Executive Spotlight: Erik Knutson, Co-Founder & CEO of Keef Brands

Erik Knutson is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Keef Brands, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of CanCore Concepts Inc. (owner of Keef Brands Intellectual Property), and Director of SeroVita Holding Corp. Knutson has a decade of experience operating a wide variety of enterprises within the legal cannabis markets. He co-founded Keef Brands in 2010 in Boulder, CO, as one of the first companies to infuse soda with cannabis. The company has since expanded and is a pioneering developer, producer, and distributor of award-winning cannabis-infused beverages, edibles, oils, and more available at over 800 retail locations across the U.S., including California, Colorado, Arizona, Michigan and Nevada, as well as in Puerto Rico and Jamaica. In addition, Knutson holds several leadership positions in the industry, serving as Co-Founder and President of the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH), founding board member of the Cannabis Trade Federation (CTF) and co-founder of the Denver Packaging Company (DPAC).

GMR Executive Spotlight Q&A –

Full birth name: Erik Knutson 

Date of birth: 3/6/81

Title: CEO and Co-founder

Company: Keef Brands 

Years at current company: Nine (Keef Brands was founded in 2010)

Education profile: I graduated from the University of Colorado Denver with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management. 

Most successful professional accomplishment before cannabis: Before embarking on this great adventure that is the legal cannabis industry, I worked as a contractor with my family. We ran a successful construction business until the Great Recession tore up the housing market.  

Company Mission: Keef Brands’ mission is to create a cultural love affair with cannabis and become a familiar complement to life through products that whet your appetite and have you asking for more. Our vision is to celebrate and advance progress of the social adventure aspect of the cannabis category. We embody a bold vision of industry collaboration and consumer accessibility. Our goal is to remix the expectations of what cannabis is and isn’t with an inclusive gathering of friends, family, newcomers, old-timers, CannaSeurs and CannaCurious.

Company’s most successful achievement: Rather than one specific achievement, we at Keef Brands are proud to reflect on our overall expansion this past decade. Back in 2010 when my brother Kelly and I decided to launch Keef Brands, the cannabis space was very different than today. There wasn’t an “industry” and making and selling it wasn’t a “profession.” But we were driven by passion and curiosity. We wanted to remix the classic soda flavors of our childhood with a special ingredient for adults and make drinkable cannabis. We started by infusing soda in my kitchen and have gone on to sell a million bottles. Now Keef Brands products are at more than 800 retail locations across the United States including in Colorado, California, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, as well as in Puerto Rico and Jamaica. We’ve also been fortunate to partner with other companies to introduce additional innovative products to market, including THC-infused beer in collaboration with Ceria Brewing Company. And we’re far from hitting our ceiling – there’s more room for Keef Brands to continue to grow and evolve.  

Has the company raised any capital: Yes

If so, how much? Sub $5m

Any plans on raising capital in the future? Yes

Most important company 5 year goal: To build the best-selling and most-loved Canna beverage brand in the world. We plan to continue to expand both within the United States and worldwide, while remaining an innovator in the infused beverage space and beyond.  

 

 

 

One comment

  • Pleazant HEIGHTZ

    May 20, 2021 at 12:51 pm

    I live in New Jersey and there’s no way for me to get a license for retail or in consumption lounge is there any way or information you can help me with

    Reply

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