WEBVTT
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[SPEAKER_00]: My friends, I am Vivi McPeak, and this is Hemp Present.
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[SPEAKER_00]: If you have feedback, like to suggest a guest or topic for Hemp Present, email me at present at gmail.com.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Michael Camaro is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Mango Cannabis.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Mike's Journey in Cannabis began in 2010 when he and his brother-in-law Kevin Patah became cannabis cultivators and caregivers in Michigan, driven by an extreme passion and respect for the plants, healing properties.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Today, Michael leads a company that's grown from a small family operation to multiple retail locations.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And he's here to tell us what that experience has been like and where it's leading to.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, welcome to the show, Michael.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, Vincent, thanks for having me.
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[SPEAKER_00]: My pleasure.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Mangle cannabis has roots going back to your early days as cultivators in Michigan.
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[SPEAKER_00]: He tells us about those times and kind of walk us through how that journey evolved into a multi-store retail brand where you just start from and how to get to where you are today.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, it feels like a lifetime ago and it probably was.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If I were to tell you that I could always see it ending up this way, I'd be a bold face liar.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm originally born and raised in Michigan, so was my co-founder Kevin.
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[SPEAKER_01]: In 2008, Michigan rolled out its medical marijuana program.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and with that program, you were able to be a caregiver.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So that's what started my cultivating journey, uh, one year on a high school.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and at that time, obviously, I was no no expert.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I was very green, pun intended.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, so I myself, at this time, I was, I was, I was
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[SPEAKER_01]: hanging around older folks that were in the space and just trying to pick up and soak up as much knowledge as I possibly could through the course of about seven to eight years that I eventually got to the point where I had my own caregiver gross two of them.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And you know, over the course of,
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[SPEAKER_01]: seven years in a market, I got to see and learn a lot of different things about the plant and respect for the plant and respect for genetics.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, Kevin at that time through he was on his own path.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We hadn't partnered on anything yet, cannabis.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We were just we just enjoyed
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[SPEAKER_01]: smoking and sampling new products and R&Ding, he actually at one point started a seed bank.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So we got a lot of cool connections with really the grassroots of the industry, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: The people that create all these amazing cultivars that everybody enjoys partaking in, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: And we met a lot of cool people helped me build my knowledge base even more.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, over the course of that seven years, my love for cultivating never really disappeared.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, I was adapting more into a business mindset.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, when you first start cultivating, it's not about money, but the price per pound was,
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[SPEAKER_01]: Acts and seven years later, it's like 20% of that, 30% of that.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So kind of seeing the writing on the wall.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And then, you know, and then in 2016, Michigan started to roll out its recreational adult use program.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Kevin at that time, it was a merit-based program applied for a retail dispensary license in the city of Lansing.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He missed it by a couple of points.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was heartbreaking right at this point we've been in the industry for so long and then we see all these bigger companies with You know very professional setups coming in and opening up shop and it was was changing so rapidly right And we felt that we we at least Kevin did like we're gonna miss our shop at
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[SPEAKER_01]: industry in a professional manner, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Different than what I wouldn't call what I did before.
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[SPEAKER_01]: My professional, but it was a great area, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, we wanted to have a real business and be able to, hey, if I want to go get a car, I can show income.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not some, or look down
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[SPEAKER_01]: Where was I again?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You're just talking about the journey, but I got another question for you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: What were some of the biggest obstacles you faced early on?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm thinking like navigating licensing challenges and Michigan and all that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How complex was it for you getting through all the red tape?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And especially the sounds like, you know, you were kind of new to that stuff.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Well, so I would actually say,
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[SPEAKER_01]: My ignorance might have been, uh-huh.
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[SPEAKER_01]: My strongest asset at that point, when it came to those challenges, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Especially a Kevin, Kevin, and myself.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So the obviously the challenge in the heartbreaking thing was realizing that getting into a market like Michigan without a deep checkbook was going to be pretty impossible.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was mayor-based and with mayor-based applications come a extensive cost just to apply.
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[SPEAKER_01]: no position to do that more than the one-time Kevin did.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, while that happened, obviously it was a, it was a gut check upset.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We were still caregivers at the time and I remember sitting at a dinner table with Kevin talking about, hey, you know, you're doing the same thing
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[SPEAKER_01]: the grocery store business, my father had a small grocery mart inner city, Kevin's family, and his dad had multiple grocery stores that were a little bit bigger skill than what I was working in, but we had retail experience since we were like 13, 14 years old.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We didn't have a summer off, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, went to work with that.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and a funny thing is they were never
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[SPEAKER_01]: but so we're sitting at that dinner table and we're coming to the understanding amongst these also my brother-in-law.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So we were friends, we shared the same interest, very passionate about the plant, very passionate about making cannabis are
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[SPEAKER_01]: career path and we're sitting there talking agreeing that we're going to want to go be partners with each other and he got a call from his attorney that helped them with the application from Michigan and basically you know more bad news hey like you can appeal it's going to take a lot a lot of time and
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[SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't hold your breath.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's gonna end up in lawsuits with your dead.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It always does with merit-based stuff or merit-based applications, as I say.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But she dropped a very interesting comment that I so happened to hear after he hung up.
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[SPEAKER_01]: She told him, like, hey, if you're really like, dad sat on joining this industry, Oklahoma,
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[SPEAKER_01]: is is releasing a medical program in a very unique way.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You can apply and they give you an answer within two weeks and it's it's 2500 bucks.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's not 250,000 and you can get it and he hung up and I'm just like Kevin we have to do this.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not married at the time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Don't have a kid.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'll go anywhere and I know you will too as long as we can do what we love, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: So we took a flight out to Oklahoma and the rest as I should say was history at that point.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And I know Oklahoma was kind of the wild west when it opened up, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I remember that spent some time there when it was just getting going.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, I would definitely describe it that way.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I think hindsight being 2020, I've, you know, a lot of regulators would say the same thing.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And the state's done a pretty good job of starting to clean things up.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's still a lot of work left to be done, I think.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, it was a, it was a free for all.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, free for alls for guys like us.
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[SPEAKER_01]: was a good thing to be able to come in without so much red tape cost and just like, you know, the scratch together, some of the funds that we had saved up to be able to sign a lease and build out a store and get some inventory.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we just knew we wanted to do things the right way.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And you know, it was very, I'm glad you said that it was the Wild West because there was
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[SPEAKER_01]: a point always, you know, we weren't blind, we knew what was going on across the board, but like we made a conscious decision that for lack of a better term, we're trying to build the business, we're trying to have a get rich quick scene scheme, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: And along that line, you've talked about starting without the deep pockets that many competitors had.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How did that shape your company's identity and your approach to growth?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, there's, I look at everything through a positive and negative standpoint.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, love to start with a war chest, then, you know, be able to spend on all the fancy ad agencies and build an Apple-like store from day one and get the best of everything, but, you know,
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[SPEAKER_01]: advantage in some ways as well.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We were able to, it was very operator focuses, you know, at first starting out, first a couple years, was seven days a week.
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[SPEAKER_01]: No days off away from the family and you know, I never, I didn't, I didn't go to college out of state or anything.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I never had been away from my community and my family for that amount of time.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It was a big,
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[SPEAKER_01]: culture shock but you know growing up the way that me and Kevin did with that work ethic of working with our our fathers in the grocery industry kind of paved the minds up for us to succeed in retail you know because one of the things that I think I've seen with cannabis companies because it's such a new industry and it's changing
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, as time has gone by, but especially, you know, six, seven years ago, was the sophistication of treating it, like any other business wasn't so much there, especially in Oklahoma.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But with us discussing with each other, what are ultimate goals were?
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[SPEAKER_01]: We knew we had to do it that way from the beginning.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if I answered your question.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, I think so, you move on, Michael, mango cannabis is often emphasized as value service and selection.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I know I've been looking at your stuff.
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[SPEAKER_00]: How would you define the core ethos of your brand today?
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[SPEAKER_00]: How does that manifest in your products and service?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, what, how do you want customers to think about mango cannabis?
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[SPEAKER_01]: So, I mean, I can give you our core values that we distribute amongst the team.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's a nice little five bullet points.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I think that encompasses us as a company as a whole.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And the first one is customer first always.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We exist to serve.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And it's important that from the CEO down to the receptionists, everybody in all these buildings and offices understand that that's what drives us, that's what we're here to do, that's who we're here to serve.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There is no mango without our customer and patient base.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Our next point is one mango we went together.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, and this has been very much trial by fire for me in Kevin, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we just talked about us having this background and working in grocery stores.
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[SPEAKER_01]: But like, at the point where we're at now and even back then, like five, five, six years ago, we were flying, building the plane while we were flying, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I think one of the main things that helped us
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[SPEAKER_01]: get to the point we are, we we constantly tinkered.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We weren't afraid to have it or change or say, hey, we thought it was going to be X, but we messed up.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We got to go back or look for a different solution.
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[SPEAKER_01]: All that to say is like across stores, states, and roles, we try to have a morale within the company of we collaborate.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We communicate, we support one another.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And we try to internally grow our teams as much as as much as the company grows.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, my HR and my my staff that worked hand in hand with me with feeling somebody whose roles will tell you like my my thing is I love to promote from within and And try to be that as much as possible.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, our next thing is like we like to grow with grit we push forward and try to rebel level up.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We've ran into numerous challenges within this industry.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure that everybody else has.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's not for the we carded for sure.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Integrity always is another core pillar for us.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Trust is not negotiable.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We operate ethically.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Try to comply fully.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That's been.
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[SPEAKER_01]: not for us, but you know, with to the earlier point with Oklahoma being the wild wild less, you know, the letter of law might say one thing, but you can read it in a way where you're thinking, what can I get away with or you can read it within a way as
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[SPEAKER_01]: What is the intent of what is this trying to tell me?
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[SPEAKER_01]: What's the ethical approach, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: So, right, always been at the forefront of our decision making because we want to have longevity within this space.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's gone a long way with keeping us where we are, especially in a state like Oklahoma.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And then our last bit is community impact.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we invest in our communities.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We try to create meaningful opportunities for the local.
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[SPEAKER_01]: employment pool and we operate in ways that everybody should have a positive experience at any one of our stores.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Nice.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think having an ethical identity as your core brand association with customers is a really powerful magnet because I think people tend to go back to companies that they identify whether that they believe in.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, every time we launch a new store, you know, we're working with local engineers, local architect, local sign companies, local contractors, you know, we drive a lot of business so any area that would, that would, that'd be go to.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Our pay is very, very competitive.
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[SPEAKER_01]: It's on the higher end of what the industry average is.
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[SPEAKER_01]: we like to pay and nurture and keep talent.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're only as good as the people that work, mangoes is only as good as the people that work for the company, myself and Kevin included.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You just briefly describe your stores and your product clients.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, what do people expect if they go into patronize mango?
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[SPEAKER_01]: So I mean, at any store, you should expect to come in
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[SPEAKER_01]: optionality of all the top brands and top products available that the state and market has to offer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We like to, at least myself, I like to say is I am not trying to silo anybody that walks into any one of my stores into purchasing the certain products.
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[SPEAKER_01]: We're there to provide knowledge
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[SPEAKER_01]: to answer any questions you may have about the product, but ultimate decision is up to the person purchasing the product.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Where they're just to help make the best informed decision with them.
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[SPEAKER_00]: What do delivery methods or what forms of cannabis are legal in your stores in the states you operate in?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, is it all?
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's everything.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, they flour,
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[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, everything.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And here in Washington state, we have bristas who are medically, they're, they're two kinds of bristas, right, regular or, well, which is not brista, which is the word I'm trying to think of.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But tender?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but tender.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, gosh.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of regular but testers.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But tenders and then we have but tenders who are kind of medically certified and they can give advice on medical cannabis and medical products and stuff.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Is there anything like that in your states?
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[SPEAKER_00]: No, not yet.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's actually, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh
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[SPEAKER_01]: I know that's that's come up at certain times in different states of as an amendment or something that they want to add to the way around.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Classbex, are you forbidden to do that?
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Can you can your butt tenders talk about medical aspects of the plan or are they forbidden to do that?
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[SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't say that they're forbidden to do it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The caveat that we always give them is that you should consult with your doctor, right?
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[SPEAKER_01]: And healthcare provider, we're not healthcare professionals.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, and everybody's body chemistry is different.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So it's hard to make generalized recommendations for certain products.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
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[SPEAKER_01]: That's why it really comes down to a, a bud tender loving their job, having product knowledge.
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[SPEAKER_01]: And then being able to effectively communicate with the person in front of you to determine or help them determine what they're exactly looking for.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And this is whether they're cultivating or packaging or or selling retail.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They complain to me about shifting that that the grounds are reshifting on on regulations and and the rules and stuff and that sometimes the here we have the Washington State alcohol and cannabis board.
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[SPEAKER_00]: no liquor and cannabis board that they'll come in they don't always and sometimes they're not always educated on the latest changes in regulations and stuff and I'm just you say or themselves are like the agents that come in some yes both some of the agents and they're actually not even up to date and accurate and sometimes the store owners are no more than the agents that are relating them I'm curious how you've adapted like pricing
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[SPEAKER_00]: certain tax changes or evolving policies, is that something that you've experienced at all?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, of course.
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[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, look, it's, I want to be careful how I say this because I love all of our government agencies and I know I do the best with what they're given, right?
22:06.515 --> 22:10.236
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is by no means meant to poo poo any of them.
22:11.076 --> 22:15.838
[SPEAKER_01]: I think a lot of the states rolled out these programs,
22:16.867 --> 22:26.612
[SPEAKER_01]: looking at the tax revenue that it could generate and put the cart well before the horse and kind of are reactively fixing things instead of proactively fixing things.
22:26.632 --> 22:34.695
[SPEAKER_01]: I think a lot of that has to do with the advice or research they did before rolling out these programs.
22:37.497 --> 22:44.020
[SPEAKER_01]: That being said, it's not uncommon for us to run into the situation you kind of described.
22:45.217 --> 22:53.464
[SPEAKER_01]: But for us at Mango, we try to stay proactive, right?
22:53.544 --> 22:57.208
[SPEAKER_01]: So like the state doesn't require that we have a check-in sheet.
22:57.843 --> 23:08.248
[SPEAKER_01]: to for products being delivered to make sure that X, Y, and Z of every single regular regulation is accounted for on there.
23:08.268 --> 23:23.095
[SPEAKER_01]: But we go on to their sites, we pull up their bulletins, we pull up the letter to the law, we digest it and make it easily understandable when the checklist form and hand it to our managers and they're expected to check in the product
23:25.612 --> 23:32.857
[SPEAKER_01]: line by line to make sure everything's accurate and then send it off to us to turn sure that everything is done on the up and up.
23:33.838 --> 23:34.419
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, right.
23:34.999 --> 23:36.600
[SPEAKER_00]: How about purity and stuff?
23:36.640 --> 23:44.405
[SPEAKER_00]: Is their testing requirements or how I'm just curious how how your states, you know,
23:48.742 --> 23:51.423
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's testing requirements at every state that we operate in.
23:52.383 --> 23:55.745
[SPEAKER_01]: Some of them are a little bit different than others, but they're all pretty.
23:57.885 --> 24:07.009
[SPEAKER_01]: Strenuous, I should say, but they're they also, you know, just knowing what I know, I feel like they leave a lot to be desired.
24:07.669 --> 24:10.750
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, you know, I'm not in the cultivation side of things.
24:11.321 --> 24:25.586
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know exactly how it is now when it comes to selecting what lab you're going to submit your products to, but I feel like standardized testing would go a long way for a lot of these states.
24:30.120 --> 24:40.687
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you, um, what do you balance being like a high volume competitive retailer, uh, well still maintaining authenticity and and respect for cannabis culture?
24:40.707 --> 24:48.012
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, is that, you know, you find a challenge or is it just come really easy to, how's your approach that?
24:48.753 --> 24:57.319
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I mean, I, I, I, it's come as easy as easy to, easy to me, I mean, cannabis is all I've ever really known outside of my experience with working with my father when I was a kid, you know,
24:58.627 --> 25:07.913
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm living my dream, you know, so, you know, some days are harder than others for sure, but I signed up for this, you know.
25:08.253 --> 25:15.938
[SPEAKER_01]: And one thing I will say, how we, you know, we've become an MSO, but we're still a family company.
25:16.219 --> 25:18.760
[SPEAKER_01]: Very much so, all of our stores are operating in our lead.
25:19.221 --> 25:25.365
[SPEAKER_01]: So people that are vested, everybody's vested into the success of the company, but, you know,
25:28.908 --> 25:29.849
[SPEAKER_01]: We're there.
25:30.349 --> 25:31.590
[SPEAKER_01]: We're in the trenches, right?
25:31.670 --> 25:37.753
[SPEAKER_00]: So MSO being multi-state operator, right?
25:38.194 --> 25:45.738
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, and that's all happened for Mangle within the last year and a half before that, we were strictly Oklahoma, right?
25:47.690 --> 26:02.595
[SPEAKER_00]: Michael, your stores are often described as from what I've been reading any way superstore experiences, why is that and when inspired you're retail format and and and how does it and does it change the way customer shopping your stores.
26:03.355 --> 26:12.158
[SPEAKER_01]: So what inspired that I'll go back again to mind and Kevin's experiences growing up with our with our fathers in the in the grocery.
26:14.956 --> 26:22.077
[SPEAKER_01]: The grocery side of things, you know, in the grocery business you're dealing with perishable products and
26:23.294 --> 26:49.996
[SPEAKER_01]: of tens of thousands of skews and stuff that that goes outdated and wealthier to click freely when you start thinking about produce and fresh meat and dairy and you know it's always important to have the fresh the freshest available products to purchase but you know one thing that always rang in my ear growing up is my dad always told me that the worst thing you could ever tell a customer is that you don't have it or you're out of
26:52.218 --> 27:10.012
[SPEAKER_01]: If somebody comes into your store looking for a product, a you probably already spent a bunch of money to get them to walk you through the door with advertising and you're gonna drop the ball at the point where they're coming to look for, they don't have it's a, nope, you'll never get that person back, right?
27:10.112 --> 27:20.620
[SPEAKER_01]: So we go above and beyond the source, all every and any product that anybody could possibly be looking for at any of our stores.
27:22.028 --> 27:22.469
[SPEAKER_02]: Right, right.
27:23.550 --> 27:25.493
[SPEAKER_00]: Michael, we only have a few minutes left.
27:26.414 --> 27:28.156
[SPEAKER_00]: What final thoughts would you like to lose with?
27:29.097 --> 27:30.259
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, about your operation.
27:31.300 --> 27:34.965
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, one thing I would like to say about NATO is that
27:36.307 --> 27:38.109
[SPEAKER_01]: it's a marathon, not a race for us.
27:38.910 --> 27:41.653
[SPEAKER_01]: We're looking for talented people all the time.
27:42.013 --> 27:49.421
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, so if you're somebody listening to this and if you want to come join the team, I would love to meet you and love to interview and love to talk to you.
27:50.583 --> 27:52.925
[SPEAKER_01]: We want to be here a hundred years from now.
27:53.486 --> 27:56.589
[SPEAKER_01]: This was not something that we started lightly.
27:57.894 --> 28:10.714
[SPEAKER_01]: We have great respect for the plant, we have great respect for the community that we feel that we've built within our company and we want to we want to serve people and continue living our journey.
28:13.117 --> 28:28.254
[SPEAKER_00]: And my final question is how do you see mango cannabis shaping the future of cannabis retail in your states and possibly influencing national trends of anything special you think that makes your operation stand out from every else?
28:28.675 --> 28:31.698
[SPEAKER_00]: So what we've been pivoting into a lot lately is
28:33.840 --> 28:36.942
[SPEAKER_01]: events at the store level.
28:37.282 --> 28:55.650
[SPEAKER_01]: And when we're not able to do events at the store level, we've been sponsoring and throwing events outside of the store for for customers or patients that come and visit visit our stores just as a way to give back and engage the community outside of just the store and trying to make a transaction.
28:56.730 --> 29:04.616
[SPEAKER_01]: Have fun with people, bring that culture in with some musical acts or podcasts on site at the store.
29:04.636 --> 29:05.817
[SPEAKER_01]: We've done multiple times.
29:06.617 --> 29:12.842
[SPEAKER_01]: We just recently did an MMA event at a new Mexico location.
29:13.862 --> 29:23.427
[SPEAKER_01]: So community engagement and getting people to show up to events that mango is sponsoring are a big thing for us.
29:24.028 --> 29:32.252
[SPEAKER_01]: We think that builds brand loyalty with our customer base and makes you serious about the brand if you haven't engaged with us before.
29:32.272 --> 29:33.413
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
29:35.135 --> 29:37.096
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, Michael tomorrow.
29:37.136 --> 29:38.677
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for your time, man.
29:38.938 --> 29:43.240
[SPEAKER_00]: And best of luck on your little empire that you're building.
29:43.621 --> 29:44.981
[SPEAKER_01]: That's not how I appreciate your brother.
29:45.021 --> 29:46.823
[SPEAKER_01]: Glad that we could finally have this conversation.
29:47.363 --> 29:51.686
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and real quickly, if somebody wants to look you up, look up your businesses.
29:51.706 --> 29:52.666
[SPEAKER_00]: How do they find you online?
29:53.087 --> 29:55.949
[SPEAKER_01]: So, mangocanibus.com would be the best place to go to.
29:56.269 --> 29:59.771
[SPEAKER_01]: info at mangocanibus.com for any questions or inquiries you may have.
30:00.772 --> 30:02.673
[SPEAKER_01]: But mangocanibus.com would be the go through.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right, very good.
30:04.982 --> 30:10.564
[SPEAKER_00]: The representant intro music is set in mild beach by Joanne Rand and the Outterm Music to take back the plant by Stigger Rush.
30:10.584 --> 30:11.584
[SPEAKER_00]: See you next time, folks.
30:12.105 --> 30:12.765
[SPEAKER_00]: Stay strong.
00:15.832 --> 00:19.274
[SPEAKER_00]: My friends, I am Vivi McPeak, and this is Hemp Present.
00:19.754 --> 00:26.457
[SPEAKER_00]: If you have feedback, like to suggest a guest or topic for Hemp Present, email me at present at gmail.com.
00:27.017 --> 00:31.259
[SPEAKER_00]: Michael Camaro is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of Mango Cannabis.
00:31.819 --> 00:43.485
[SPEAKER_00]: Mike's Journey in Cannabis began in 2010 when he and his brother-in-law Kevin Patah became cannabis cultivators and caregivers in Michigan, driven by an extreme passion and respect for the plants, healing properties.
00:43.825 --> 00:49.669
[SPEAKER_00]: Today, Michael leads a company that's grown from a small family operation to multiple retail locations.
00:50.129 --> 00:53.671
[SPEAKER_00]: And he's here to tell us what that experience has been like and where it's leading to.
00:53.691 --> 00:55.352
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, welcome to the show, Michael.
00:56.173 --> 00:57.473
[SPEAKER_00]: Hey, Vincent, thanks for having me.
00:58.174 --> 00:58.694
[SPEAKER_00]: My pleasure.
01:00.844 --> 01:05.145
[SPEAKER_00]: Mangle cannabis has roots going back to your early days as cultivators in Michigan.
01:05.665 --> 01:14.008
[SPEAKER_00]: He tells us about those times and kind of walk us through how that journey evolved into a multi-store retail brand where you just start from and how to get to where you are today.
01:15.028 --> 01:21.470
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, it feels like a lifetime ago and it probably was.
01:22.325 --> 01:29.466
[SPEAKER_01]: If I were to tell you that I could always see it ending up this way, I'd be a bold face liar.
01:31.967 --> 01:37.608
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm originally born and raised in Michigan, so was my co-founder Kevin.
01:40.069 --> 01:46.650
[SPEAKER_01]: In 2008, Michigan rolled out its medical marijuana program.
01:47.662 --> 01:52.585
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and with that program, you were able to be a caregiver.
01:52.845 --> 01:58.688
[SPEAKER_01]: So that's what started my cultivating journey, uh, one year on a high school.
01:58.909 --> 01:59.149
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
01:59.409 --> 02:02.631
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and at that time, obviously, I was no no expert.
02:02.651 --> 02:04.912
[SPEAKER_01]: I was very green, pun intended.
02:05.652 --> 02:13.817
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, so I myself, at this time, I was, I was, I was
02:16.030 --> 02:32.962
[SPEAKER_01]: hanging around older folks that were in the space and just trying to pick up and soak up as much knowledge as I possibly could through the course of about seven to eight years that I eventually got to the point where I had my own caregiver gross two of them.
02:35.304 --> 02:36.885
[SPEAKER_01]: And you know, over the course of,
02:37.986 --> 02:48.229
[SPEAKER_01]: seven years in a market, I got to see and learn a lot of different things about the plant and respect for the plant and respect for genetics.
02:49.450 --> 02:51.850
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, Kevin at that time through he was on his own path.
02:51.890 --> 02:55.171
[SPEAKER_01]: We hadn't partnered on anything yet, cannabis.
02:55.191 --> 02:56.732
[SPEAKER_01]: We were just we just enjoyed
02:57.806 --> 03:04.932
[SPEAKER_01]: smoking and sampling new products and R&Ding, he actually at one point started a seed bank.
03:04.952 --> 03:13.740
[SPEAKER_01]: So we got a lot of cool connections with really the grassroots of the industry, right?
03:13.760 --> 03:20.846
[SPEAKER_01]: The people that create all these amazing cultivars that everybody enjoys partaking in, right?
03:21.446 --> 03:25.730
[SPEAKER_01]: And we met a lot of cool people helped me build my knowledge base even more.
03:27.034 --> 03:36.156
[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, over the course of that seven years, my love for cultivating never really disappeared.
03:36.476 --> 03:41.818
[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, I was adapting more into a business mindset.
03:42.318 --> 03:51.380
[SPEAKER_01]: And, you know, when you first start cultivating, it's not about money, but the price per pound was,
03:52.488 --> 03:56.932
[SPEAKER_01]: Acts and seven years later, it's like 20% of that, 30% of that.
03:57.012 --> 03:59.174
[SPEAKER_01]: So kind of seeing the writing on the wall.
03:59.754 --> 04:07.720
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, you know, and then in 2016, Michigan started to roll out its recreational adult use program.
04:08.221 --> 04:18.069
[SPEAKER_01]: Kevin at that time, it was a merit-based program applied for a retail dispensary license in the city of Lansing.
04:18.789 --> 04:20.551
[SPEAKER_01]: He missed it by a couple of points.
04:21.358 --> 04:47.292
[SPEAKER_01]: It was heartbreaking right at this point we've been in the industry for so long and then we see all these bigger companies with You know very professional setups coming in and opening up shop and it was was changing so rapidly right And we felt that we we at least Kevin did like we're gonna miss our shop at
04:50.770 --> 04:53.992
[SPEAKER_01]: industry in a professional manner, right?
04:54.392 --> 04:56.994
[SPEAKER_01]: Different than what I wouldn't call what I did before.
04:57.474 --> 04:59.955
[SPEAKER_01]: My professional, but it was a great area, right?
05:01.256 --> 05:10.461
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, we wanted to have a real business and be able to, hey, if I want to go get a car, I can show income.
05:10.681 --> 05:12.782
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not some, or look down
05:19.605 --> 05:20.325
[SPEAKER_01]: Where was I again?
05:20.485 --> 05:20.905
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sorry.
05:20.925 --> 05:25.527
[SPEAKER_00]: You're just talking about the journey, but I got another question for you.
05:25.847 --> 05:29.168
[SPEAKER_00]: What were some of the biggest obstacles you faced early on?
05:29.788 --> 05:33.469
[SPEAKER_00]: And I'm thinking like navigating licensing challenges and Michigan and all that.
05:33.489 --> 05:36.690
[SPEAKER_00]: How complex was it for you getting through all the red tape?
05:36.791 --> 05:39.451
[SPEAKER_00]: And especially the sounds like, you know, you were kind of new to that stuff.
05:39.911 --> 05:42.232
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, so I would actually say,
05:48.579 --> 05:51.410
[SPEAKER_01]: My ignorance might have been, uh-huh.
05:52.783 --> 05:56.965
[SPEAKER_01]: My strongest asset at that point, when it came to those challenges, right?
05:57.946 --> 06:00.147
[SPEAKER_01]: Especially a Kevin, Kevin, and myself.
06:00.247 --> 06:10.672
[SPEAKER_01]: So the obviously the challenge in the heartbreaking thing was realizing that getting into a market like Michigan without a deep checkbook was going to be pretty impossible.
06:11.833 --> 06:18.676
[SPEAKER_01]: It was mayor-based and with mayor-based applications come a extensive cost just to apply.
06:21.530 --> 06:25.433
[SPEAKER_01]: no position to do that more than the one-time Kevin did.
06:26.774 --> 06:32.559
[SPEAKER_01]: So, you know, while that happened, obviously it was a, it was a gut check upset.
06:33.480 --> 06:43.688
[SPEAKER_01]: We were still caregivers at the time and I remember sitting at a dinner table with Kevin talking about, hey, you know, you're doing the same thing
06:50.655 --> 07:09.665
[SPEAKER_01]: the grocery store business, my father had a small grocery mart inner city, Kevin's family, and his dad had multiple grocery stores that were a little bit bigger skill than what I was working in, but we had retail experience since we were like 13, 14 years old.
07:09.866 --> 07:11.807
[SPEAKER_01]: We didn't have a summer off, right?
07:12.007 --> 07:13.447
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, went to work with that.
07:14.148 --> 07:16.289
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, and a funny thing is they were never
07:20.441 --> 07:27.829
[SPEAKER_01]: but so we're sitting at that dinner table and we're coming to the understanding amongst these also my brother-in-law.
07:28.089 --> 07:43.545
[SPEAKER_01]: So we were friends, we shared the same interest, very passionate about the plant, very passionate about making cannabis are
07:44.878 --> 08:05.218
[SPEAKER_01]: career path and we're sitting there talking agreeing that we're going to want to go be partners with each other and he got a call from his attorney that helped them with the application from Michigan and basically you know more bad news hey like you can appeal it's going to take a lot a lot of time and
08:07.222 --> 08:08.362
[SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't hold your breath.
08:08.642 --> 08:10.743
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, it's gonna end up in lawsuits with your dead.
08:10.983 --> 08:14.764
[SPEAKER_01]: It always does with merit-based stuff or merit-based applications, as I say.
08:15.184 --> 08:22.026
[SPEAKER_01]: But she dropped a very interesting comment that I so happened to hear after he hung up.
08:22.527 --> 08:30.769
[SPEAKER_01]: She told him, like, hey, if you're really like, dad sat on joining this industry, Oklahoma,
08:31.622 --> 08:35.543
[SPEAKER_01]: is is releasing a medical program in a very unique way.
08:36.563 --> 08:43.224
[SPEAKER_01]: You can apply and they give you an answer within two weeks and it's it's 2500 bucks.
08:43.304 --> 08:54.006
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not 250,000 and you can get it and he hung up and I'm just like Kevin we have to do this.
08:54.666 --> 08:55.746
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not married at the time.
08:55.766 --> 08:56.566
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't have a kid.
09:02.282 --> 09:07.884
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll go anywhere and I know you will too as long as we can do what we love, right?
09:09.485 --> 09:17.968
[SPEAKER_01]: So we took a flight out to Oklahoma and the rest as I should say was history at that point.
09:19.188 --> 09:22.130
[SPEAKER_00]: And I know Oklahoma was kind of the wild west when it opened up, right?
09:22.150 --> 09:26.791
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember that spent some time there when it was just getting going.
09:28.992 --> 09:31.594
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, I would definitely describe it that way.
09:31.714 --> 09:37.118
[SPEAKER_01]: I think hindsight being 2020, I've, you know, a lot of regulators would say the same thing.
09:37.178 --> 09:42.102
[SPEAKER_01]: And the state's done a pretty good job of starting to clean things up.
09:42.222 --> 09:44.604
[SPEAKER_01]: It's still a lot of work left to be done, I think.
09:44.724 --> 09:47.726
[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, it was a, it was a free for all.
09:47.986 --> 09:52.870
[SPEAKER_01]: But, you know, free for alls for guys like us.
09:53.665 --> 10:08.258
[SPEAKER_01]: was a good thing to be able to come in without so much red tape cost and just like, you know, the scratch together, some of the funds that we had saved up to be able to sign a lease and build out a store and get some inventory.
10:09.319 --> 10:13.603
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, we just knew we wanted to do things the right way.
10:14.504 --> 10:20.349
[SPEAKER_01]: And you know, it was very, I'm glad you said that it was the Wild West because there was
10:21.137 --> 10:38.868
[SPEAKER_01]: a point always, you know, we weren't blind, we knew what was going on across the board, but like we made a conscious decision that for lack of a better term, we're trying to build the business, we're trying to have a get rich quick scene scheme, right?
10:40.049 --> 10:45.692
[SPEAKER_00]: And along that line, you've talked about starting without the deep pockets that many competitors had.
10:46.132 --> 10:50.115
[SPEAKER_00]: How did that shape your company's identity and your approach to growth?
10:52.238 --> 10:58.602
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, you know, there's, I look at everything through a positive and negative standpoint.
10:58.682 --> 11:13.570
[SPEAKER_01]: Obviously, love to start with a war chest, then, you know, be able to spend on all the fancy ad agencies and build an Apple-like store from day one and get the best of everything, but, you know,
11:19.244 --> 11:21.105
[SPEAKER_01]: advantage in some ways as well.
11:21.285 --> 11:30.552
[SPEAKER_01]: We were able to, it was very operator focuses, you know, at first starting out, first a couple years, was seven days a week.
11:32.793 --> 11:38.377
[SPEAKER_01]: No days off away from the family and you know, I never, I didn't, I didn't go to college out of state or anything.
11:38.397 --> 11:45.421
[SPEAKER_01]: So I never had been away from my community and my family for that amount of time.
11:45.462 --> 11:46.102
[SPEAKER_01]: It was a big,
11:46.978 --> 12:11.683
[SPEAKER_01]: culture shock but you know growing up the way that me and Kevin did with that work ethic of working with our our fathers in the grocery industry kind of paved the minds up for us to succeed in retail you know because one of the things that I think I've seen with cannabis companies because it's such a new industry and it's changing
12:12.718 --> 12:27.803
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, as time has gone by, but especially, you know, six, seven years ago, was the sophistication of treating it, like any other business wasn't so much there, especially in Oklahoma.
12:29.604 --> 12:35.146
[SPEAKER_01]: But with us discussing with each other, what are ultimate goals were?
12:35.466 --> 12:37.847
[SPEAKER_01]: We knew we had to do it that way from the beginning.
12:38.427 --> 12:40.308
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if I answered your question.
12:41.812 --> 12:51.341
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, I think so, you move on, Michael, mango cannabis is often emphasized as value service and selection.
12:52.061 --> 12:53.703
[SPEAKER_00]: I know I've been looking at your stuff.
12:53.723 --> 12:56.705
[SPEAKER_00]: How would you define the core ethos of your brand today?
12:56.725 --> 13:00.008
[SPEAKER_00]: How does that manifest in your products and service?
13:00.028 --> 13:04.072
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, what, how do you want customers to think about mango cannabis?
13:05.518 --> 13:12.244
[SPEAKER_01]: So, I mean, I can give you our core values that we distribute amongst the team.
13:12.804 --> 13:16.067
[SPEAKER_01]: It's a nice little five bullet points.
13:16.127 --> 13:20.050
[SPEAKER_01]: I think that encompasses us as a company as a whole.
13:20.931 --> 13:25.054
[SPEAKER_01]: And the first one is customer first always.
13:25.254 --> 13:26.175
[SPEAKER_01]: We exist to serve.
13:27.737 --> 13:43.366
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's important that from the CEO down to the receptionists, everybody in all these buildings and offices understand that that's what drives us, that's what we're here to do, that's who we're here to serve.
13:43.787 --> 13:47.809
[SPEAKER_01]: There is no mango without our customer and patient base.
13:49.190 --> 13:52.012
[SPEAKER_01]: Our next point is one mango we went together.
13:56.480 --> 14:01.384
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, and this has been very much trial by fire for me in Kevin, right?
14:01.524 --> 14:05.247
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we just talked about us having this background and working in grocery stores.
14:05.627 --> 14:16.815
[SPEAKER_01]: But like, at the point where we're at now and even back then, like five, five, six years ago, we were flying, building the plane while we were flying, right?
14:17.256 --> 14:19.137
[SPEAKER_01]: I think one of the main things that helped us
14:21.316 --> 14:25.018
[SPEAKER_01]: get to the point we are, we we constantly tinkered.
14:25.378 --> 14:32.202
[SPEAKER_01]: We weren't afraid to have it or change or say, hey, we thought it was going to be X, but we messed up.
14:32.623 --> 14:35.304
[SPEAKER_01]: We got to go back or look for a different solution.
14:36.005 --> 14:47.631
[SPEAKER_01]: All that to say is like across stores, states, and roles, we try to have a morale within the company of we collaborate.
14:48.172 --> 14:50.333
[SPEAKER_01]: We communicate, we support one another.
14:51.614 --> 14:55.897
[SPEAKER_01]: And we try to internally grow our teams as much as as much as the company grows.
14:56.858 --> 15:09.807
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, my HR and my my staff that worked hand in hand with me with feeling somebody whose roles will tell you like my my thing is I love to promote from within and And try to be that as much as possible.
15:10.068 --> 15:15.952
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, our next thing is like we like to grow with grit we push forward and try to rebel level up.
15:16.920 --> 15:20.921
[SPEAKER_01]: We've ran into numerous challenges within this industry.
15:21.141 --> 15:22.481
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm sure that everybody else has.
15:24.382 --> 15:27.122
[SPEAKER_01]: It's not for the we carded for sure.
15:29.423 --> 15:32.243
[SPEAKER_01]: Integrity always is another core pillar for us.
15:32.563 --> 15:33.844
[SPEAKER_01]: Trust is not negotiable.
15:34.084 --> 15:35.144
[SPEAKER_01]: We operate ethically.
15:35.404 --> 15:36.484
[SPEAKER_01]: Try to comply fully.
15:37.784 --> 15:38.685
[SPEAKER_01]: That's been.
15:40.737 --> 15:56.263
[SPEAKER_01]: not for us, but you know, with to the earlier point with Oklahoma being the wild wild less, you know, the letter of law might say one thing, but you can read it in a way where you're thinking, what can I get away with or you can read it within a way as
15:57.142 --> 15:59.923
[SPEAKER_01]: What is the intent of what is this trying to tell me?
15:59.963 --> 16:01.804
[SPEAKER_01]: What's the ethical approach, right?
16:02.244 --> 16:09.507
[SPEAKER_01]: So, right, always been at the forefront of our decision making because we want to have longevity within this space.
16:09.547 --> 16:15.769
[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that's gone a long way with keeping us where we are, especially in a state like Oklahoma.
16:16.209 --> 16:19.111
[SPEAKER_01]: And then our last bit is community impact.
16:19.251 --> 16:20.911
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, we invest in our communities.
16:21.912 --> 16:25.233
[SPEAKER_01]: We try to create meaningful opportunities for the local.
16:26.500 --> 16:36.106
[SPEAKER_01]: employment pool and we operate in ways that everybody should have a positive experience at any one of our stores.
16:37.287 --> 16:37.547
[SPEAKER_01]: Nice.
16:39.034 --> 16:55.528
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I think having an ethical identity as your core brand association with customers is a really powerful magnet because I think people tend to go back to companies that they identify whether that they believe in.
17:07.498 --> 17:27.882
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, every time we launch a new store, you know, we're working with local engineers, local architect, local sign companies, local contractors, you know, we drive a lot of business so any area that would, that would, that'd be go to.
17:28.342 --> 17:31.243
[SPEAKER_01]: Our pay is very, very competitive.
17:31.303 --> 17:34.724
[SPEAKER_01]: It's on the higher end of what the industry average is.
17:35.878 --> 17:40.360
[SPEAKER_01]: we like to pay and nurture and keep talent.
17:40.641 --> 17:48.925
[SPEAKER_01]: We're only as good as the people that work, mangoes is only as good as the people that work for the company, myself and Kevin included.
17:49.705 --> 17:49.925
[SPEAKER_01]: Right?
17:51.186 --> 17:54.188
[SPEAKER_00]: You just briefly describe your stores and your product clients.
17:54.248 --> 17:58.370
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, what do people expect if they go into patronize mango?
17:58.950 --> 18:03.792
[SPEAKER_01]: So I mean, at any store, you should expect to come in
18:05.287 --> 18:12.289
[SPEAKER_01]: optionality of all the top brands and top products available that the state and market has to offer.
18:14.229 --> 18:27.492
[SPEAKER_01]: We like to, at least myself, I like to say is I am not trying to silo anybody that walks into any one of my stores into purchasing the certain products.
18:27.852 --> 18:29.213
[SPEAKER_01]: We're there to provide knowledge
18:31.484 --> 18:38.907
[SPEAKER_01]: to answer any questions you may have about the product, but ultimate decision is up to the person purchasing the product.
18:39.107 --> 18:43.709
[SPEAKER_01]: Where they're just to help make the best informed decision with them.
18:45.330 --> 18:52.573
[SPEAKER_00]: What do delivery methods or what forms of cannabis are legal in your stores in the states you operate in?
18:52.633 --> 18:53.753
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, is it all?
18:55.654 --> 18:56.815
[SPEAKER_00]: That's everything.
18:56.915 --> 18:58.775
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, they flour,
19:01.119 --> 19:02.060
[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, everything.
19:02.701 --> 19:02.961
[SPEAKER_00]: Nice.
19:03.962 --> 19:15.115
[SPEAKER_00]: And here in Washington state, we have bristas who are medically, they're, they're two kinds of bristas, right, regular or, well, which is not brista, which is the word I'm trying to think of.
19:16.019 --> 19:16.539
[SPEAKER_00]: But tender?
19:16.939 --> 19:17.880
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but tender.
19:17.900 --> 19:18.100
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
19:18.140 --> 19:18.740
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you, gosh.
19:19.200 --> 19:20.901
[SPEAKER_00]: It's kind of regular but testers.
19:20.981 --> 19:25.822
[SPEAKER_00]: But tenders and then we have but tenders who are kind of medically certified and they can give advice on medical cannabis and medical products and stuff.
19:25.842 --> 19:27.023
[SPEAKER_00]: Is there anything like that in your states?
19:27.123 --> 19:28.283
[SPEAKER_00]: No, not yet.
19:28.303 --> 19:36.166
[SPEAKER_00]: That's actually, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh
19:36.909 --> 19:49.493
[SPEAKER_01]: I know that's that's come up at certain times in different states of as an amendment or something that they want to add to the way around.
19:49.893 --> 19:51.634
[SPEAKER_00]: Classbex, are you forbidden to do that?
19:52.114 --> 19:52.514
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sorry.
19:53.154 --> 19:59.076
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you can your butt tenders talk about medical aspects of the plan or are they forbidden to do that?
20:00.290 --> 20:02.932
[SPEAKER_01]: I wouldn't say that they're forbidden to do it.
20:02.992 --> 20:10.678
[SPEAKER_01]: The caveat that we always give them is that you should consult with your doctor, right?
20:11.158 --> 20:16.742
[SPEAKER_01]: And healthcare provider, we're not healthcare professionals.
20:17.583 --> 20:20.805
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, and everybody's body chemistry is different.
20:20.865 --> 20:27.550
[SPEAKER_01]: So it's hard to make generalized recommendations for certain products.
20:29.138 --> 20:29.278
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
20:29.298 --> 20:37.804
[SPEAKER_01]: That's why it really comes down to a, a bud tender loving their job, having product knowledge.
20:38.404 --> 20:47.630
[SPEAKER_01]: And then being able to effectively communicate with the person in front of you to determine or help them determine what they're exactly looking for.
20:48.551 --> 20:48.791
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
20:48.911 --> 20:49.131
[SPEAKER_00]: Right.
20:57.837 --> 21:03.742
[SPEAKER_00]: And this is whether they're cultivating or packaging or or selling retail.
21:04.763 --> 21:18.996
[SPEAKER_00]: They complain to me about shifting that that the grounds are reshifting on on regulations and and the rules and stuff and that sometimes the here we have the Washington State alcohol and cannabis board.
21:20.796 --> 21:47.068
[SPEAKER_00]: no liquor and cannabis board that they'll come in they don't always and sometimes they're not always educated on the latest changes in regulations and stuff and I'm just you say or themselves are like the agents that come in some yes both some of the agents and they're actually not even up to date and accurate and sometimes the store owners are no more than the agents that are relating them I'm curious how you've adapted like pricing
21:49.229 --> 21:53.530
[SPEAKER_00]: certain tax changes or evolving policies, is that something that you've experienced at all?
21:54.271 --> 21:54.991
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, of course.
21:55.051 --> 22:05.294
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, look, it's, I want to be careful how I say this because I love all of our government agencies and I know I do the best with what they're given, right?
22:06.515 --> 22:10.236
[SPEAKER_01]: So this is by no means meant to poo poo any of them.
22:11.076 --> 22:15.838
[SPEAKER_01]: I think a lot of the states rolled out these programs,
22:16.867 --> 22:26.612
[SPEAKER_01]: looking at the tax revenue that it could generate and put the cart well before the horse and kind of are reactively fixing things instead of proactively fixing things.
22:26.632 --> 22:34.695
[SPEAKER_01]: I think a lot of that has to do with the advice or research they did before rolling out these programs.
22:37.497 --> 22:44.020
[SPEAKER_01]: That being said, it's not uncommon for us to run into the situation you kind of described.
22:45.217 --> 22:53.464
[SPEAKER_01]: But for us at Mango, we try to stay proactive, right?
22:53.544 --> 22:57.208
[SPEAKER_01]: So like the state doesn't require that we have a check-in sheet.
22:57.843 --> 23:08.248
[SPEAKER_01]: to for products being delivered to make sure that X, Y, and Z of every single regular regulation is accounted for on there.
23:08.268 --> 23:23.095
[SPEAKER_01]: But we go on to their sites, we pull up their bulletins, we pull up the letter to the law, we digest it and make it easily understandable when the checklist form and hand it to our managers and they're expected to check in the product
23:25.612 --> 23:32.857
[SPEAKER_01]: line by line to make sure everything's accurate and then send it off to us to turn sure that everything is done on the up and up.
23:33.838 --> 23:34.419
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, right.
23:34.999 --> 23:36.600
[SPEAKER_00]: How about purity and stuff?
23:36.640 --> 23:44.405
[SPEAKER_00]: Is their testing requirements or how I'm just curious how how your states, you know,
23:48.742 --> 23:51.423
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, there's testing requirements at every state that we operate in.
23:52.383 --> 23:55.745
[SPEAKER_01]: Some of them are a little bit different than others, but they're all pretty.
23:57.885 --> 24:07.009
[SPEAKER_01]: Strenuous, I should say, but they're they also, you know, just knowing what I know, I feel like they leave a lot to be desired.
24:07.669 --> 24:10.750
[SPEAKER_01]: Again, you know, I'm not in the cultivation side of things.
24:11.321 --> 24:25.586
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't know exactly how it is now when it comes to selecting what lab you're going to submit your products to, but I feel like standardized testing would go a long way for a lot of these states.
24:30.120 --> 24:40.687
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you, um, what do you balance being like a high volume competitive retailer, uh, well still maintaining authenticity and and respect for cannabis culture?
24:40.707 --> 24:48.012
[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, is that, you know, you find a challenge or is it just come really easy to, how's your approach that?
24:48.753 --> 24:57.319
[SPEAKER_01]: Um, I mean, I, I, I, it's come as easy as easy to, easy to me, I mean, cannabis is all I've ever really known outside of my experience with working with my father when I was a kid, you know,
24:58.627 --> 25:07.913
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm living my dream, you know, so, you know, some days are harder than others for sure, but I signed up for this, you know.
25:08.253 --> 25:15.938
[SPEAKER_01]: And one thing I will say, how we, you know, we've become an MSO, but we're still a family company.
25:16.219 --> 25:18.760
[SPEAKER_01]: Very much so, all of our stores are operating in our lead.
25:19.221 --> 25:25.365
[SPEAKER_01]: So people that are vested, everybody's vested into the success of the company, but, you know,
25:28.908 --> 25:29.849
[SPEAKER_01]: We're there.
25:30.349 --> 25:31.590
[SPEAKER_01]: We're in the trenches, right?
25:31.670 --> 25:37.753
[SPEAKER_00]: So MSO being multi-state operator, right?
25:38.194 --> 25:45.738
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, and that's all happened for Mangle within the last year and a half before that, we were strictly Oklahoma, right?
25:47.690 --> 26:02.595
[SPEAKER_00]: Michael, your stores are often described as from what I've been reading any way superstore experiences, why is that and when inspired you're retail format and and and how does it and does it change the way customer shopping your stores.
26:03.355 --> 26:12.158
[SPEAKER_01]: So what inspired that I'll go back again to mind and Kevin's experiences growing up with our with our fathers in the in the grocery.
26:14.956 --> 26:22.077
[SPEAKER_01]: The grocery side of things, you know, in the grocery business you're dealing with perishable products and
26:23.294 --> 26:49.996
[SPEAKER_01]: of tens of thousands of skews and stuff that that goes outdated and wealthier to click freely when you start thinking about produce and fresh meat and dairy and you know it's always important to have the fresh the freshest available products to purchase but you know one thing that always rang in my ear growing up is my dad always told me that the worst thing you could ever tell a customer is that you don't have it or you're out of
26:52.218 --> 27:10.012
[SPEAKER_01]: If somebody comes into your store looking for a product, a you probably already spent a bunch of money to get them to walk you through the door with advertising and you're gonna drop the ball at the point where they're coming to look for, they don't have it's a, nope, you'll never get that person back, right?
27:10.112 --> 27:20.620
[SPEAKER_01]: So we go above and beyond the source, all every and any product that anybody could possibly be looking for at any of our stores.
27:22.028 --> 27:22.469
[SPEAKER_02]: Right, right.
27:23.550 --> 27:25.493
[SPEAKER_00]: Michael, we only have a few minutes left.
27:26.414 --> 27:28.156
[SPEAKER_00]: What final thoughts would you like to lose with?
27:29.097 --> 27:30.259
[SPEAKER_00]: Right, about your operation.
27:31.300 --> 27:34.965
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, one thing I would like to say about NATO is that
27:36.307 --> 27:38.109
[SPEAKER_01]: it's a marathon, not a race for us.
27:38.910 --> 27:41.653
[SPEAKER_01]: We're looking for talented people all the time.
27:42.013 --> 27:49.421
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, so if you're somebody listening to this and if you want to come join the team, I would love to meet you and love to interview and love to talk to you.
27:50.583 --> 27:52.925
[SPEAKER_01]: We want to be here a hundred years from now.
27:53.486 --> 27:56.589
[SPEAKER_01]: This was not something that we started lightly.
27:57.894 --> 28:10.714
[SPEAKER_01]: We have great respect for the plant, we have great respect for the community that we feel that we've built within our company and we want to we want to serve people and continue living our journey.
28:13.117 --> 28:28.254
[SPEAKER_00]: And my final question is how do you see mango cannabis shaping the future of cannabis retail in your states and possibly influencing national trends of anything special you think that makes your operation stand out from every else?
28:28.675 --> 28:31.698
[SPEAKER_00]: So what we've been pivoting into a lot lately is
28:33.840 --> 28:36.942
[SPEAKER_01]: events at the store level.
28:37.282 --> 28:55.650
[SPEAKER_01]: And when we're not able to do events at the store level, we've been sponsoring and throwing events outside of the store for for customers or patients that come and visit visit our stores just as a way to give back and engage the community outside of just the store and trying to make a transaction.
28:56.730 --> 29:04.616
[SPEAKER_01]: Have fun with people, bring that culture in with some musical acts or podcasts on site at the store.
29:04.636 --> 29:05.817
[SPEAKER_01]: We've done multiple times.
29:06.617 --> 29:12.842
[SPEAKER_01]: We just recently did an MMA event at a new Mexico location.
29:13.862 --> 29:23.427
[SPEAKER_01]: So community engagement and getting people to show up to events that mango is sponsoring are a big thing for us.
29:24.028 --> 29:32.252
[SPEAKER_01]: We think that builds brand loyalty with our customer base and makes you serious about the brand if you haven't engaged with us before.
29:32.272 --> 29:33.413
[SPEAKER_01]: All right.
29:35.135 --> 29:37.096
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, Michael tomorrow.
29:37.136 --> 29:38.677
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you so much for your time, man.
29:38.938 --> 29:43.240
[SPEAKER_00]: And best of luck on your little empire that you're building.
29:43.621 --> 29:44.981
[SPEAKER_01]: That's not how I appreciate your brother.
29:45.021 --> 29:46.823
[SPEAKER_01]: Glad that we could finally have this conversation.
29:47.363 --> 29:51.686
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and real quickly, if somebody wants to look you up, look up your businesses.
29:51.706 --> 29:52.666
[SPEAKER_00]: How do they find you online?
29:53.087 --> 29:55.949
[SPEAKER_01]: So, mangocanibus.com would be the best place to go to.
29:56.269 --> 29:59.771
[SPEAKER_01]: info at mangocanibus.com for any questions or inquiries you may have.
30:00.772 --> 30:02.673
[SPEAKER_01]: But mangocanibus.com would be the go through.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Right, very good.
30:04.982 --> 30:10.564
[SPEAKER_00]: The representant intro music is set in mild beach by Joanne Rand and the Outterm Music to take back the plant by Stigger Rush.
30:10.584 --> 30:11.584
[SPEAKER_00]: See you next time, folks.
30:12.105 --> 30:12.765
[SPEAKER_00]: Stay strong.
