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Cannabis Business Insights: Specials Magazine
In the Greater Cincinnati area and Ohio’s rapidly evolving cannabis market, national chains had moved in quickly. They opened stores, pushed products, and chased volume. But what they often missed was what mattered most: connection, education, and a real understanding of the people they served. Uplift was built to do things differently. Proudly Ohio-owned and operated, Uplift is not just another dispensary—it’s a local business created with purpose. From the beginning, the focus has been on building trust rather than just making sales. The company offers expert guidance, top-quality products, and a customer experience shaped by the values of the community. “As an independent, locally owned dispensary, we’re not answering to out-of-state stakeholders—we’re answering to the communities we serve. That gives us the ability to innovate quickly, connect authentically, and always put people first,” says Courtney Pavlak, VP of Operations at Uplift. Community Connection Over Corporate Expansion While others scale quickly to please investors, Uplift invests in something different: trust, relationships, and community. Its ownership team lives in the same cities it serves, and its decisions reflect that. From partnering with Ohio growers to hiring local staff and supporting nearby nonprofits, the company’s impact stays where it matters most—the communities that made it possible. Uplift also makes an intentional effort to hire from the communities it serves and to source from Ohio-based growers whenever possible. This keeps jobs, investment, and impact local—strengthening the same neighborhoods that support its growth. This independence gives Uplift a distinct advantage: the ability to innovate faster, personalize service more deeply, and respond quickly to changes in the market or community. When adult-use legalization expanded, many dispensaries stumbled trying to serve two markets. Uplift adapted with care, preserving priority access for medical patients while welcoming new adult-use customers with a thoughtful, education-first approach. The result was a 160 percent increase in its customer base within 90 days—all while retaining over 90 percent of existing medical patients.
Top Cannabis Transportation Service 2025
The legal cannabis market is booming — but behind the scenes, it’s a logistical puzzle few have managed to solve. Talaria Transportation is one of the rare companies that figured it out early and built a system others now try to replicate. Founded in 2017 by CEO Ari Raptis, Talaria was born from a deep understanding of the cannabis industry's most pressing logistical challenges. The market was maturing, but security and regulatory compliance were lagging. Cannabis businesses were often left to navigate a fragmented landscape with little guidance and even fewer reliable partners. From the outset, Talaria’s mission was clear: to provide a scalable, client-centered logistics solution that didn’t just meet expectations—it set new ones. The company’s edge lies in its hands-on, adaptive approach — solving the right problems in the right way for each client. “No two cannabis businesses are alike,” says Raptis. “The transportation challenges they face can vary dramatically depending on state laws, security requirements, and operational scale. That’s why we don’t believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. We listen, we adapt, and we deliver systems that actually work for each individual client.” Today, Talaria offers a transformative logistics model that has redefined the standard for cannabis transportation. At the core of its value proposition is a triad of principles—security, compliance, and transparency—that inform every facet of its services. Security is Talaria’s most striking differentiator. The company's zero-loss record across thousands of secure transport transactions speaks volumes. Instead of applying conventional logistics models to a high-risk environment, Talaria rebuilt its approach from the ground up. A pivotal part of that strategy involved staffing its fleet with former law enforcement and military personnel—individuals trained in transportation logistics and threat recognition, de-escalation, and adherence to legal frameworks. This decision did more than mitigate risk; it elevated the entire operation. With ex-police officers at the wheel, clients felt confident, regulators were reassured, and the bar for cannabis security was raised industry-wide. Complementing this security-first approach is compliance, an area where Talaria's teams shine due to their procedural discipline and real-time regulatory awareness. Every delivery is conducted under strict adherence to state-specific guidelines, chain-of-custody requirements, and standard operating procedures. With a deep bench of employees trained to think like logistics professionals and regulatory officers, Talaria makes compliance seamless and worry-free for its clients.
Top Vape Hardware Manufacturer 2025
A perfectly smooth draw, free from inconsistencies and fading flavors, is the ultimate desire for every vaper. Through relentless research and innovation, Greentank Technologies has made this dream a reality. As one of the leading aerosolization and inhalable product developers, the company is setting the gold standard in vape hardware and atomization technology across multiple industry segments, including cannabis, ENDS, wellness and pharmaceutical. Its magnum opus— the Quantum Chip™ technology. This transformative technology is all set to reshape the vaping experience. It stands a cut above the ceramic heating system that dominated the industry for nearly a decade, offering superior flavor retention, improved safety and greater consistency. “Our technology ensures unwavering consistency, from the first puff to the thousandth,” says Corey Koffler, CEO and co-founder. “By focusing on quality and understanding market demand, we bridge the gap between expectation and reality.” The cutting-edge heating system, built on microfluidics and nano-fabrication, delivers a precise and controlled dose every time. It produces a vapor up to 52 percent colder than the leading vapes on the market, providing a cooler, smoother draw that does not irritate the throat. Independent third-party testing has confirmed the superiority of this technology, showing that it enables a faster onset and peak intensity. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. As a one-stop shop, the company also assists businesses with testing and optimizing manufacturing efficiencies, helping them effectively bring units to market. The focus is on providing a seamless experience for clients and the end consumers who ultimately enjoy the products. This is all based on quality, which has been the foundation of Greentank Technologies from the get-go. Through rigorous testing and dedicated R&D, the company prioritizes consumer safety and reliability through its federally licensed R&D lab and drives innovation, including matching oil formulations to hardware designs. These capabilities ensure top-quality products while providing insights for continuous improvement. The company also focuses on purpose-driven design to enhance user experience with each new iteration.
CXO INSIGHTS
Stabilizing Supply Chain Disruption by Building a Lean Organization
Olawale Ojo, Senior Global Lean Director, Griffith Foods
Innovation in Retail Assortment
Jason Vella, Sr Director Energy Transformation Data Analytics, Walmart
5 Reasons Why True Digital Transformation Looks a Lot like a Cult
Jorge Paz Soldan, Business Transformation Director, Starbucks
Alkermes' Data-Driven Approach to New Target Ideation
Craig Hopkinson, M.D., EVP, Research and Development, CMO, Alkermes
Accelerating Early-stage Drug Development
Safwan Kezbor, Global Medical Lead (Senior Medical Director), Clinical Development Shionogi Inc
IN FOCUS
The Expanding Market for Non-Medical Marijuana Products
Non-medical marijuana dispensaries are thriving due to legalization, innovative products, customer-focused retail experiences, and technological advancements, significantly contributing to local economies and evolving consumer attitudes.
The Vaping Evolution: Canada's Journey in Innovative Hardware Manufacturing
The vape industry has evolved with innovative hardware driven by consumer preferences, regulations, and technology, focusing on quality, safety, and specialized devices for both nicotine and cannabis consumption.
EDITORIAL
Shaping the Future of Cannabis with Precision and Innovation
The cannabis industry is flourishing like never before. Fueled by a surge in legislation and growing social acceptance, it has transformed into an unstoppable force with immense potential for entrepreneurs, investors and policymakers alike. In this edition of Cannabis Business Insights, we explore how businesses are redefining what it means to lead within the cannabis industry. In product development, vape hardware manufacturers are driving innovation by focusing on the science of aerosolization. Cannabis extracts behave differently from nicotine-based liquids, and hardware built for one cannot simply be repurposed for the other. Forward-looking manufacturers are engineering atomization systems specifically for cannabis oil, with technologies that support precise dosing, consistent thermal regulation and long-term material stability. These advancements improve user experience and align with tighter safety and compliance standards, establishing a higher bar for performance and reliability across the category. At the retail level, non-medical cannabis dispensaries are redefining consumer engagement. Rather than focusing solely on product variety or volume, top-performing dispensaries prioritize trust. They do this by offering informed guidance, curating products based on quality and consistency and aligning service with the values of their surrounding communities. Meanwhile, cannabis transportation remains one of the most complex and risk-sensitive areas of the industry. Businesses must navigate a patchwork of state laws, strict compliance protocols and significant security requirements. Logistics providers that offer rigid, standardized solutions often fall short. The most effective transportation partners listen to their clients, adapt to specific regulatory environments and build flexible systems that ensure legal compliance and operational efficiency. A shared shift in focus toward technical, operational and relational accountability connects each segment. The companies leading today are not improvising their way forward; they’re building infrastructure, establishing standards and aligning business performance with consumer confidence. We hope this edition of Cannabis Business Insights helps you find the right partner for your business requirements.
