Maryland?
Industry-wide, the focus is on all aspects of health and public safety. The consistently high demand for CULTA products hasn’t changed but the way we go to market has been affected. Production and delivery schedules were altered slightly. Working in teams to avoid overlap and taking even greater precautions to cleanliness are a couple of examples. In-person sales calls have taken a back seat to FaceTime and digital meetings for the time being as well.
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