Debra BorchardtMay 4, 2022
It isn’t Mcdonald’s (NYSE: MCD), but cannabis franchising is a very real part of the industry. Using data from Cannabiz Media, Green Market Report took a look at the top franchising leaders in the overall market. We then drilled down into Canada and the U.S. to see who the leaders are in each country. All of this data is sourced from Cannabiz Intelligence.
Top 5 Franchises
The Top Five Cannabis Franchises in the U.S. and Canada by store count are as follows:
- Inner Spirit Holdings
- Dutch Love Cannabis
- Cookies
- Uncle Sams Cannabis
- From the Earth Inc.
Inner Spirit Holdings has 32 stores under its franchise. The company was acquired by Sundial Growers (NASDAQ: SNDL) in 2021 for approximately $131 million. Inner Spirit is a retailer and franchisor of Spiritleaf recreational cannabis stores across Canada. The Spiritleaf network includes 86 franchised and corporate-owned locations. Spiritleaf has been recognized with a Franchisees’ Choice Designation from the Canadian Franchise Association for its award-winning support center, a MarCom Platinum Award for marketing excellence, and a Hermes Gold Award for its creative customer benefits program.
Dutch Love Cannabis is a privately-owned cannabis company with 27 stores listed as franchisees. It was rebranded from the Hobo Cannabis Company in 2020. It is a Donnelly Group Venture. The Donnelly Group has 20 years of experience in the hospitality and service industries via pubs, cocktail clubs, barbershops and more. Harrison Stoker is listed as the Chief Growth Officer. In addition to Stoker, President of the Donnelly Group Jeff Donnelly works on the cannabis brand’s team. Reid Ogden serves as Stoker’s counterpart in operations. The team also recently brought on a CFO to drive efficiency for its finance team. Two directors of operations handle the east and west sides of the company’s business, and other leaders manage training and recruitment.
Cookies is a close third with 26 stores listed as franchisees. Parker Berling is listed as the President while Crystal Millican is the VP of Retail for Cookies. Despite Cannabiz Media including Cookies in its franchise list, the company disagrees with that description. The company said, “Cookies is not a franchise, nor do they operate under a franchise model and cannot be described as such. They are a licensed retail network whose licensees are provided with the brand standards and products needed to execute Berner’s visions for Cookies and Lemonnade.” The Cookies brand was created by rapper Berner, whose real name is Gilbert Milam Jr. He became known as a rapper with the best product and furthered that reputation by learning as much as he could about the industry. The Cookies brand is known for products like Lemonnade, Runtz, Minntz as well as the trademarked name Cookies.
Uncle Sam’s Cannabis has 14 stores counted as franchises. In December 2021, Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. (OTC: DLTNF) announced that it has closed a transaction to buy all of Uncle Sam’s assets relating to seventeen retail cannabis stores in Alberta. The seventeen Uncle Sam stores in Alberta operate under the Uncle Sam’s Cannabis and Discounted Cannabis brands. The purchase price paid by Delta 9 Cannabis Store relating to the Uncle Sam Transaction was $12,500,000, subject to customary adjustments. $50,000 of the purchase price was satisfied by a cash deposit. The company’s website says, “We offer a supportive family and the proven processes and resources needed to operate a compliant and profitable cannabis dispensary. Our franchise opportunity eases the barrier to market entry, making cannabis entrepreneurship possible for more people! At Uncle Sam’s, we only franchise people from the neighborhood. By choosing local franchisees and only hiring locals, we make sure you will always be supporting your neighbor and your community!”
From The Earth lists 8 stores as franchises. It has licensed locations in California, Michigan, Missouri, and counting. The company says on its website, “FTE has developed a licensing model that allows you to take advantage of their business infrastructure, training fundamentals, and basic cannabis know-how and give you a much-needed partner as you traverse this complex world.” Dan Zaharoni is listed as the CEO of the company. Last week, the company announced it had added yet another three locations. A private acquisition group entered into an open-ended agreement to put the “high”-end brand, From The Earth, into travel plazas around the country. Cannabis10X Brand Ambassador, Evelyn Romero, with the support of the Cannabis10X franchise team, finalized the lucrative deal with From The Earth CEO Zaharoni and the private acquisition group just in time for 420 celebrations. From The Earth said it has fully leveraged the expertise of the Cannabis10X franchise team and is positioned to be in 15 more travel plazas by 2023.
Top Canadian Franchises
The top Canadian franchises are:
- Inner Spirit Holdings
- Dutch Love Cannabis
- Uncle Sams Cannabis
Top U.S. Franchises
- Cookies Creative
- From the Earth Inc.
- The Peak Dispensary (5 stores)
- Elev8 Cannabis (4 stores)
- Eufloria (3 stores)
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