This week’s Best Buds partner spotlight features Lance Lambert of Grove Bags. Lance is on a mission to equip growers & consumers to efficiently preserve the quality of their cannabis from Cultivation to Consumption with USA-Made Packaging powered by TerpLoc® Technology. Learn more about this innovative entrepreneur and his award-winning company.
What inspired you to enter the cannabis industry, and how has your journey been so far?
Growing up in NorCal, cannabis was always around, even in the eighties. Fast-forward to my teen years when it played an active role in my life. Candidly, it’s what helped me save up for my first year of college. Something I didn’t openly share until just 5 years ago. It was just so taboo.
What are some key challenges you’ve faced while operating in the cannabis sector, and how have you overcome them?
While I really stopped caring so much about what others think of me years ago, I take people who still stigmatize the plant personally. In this instance, I don’t feel ignorance is bliss. We need to stop leveraging false messaging and weaponization of this plant from generations past.
What has surprised you, in a good way, about the cannabis industry?
It makes me happy to see that our community still holds the reins in this space. Do the corporate hands have a hold? Yes. But they don’t lead the path on what has shaped the overarching culture and core values in the new age of legalization.
What sets your cannabis products/services apart from your peers in the industry?
Technology. I chuckle when people see our product and say ‘oh you sell bags’. This is another example of a lack of education. Not that I expect the commoner to be familiar with modified atmospheric packaging (MAP), even though some iteration thereof is everywhere. That’s what keeps your ready-made bagged salad ready on the shelf at your local grocers.
How do you prioritize sustainability and social responsibility in your cannabis business practices?
Excellent question. While our technology exists in flexible packaging (i.e. ‘a bag’), it’s engineered as a multi-use solution. Meaning; this is not your mom’s throw away sandwich bags you remember from your childhood. These pouches are designed to be used over and over (aka upcycling). We are also about to launch a product that is not only fully biodegradable, but also fully compostable. This matters for people like us that care about Mother Nature.
How do you approach building strategic partnerships within the cannabis industry?
That’s one of my fortes, a strategy I leverage heavily when building up a brand on the international stage. I start by looking for entities and/or individuals that align with our core values and culture as a company. We come from this community, it’s our responsibility to maintain a certain level of integrity associated with anyone that’s passionate about the plant.
In what ways do you envision the future of the cannabis industry evolving in the coming year? What big changes are you hoping to see?
The whole rescheduling to level III from level I is a big deal. Is it what we want as a community? No. We want to deschedule this plant, as it should be. After a century of our government weaponizing the plant to target those of color and lower financial status is unacceptable.
Anything you’d like to add, but we haven’t asked *just* the right question?
If you are considering getting into the cannabis industry, be passionate. You don’t have to consume, you don’t even need to be an activist or advocate. But bring your passion to the table if pursuing a career path in cannabis. This movement is all about the “us” and “we”… not “I” and “me”.
