Treez, a Salveo Capital portfolio company and enterprise cloud commerce platform built to serve cannabis retailers, raised a $51 million Series C in May. Now, at the end of 2022, CEO John Yang reconnected to talk about how the company has put its funding to work by empowering the industry’s retailers with new products.
Read MoreAscend Wellness Holdings, Inc. (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH), a Salveo Capital portfolio company and multi-state, vertically integrated cannabis operator focused on bettering lives through cannabis, announced the opening of its Ascend Wayne medical cannabis outlet dispensary, located at 745 Lancaster Avenue.
Ascend Wayne will soft launch on Saturday, Nov. 19 and celebrate its grand opening on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. Similar to the Company's first location in Pennsylvania, Ascend Scranton, Ascend Wayne will be an outlet dispensary, offering everyday low pricing and a range of affordable products with the goal of helping patients from all backgrounds incorporate premium cannabis into their lives.
Read MoreCuraleaf, a leading international provider of consumer cannabis products, announced the national rebrand of its Grassroots (a Salveo Capital portfolio company)premium cannabis flower brand, and shared details on the brand's previously announced expansion into California with the launch of Diamond Infused Pre-Rolls.
The rebrand of Grassroots coincides with the launch of its Grower's Reserve program, an ongoing series of limited-edition collaborations with craft farmers and diverse operators in California. The program reaffirms the company's commitment to providing high-quality products to its consumers while empowering smaller craft operators in the Golden State.
Read MoreMichael Gruber is a seasoned investor, operator, advisor and board member. Mr. Gruber co-founded Salveo Capital and serves as managing partner. Salveo Capital is an investment platform focused on investing across the cannabis ecosystem, from cultivation to manufacturing to retail, along with technology and supply chain solutions that serve the industry.
Read MoreSalveo Capital’s home state of Illinois showed robust adult-use MoM sales growth in December, coming in at $138 million for the month or ~14% ahead of November. In addition to representing the strongest month of sales for the program since its inception in 2020, this also marked the first month of notable sequential growth since August 2021. The majority of the month-over-month increase in sales (+$17 million) is attributable to Illinois residents (+$14 million), with the remainder coming from out-of-state visitors.
Read MoreAscend Wellness Holdings ("AWH" or the "Company") (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH), a Salveo Capital portfolio company and multi-state, vertically integrated cannabis operator focused on bettering lives through cannabis, announced the closing of the Company's definitive agreement to acquire Chicago Alternative Health Center, LLC and Chicago Alternative Health Center Holdings, LLC, (together "Midway"). The acquisition includes two operating adult-use and medical cannabis dispensaries located at 5650 S. Archer Avenue in Chicago and 9820 S. Ridgeland Avenue in Chicago Ridge. The dispensaries were originally branded as "Midway" and have been rebranded to "Ascend by Midway."
The Archer and Ridgeland Ave. dispensaries represent the Company's seventh and eighth retail locations in Illinois. The Archer Ave. store is ideally located in the southwest Chicago area and is the closest dispensary to Midway Airport. The Ridgeland Ave. store is within walking distance from Chicago Ridge Mall and is easily accessed right off the 294 expressway. Both locations have large parking lots to accommodate high volumes of traffic and each store boasts over 6,000 square feet of retail space.
Read MoreSalveo Capital portfolio company Ascend Wellness Holdings, Inc. ("AWH")(CSE: AAWH.U), a multi-state, vertically integrated cannabis operator focused on bettering lives through cannabis, announced the closing of the Company's definitive agreement to acquire Ohio Cannabis Clinic, LLC, d/b/a Ohio Cannabis Company ("OCC") and its licensed medical marijuana retail dispensary in Coshocton, Ohio. The announcement represents AWH's second dispensary in the state. Located at 23024 Co Rd 621 Suite 1, the dispensary will benefit from its position close to all major thoroughfares and it is less than 90 minutes from all major cities including Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland.
"Ohio is a key focus of expansion for our Ascend brand given its rapidly-maturing market and near-term potential for adult-use," said Abner Kurtin, CEO of AWH. "We are thrilled to officially add a second Ascend location to our Ohio retail portfolio and look forward to continued growth in the state as we further secure our position in the most attractive U.S. cannabis markets."
Read MoreSalveo Capital portfolio company, AWH, received conditional approval to invest into MedMen's New York subsidiary for 86.7% controlling interest. Ascend Wellness Holdings, (CSE: AAWH.U) (OTCQX: AAWH), a multi-state, vertically integrated cannabis operator has received conditional approval from the New York Cannabis Control Board for its previously announced definitive investment agreement with MedMen NY, Inc., the New York subsidiary of MedMen Enterprises Inc. (CSE: MMEN) (OTCQX: MMNFF), pending the review of the proposed transaction by the Office of Cannabis Management staff for compliance with the Cannabis Law and its corresponding rules and regulations, and further conditioned the approval on the registered organization continuing current operations to maintain patient access and supply.
Read MoreSalveo Capital portfolio company and producer of cannabis-infused edibles and wellness products, Coda Signature, recently appointed Teddy C. Scott, Ph.D., J.D to serve on the board of directors.
Scott is a founder and former CEO of PharmaCann, who has more than two decades of experience in the cannabis industry, biotechnology research, and intellectual property law.
Maigread Eichten, the company's CEO, said he is thrilled that Scott has agreed to join Coda's board.
Read MoreSalveo Capital portfolio company and vertically integrated cannabis operator Ascend Wellness Holdings (CSE: AAWH.U), announced the grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony of its Newton, Massachusetts-based adult-use dispensary, AWH's second Ascend location in the Bay State. Based in New York, the company said that it was launching delivery services on opening day.
"Strategically located just outside of Downtown Boston with delivery capabilities, the new location will help to better serve customers in the suburbs with best-selling products and a best-in-class shopping experience," said Abner Kurtin, founder and CEO of AWH.
Read MoreSalveo Capital portfolio company and molecular diagnostics developer, PathogenDx, has reached an agreement with South Africa-based laboratory equipment supply company, Axiology Labs, to distribute its Detectx-Cv SARS-CoV-2 variant assay technology in Africa and Thailand. The contract enables Axiology Labs to distribute the Detectx-Cv Clade Variant Adaptive Surveillance (CVAS) technology, including equipment and testing kits, to its lab network across 12 countries in Africa and in Thailand. Specifically, Axiology Labs will install the equipment as well as train, support, and service the testing locations.
"With the emergence of new variants — including over 30 mutations this year alone — it doesn't seem likely the virus is going to stop mutating," said PathogenDx cofounder and CEO Milan Patel. "The world needs a test that's fast enough to detect COVID-19 variants before new ones arise and spread, and our CVAS technology meets this dire need for real-time monitoring."
Read MoreTreez, a Salveo Capital portfolio company and leading provider of an enterprise cloud platform that streamlines retail and supply chain operations in the cannabis market, ranked #225 on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies - both public and private - in North America
Treez's explosive 597 percent growth in revenue led to this prestigious recognition in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. Treez also ranked #57 in Bay Area companies in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500. This latest accolade follows its #13 ranking in San Francisco Business Times Fast 100 list of fastest-growing companies in the Bay area and its #812 ranking in the 2021 Inc. 5000 list of Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America. In volume of transactions, Treez is considered the market-leading software used by dispensaries in California and operates in six other states with rapid expansion underway nationwide. Treez's success with retailers and brands nationwide also has resulted in $4 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV).
Read More"Fyllo is our first private investment in the cannabis space, but what we really see in the company is a unique solution for customer acquisition, data and compliance that can be applied to operators in any industry that has to navigate stringent regulations," Ricky Sandler, CEO of Eminence Capital said. "Chad and his team have built something that rivals the largest players in the world to solve some of the biggest challenges that face highly regulated industries, starting with cannabis." Salveo Capital, Longview Capital Advisors, ArrowMark Partners, JW Asset Management, K2 Asset Management, Arcadian Capital Management, Phyto Partners and Ambria Capital also participated in the round.
Year to date, Fyllo's business has grown over 100%, and its team has grown by nearly 275%, with the addition of executives from Twitter, Salesforce and major cannabis brands.
Read More“We’ve been committed to leading on innovation and evolving our line to offer phenomenally tasting products that also deliver the desired effect in the right amount of time. We know our customers love our original Fruit Notes, and by adding [a fast-acting option in partnership with MedPharm] we are [able to provide] a quicker, more intense experience thanks to our perfect pairings of real fruit flavor, ideal dosing and fast-acting technology. This shines through in our new Pomegranate & Hibiscus Fruit Notes — the industry’s first fast-acting gummy to feature a 1:1 CBN to THC ratio — formulated to help create dreamy sleep in less than 15 minutes. Fast-acting is clearly gaining in popularity as experienced cannabis consumers seek out edibles that offer the right dosing and effect experience without the wait, one that dissipates faster as well. For people new to cannabis, fast-acting can offer an experience much more akin to enjoying a cocktail or glass of wine.” - Maigread Eichten, CEO of Coda Signature, a Salveo Capital portfolio company.
Read MoreTreez, a Salveo Capital portfolio company, is taking on the complex challenges of the retail cannabis market with its own enterprise cloud software.
Founded in 2016 by John Yang, the startup offers software that streamlines the sales, inventory management and ordering for cannabis retailers in one system. And dispensaries are paying close attention. To date, the company has 5 million unique consumers and a $4 billion gross merchandise value.
Read MoreCannabis e-commerce platform Dutchie, acquirer of Salveo Capital portfolio company LeafLogix, raised $350 million in its latest funding round that valued the company at $3.75 billion. The massive funding round is Dutchie’s second this year. The Bend, Oregon-based company raised $200 million in March when it was valued at $1.7 billion.
“Dutchie works with over 5000 dispensaries across all legal geographies in North America and processes over $14 billion in annualized sales for our dispensaries,” Ross Lipson, CEO and co-founder of Dutchie told Reuters. He said the number of dispensaries more than doubled in the past year.
Read MoreSC Labs, a Salveo Capital portfolio company, will conduct the testing of the cannabis flowers.
“I’m really excited to be involved with the state fair because it is the traditional place where the agricultural community comes to show off their best work,” SC Labs co-founder and President Josh Wurzer said in a statement. “This just further validates cannabis as part of that community. As a cannabis scientist, it’s really cool to see an event like this putting the data and analytics at the forefront of the process. It’s making a big leap forward for the application of quantitative cannabis testing to actually measure the qualitative aspects of cannabis.”
Read MoreNeedham & Company hosted investor meetings with Ascend Wellness CEO, Abner Kurtin. The Salveo Capital portfolio company remains focused on limited license markets with an overarching “deep, not wide” strategy of building scale in fewer markets. AWH currently has a 5-state footprint, with 18 operational dispensaries and 90k sqft of cultivation, that will grow to a 6 state footprint, with 26 operational dispensaries, and 285k sqft of cultivation into '22. At steady-state, management estimates this asset base could provide for $300-350mn in EBITDA or 3.5x+ what consensus assumes the company will earn in '21. With a recent debt raise, and likelihood of generating cash from ops in 2H, we believe AWH has cash balances to fund growth through '22 and view the company as well capitalized to fund additional M&A.
Read MoreWhen we first heard about Mistifi, the idea of triple blend vape pens seemed more like a novelty. But now, with an Emerald Cup firmly resting on their office shelf, that has proven not to be the case.
Mistifi as a brand falls under the Cannabisty, a Salveo Capital portfolio company, umbrella. We talked with Cannabistry’s Chief Brand Officer Dan Einzig about what it took for them to turn technology they believed in into an award-winning product now available on store shelves. Einzig started from the beginning and explained Cannabisty essentially was founded as a cannabis-specific R&D lab in Colorado in 2014.
Read MoreWürk (a Salveo Capital portfolio company) CEO Scott Kenyon said the Denver-based cannabis fintech company is branching out by finding ways to help pot dispensaries and other marijuana companies legally work around federal banking restrictions and other roadblocks facing the industry.
While traditional bank loans and IRS income tax breaks continue to be mostly off limits for cannabis due to the continued federal prohibition of the plant, Würk has teamed up with ETaxbreaks to offer access to the Covid Employee Tax Credit (CERTC), which provides employers a tax credit of up to $33,000 per employee.
Read More
