From cure to consumption, Canlock supplies growers and dispensaries with B2B packaging and also provides smoke shops and retailers with its airtight vacuum seal glass jars. The Canlock storage container has a patented built-in vacuum pump. Jars are available in various sizes for both enthusiasts and growers.

We talked to Brandon Rea, partner and co-founder of Canlock, headquartered in Los Angeles. The start-up was launched in April 2019.

With Canlock taking 2nd overall in the Best Packaging Design for the 2020 ADCANN Awards in the American category and your product making the top 2020 top cannabis accessory gift guides, how are you planning to build on this momentum in 2021?

Our primary focus in 2021 is on process, logistics and execution. We are growing the team and analyzing more data to make sure we can flex to meet demands across our B2C and B2B lines of business.

So often people are discouraged from starting a new business because similar products are already in the marketplace. Why did Canlock decide to pursue developing new stash containers that promote product freshness?

It really came down to our own personal experiences throughout 2017 and 2018. Everywhere we went, the traditional options for dispensing flower were so poor it detracted from our user experience. We were receiving an expensive perishable in a plastic bag or pop top. We just kept thinking there’s gotta be a better way. And when we looked around, we didn’t see anything compelling so we knew we had to pursue development.

Where do you see Canlock in the national landscape?

Canlock’s focus on preservation serves an important role in the supply chain from cure to consumption. We supply growers and dispensaries with our B2B packaging while also providing smoke shops and retailers with a product to meet consumer storage needs at home and on the go.

Everybody makes mistakes, from start-ups to seasoned companies. What’s the biggest lesson you learned in 2020 from your best mistake?

Take time to triple check everything. Everyone wants to move fast and seize the moment, but you will only compound issues if you don’t periodically review checks and balances…even if it seems redundant.

What’s been your biggest challenge so far?

Properly forecasting inventory. The more you get upfront, the more capital required and warehouse space needed. But if you don’t have a product available the moment a customer is ready to buy, then you can lose that customer. It’s a delicate balance of the pipeline you’re blazing a new trail.

Your biggest triumph?

Staying in business during the first 18 months of existence during a pandemic. It’s really the culmination of so many small accomplishments. We set up North American distribution, sold DTC across six continents, became the packaging for brands throughout 8 states, went from just 1 SKU to over 30, earned child resistance certification and received 4 patents.

What keeps you awake at night?

Infrastructure.Because of our commitment to the cannabis industry, we receive the benefit of being an essential business, but also the burden of having to do business in non-traditional ways. Legalization cannot come soon enough. It will allow companies to have the resources and benefits needed to successfully operate which creates more jobs, fueling more innovations, that bring better products to consumers.

How do you relax?

I like being outdoors, walking a trail, smoking a joint with some earbuds in.

Best adventure?

Three days at Woodstock 99. It was epic.