Arizona’s recreational cannabis industry is one of the newer players in the space, but that doesn’t mean the brands are any less solid than those in more enduring markets across the country.
In a state with a vertical license structure, the following five vertically-integrated brands stand out in various ways. Here’s how they position themselves to compete.
Giving Tree Dispensary
Riffing off of the farm-to-table trope, Giving Tree Dispensary promises customers a product that’s seed-to-sale, complemented by a promise of transparency, as their website boasts all products are tested at a third-party lab. The brand has pivoted from its role as a leader in the medical marijuana industry to offering both recreational and medical cannabis, serving a larger customer base at their Phoenix location.
It’s notable that Giving Tree is owned and operated by Lilach Mazor Power – the brains behind the Mazor Collective – a significant player in the Arizona cannabis community. The Israeli-born entrepreneur is a powerful woman in the Arizona industry and beyond.
The Flower Shop
Speaking of women-helmed Arizona brands, The Flower Shop is another vertically-integrated business to keep an eye on. The company has over 110,000 square feet of canopy and more than one hundred grow team members attentive to every aspect of the cultivation, processing, and packaging process, per the brand’s mission. According to their website, President Greta Brandt oversees all aspects of the company, giving a personal touch to the operations.
They also put organic and natural practices at the forefront – such as adhering to the organic growing directives set forth by the USDA – showing their desire to reach ecologically-minded customers.
Hana Meds
If ever there was a single store for every kind of cannabis consumer – be it recreational users, medical marijuana patients, or curious out-of-state tourists with an itch to scratch – Hana Meds is it. They are a veritable cannabis superstore that carries a variety of both brands and delivery methods such as flower, pre-rolls, edibles, resins, rosins, and more. Hana Meds also puts affordability at the forefront of their business strategy by transparently offering deals and sales and a robust loyalty program.
Branding themselves as Arizona originals, the company has been around since the medical days, launching one of the state’s first medical dispensaries in 2015. Today, they serve both customer bases with two locations in Phoenix and Green Valley.
Item 9 Labs
With slick black-and-white packaging and graphic design focused on simple angles, Item 9 Labs projects the image of simplicity. This lets the quality of their products shine, while showcasing the purity of the contents.
Founded by five business partners, Item 9 Labs clearly wants customers to feel they’re living their best lives with the help of their products. They also promote transparency – a popular trend in this market, which includes video access to one of their cannabis experts on YouTube. Additionally, their Instagram is equal parts informative, fun, and spacey, with high-resolution shots and plenty of personality.
Vext Science
Vext Science was born in Arizona as a medical cannabis brand, though they’ve successfully expanded to California, Kentucky, Nevada, Ohio, and Oklahoma. The company maintains a solid presence in the Arizona cannabis space, operating two dispensaries in the Phoenix metropolitan area, with plans to expand.
Their in-house brand, Vapen, is a popular creation stocked by many dispensaries across Arizona. But of course, with operations in several other states, they’re not just focused on delivering quality products to the Grand Canyon State. One visit to their website shows you they’re focused on looking for high-level investors as opposed to cannabis shoppers; no product descriptions are found here. This signals that Vext Science is positioning themselves for exponential growth in the marketplace.
