TAMPA, Fla. — Kush.com, a business-to-business network of cannabis products, is expanding its reach into brick-and-mortar retailers including convenience stores, restaurants and grocers.
Its expansion follows backing from investor Steve MacDonald, whose MacDonald Ventures led the company’s latest funding round, and Kush.com’s acquisition of TradeCraft Origin and naming of its founder John Lynch as CEO of Kush.com.
Lynch previously worked with brands like Coca-Cola, Boston Beer Co., The Gallo Winery and Zico, and his leadership will open the door to Kush.com adding beverages, edibles, skin topicals and vaping products to its lines of CBD and hemp-related products, the company said. TradeCraft Origin brings high-potential cannabis brands to market.
Cannabis, CBD and related brands face the challenge of having trusted channels to connect to consumers, and Kush.com's unique differentiator is solving the industry brand dilemma by being their trusted go-to market strategy source, the company said.
“Supply chain and quality control issues are major obstacles to the mainstream adoption of cannabis-connected products. We are the enterprise to solve those problems,” Lynch said. “We will do that by connecting consumers to trustworthy, effective brands. Kush.com will serve as the bridge for local businesses to connect to brands that are safe and reliable.”
Kush.com’s network of vetted producers, processors and retailers of legal CBD and cannabis products includes 50,000 brands and companies. Its founder, Chase Nobles, will now take on the role of chief product officer and president.
“We have spent the past seven years building the industry's largest network of brands,” said Nobles. “As more consumers and health professionals recognize the very real benefits of these products, demand will increase exponentially. Our expansion allows us to ensure efficacy, quality control, and safety standards are part of this landscape, as more and more products are legalized, including THC.”
The leadership team of industry experts will help bring vetted brands to mainstream retail and on-premise locations, the company said.
“Kush.com will be the most efficient, reliable route to market for CBD now, and a turnkey path to future THC market authority. It will solve distributors' biggest challenges, and I'm grateful to be a part of its growth,” MacDonald, chairman of Kush.com’s board, said.
Kush.com, Tampa, Fla., is a marketplace and network of cannabis-related companies and brands. It recently moved its headquarters from Seattle. Florida is one of the 37 states that have legalized the sale of select cannabis-related products for medical or recreational use, the company said. With its recent acquisition of TradeCraft Origin, it is building the infrastructure necessary to scale the cannabis-products industry in retail and direct-to-consumer markets.
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