Columbia Care CEO Talks Data, Transparency, Consumer Focus: 'We're At An Inflection Point'

The cannabis market is changing more quickly than anyone expected, Columbia Care Inc. CCHWF CEO Nicholas Vita said this week at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Miami Beach.

Two-Pronged No More

The industry is at a crossroads, the cannabis CEO said: companies must realize that average consumers no longer fall into two buckets.

“We’re at an inflection point,” he said in reference to differentiating with a product innovation focus.

“We’ve decided that adult-use and medical are two different industries, but they’re really not.”

Vita told Benzinga conference attendees that average consumers no longer fit cannabis stereotypes.

Tickets to the next Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Detroit, Michigan April 1 are available now.

Deriving Actionable Insights

Cannabis businesses must leverage data to differentiate and deliver on demand, Vita said.

“It’s about what the market expects,” he said.

Using aggregated data from surveys, studies, leaders and institutions is extremely important in deriving improved solutions that cater to emerging demands, the CEO said.

Consumers want new cannabis solutions that quickly activate or can be ingested in different forms, he said.

“People will need to make a choice if they will take a Tylenol or something with cannabis,” Vita said, referring to Columbia Care’s hard-pressed, fast-release tablet that delivers on demand.