This episode is intended for listeners 21+ Held in Toronto in September 2019, the MJBizCon International brought together 2,500 Global Cannabis Executives To Learn, Grow & Connect. I took the opportunity to set up shop in their podcasting studio and interview three of the most interesting and influential participants starting off with Lara Wood, General Manager of Cannabis NB (my dad’s home province, New Brunswick). This is Lara’s third time on The Voice of Retail, so we catch up on developments over the summer, their innovative and ground breaking pop-up store, and what lies ahead for Cannabis 2.0 Next we meet Darren Bondar, President and CEO of Inner Spirit Holdings and Spirit Leaf Cannabis, one of Canada’s biggest cannabis retailers with 100 sites under development and dozens currently operating. We talk about the success of their franchise model, engagement in the community, and the important role of shop-in-shops and in-store merchandising partnerships. Lastly we explore the consumer mindset in the U.S., Canada and globally around CBD with Kay Kay Tamillow Director of Research, Brightfield Group based in Chicago. We deep dive into the rapidly evolving CBD market with expert analysis and package goods insight.
Welcome to the Voice of Retail special MJBizCon International Cannabis conference edition, I’m your host Michael LeBlanc, and this podcast is brought to you in conjunction with Retail Council of Canada.
Held in Toronto in September 2019, the MJBizCon International brought together 2,500 Global Cannabis Executives To Learn, Grow & Connect. I took the opportunity to set up shop in their podcasting studio and interview three of the most interesting and influential participants starting off with Lara Wood, General Manager of Cannabis NB (my dad’s home province, New Brunswick). This is Lara’s third time on The Voice of Retail, so we catch up on developments over the summer, their innovative and ground breaking pop-up store, and what lies ahead for Cannabis 2.0
Next we meet Darren Bondar, President and CEO of Inner Spirit Holdings and Spirit Leaf Cannabis, one of Canada’s biggest cannabis retailers with 100 sites under development and dozens currently operating. We talk about the success of their franchise model, engagement in the community, and the important role of shop-in-shops and in-store merchandising partnerships.
Lastly we explore the consumer mindset in the U.S., Canada and globally around CBD with Kay Tamillow Director of Research, Brightfield Group based in Chicago. We deep dive into the rapidly evolving CBD market with expert analysis and package goods insight.
But first let’s listen to my interview with Lara Wood:
Thanks to Lara, Darren and Kay for being my guests , and my hosts at MJBizCon International for this special edition of The Voice of Retail …if you liked this podcast you can subscribe on Apple iTunes or your favourite podcast platform, please rate and review, and be sure and recommend to a friend or colleague in the retail industry.
I’m Michael LeBlanc, Founder and President of M.E. LeBlanc and Company Inc. and you can learn more about me on www.meleblanc.co or of course on LinkedIn
Until next time, have a great week!