Shango Los, in his final podcast for Ganjapreneur, interviewed Kenny Morrison, founder and CEO of VCC Brands, formerly Venice Cookie Company. Morrison, who with Marco Hoffman founded the California-based edibles company in 2008, is highly involved in the industry, serving on the Board of Directors of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) and the California Grower’s Association and is also on the Cannabis Infused Products Committee at FOCUS (Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards).
Morrison was a pioneer in the Wild West of California, focusing on creating products in health compliant kitchens and creating branding and packaging to produce a better experience for consumers. Much of the interview covers the evolution of VCC Brands and the company’s business practices. One interesting point was that the company uses a variety of extraction methods depending upon the type of product, but it uses solely CO2 extraction for CBD.
The company opted to head North to Washington rather than enter Colorado when he opened Evergreen Herbal, which offers a similar product array that VCC Brands offers in California. He saw the move as the beginning of a “West Coast” business. Washington rules prohibited non-carbonated beverages, so it had to transform its popular “Cannabis Quencher”, which is known as “Cannabis Quencher Sparkling” there.
Morrison, whose company was recently raided in California, addressed AUMA and suggested that entrepreneurs need to learn to adapt to the environment no matter what happens. He also believes that enforcement actions will diminish with better regulation. Finally, Morrison is a big proponent of mandatory testing, though he believes the testing industry needs to standardize.
Read the transcript or listen to “Kenny Morrison: Firing Up in California”: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/kenny-morrison-firing-california/
Are you a cannabis industry thought leader and want to be heard? Let us know your story.
