Click To View Slideshow» Enjoy some light 4/20 reading on some of the most innovative, outside-the-box tech startups and cannabis companies making noise in the legal weed industry in 2017.
Another 4/20 is upon us. All across the country today, cannabis enthusiasts and weed connoisseurs are lighting up, burning down, sparking their pens and vapes, and munching on all manner of delicious edibles in celebration of our national stoner holiday that dates back to the 1970s. The difference this year is that, in more than half the country (26 states and the District of Columbia) where cannabis has been legalized in some form, more and more people can do it legally.
The legal weed market is a'boomin' in 2017, and along with it, a burgeoning tech sector has sprouted up around the fast-growing cannabis economy. From the West Coast and Colorado all of the way to Massachusetts, there's a dank cornucopia of innovative tech companies and startups reimagining how the weed industry does business and engaging its swelling base of regular consumers.
North American legal marijuana sales totaled $6.7 billion in 2016, and cannabis market research firm New Frontier Data projects the industry will top 255,000 jobs by 2019 and reach $24.5 billion in sales by 2025. In that broader context, cannabis is just another kind of product, surrounded by every kind of ancillary business of which you can think, and wrapped in an ecosystem of apps, services, and software.
Consumers expect to buy their preferred strains, edibles, or oils as conveniently as possible, either through online shopping on-demand delivery, or in dispensaries at the point of sale (POS). Budtenders and ganjapreneurs need customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation platforms to keep track of their product catalogs, manage the books, and keep customers coming back through deals, promotions, and loyalty programs. Growers and manufacturers need seed-to-sale systems to oversee compliance and make sure every plant and product is accounted for. This only scratches the surface of all the apps and technology flooding the market.
Take a gander at 15 of the most innovative tech companies and successful startups in the industry right now. These outside-the-box tech startups are tackling everything from social media and business intelligence (BI) to vaporizer tech, strain DNA mapping, and DIY growing for cannabusinesses and THC lovers alike.
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