Meet The Finalists And Winners Of The Retail Alchemy Cannabis Pitch Contest

More than three-dozen cannabis brands recently went head to head in a virtual Shark Tank-style pitch contest with the hope of gaining critical funding for their businesses.

The Retail Alchemy event, hosted by the cannabis brokerage firm Cannabis10x, was headlined by Cheech Marin.

“Raising money in the cannabis industry can sometimes feel like trying to hit a moving target on top of a speeding train,” says Cannabis10x co-founder Holly Ford.  “We try to make things a little easier by connecting brands with people who understand the value of their brand and have the ability to help it grow.”

The Contest

Retail Alchemy consisted of two stages.

The first took place on Sept. 16, and featured 40 cannabis brands, hand selected by Cannabix10x’s co-founders from a group of 100 businesses.

The top 15 brands moved on to the final stage, which took place last Sunday, Sept. 26.

Entrepreneurs had two minutes to pitch their company ideas to judges, who then decided whether they were worth funding or not.

“We have a very diverse group,” Ford said. “Politicians, billionaires, celebrity icons like Cheech. Like the ancient philosophy of Alchemy itself, we’re taking an eclectic group of individuals and brands and transforming it into a powerful force of good, for both the industry and the world.”

The Winners

Below, the winners of this year’s Retail Alchemy pitch contest.

HANF

Central Europe’s oldest and largest cannabis wellness retail chain.

HUSH

Makers of a device aimed at reducing the harm from secondhand smoke through a completely ash-less, smoke-less and odor-less experience. 

TREE OF LIFE SEEDS

Single-source USDA, FDA, and GMP-licensed and certified hemp solution for B2B and B2C needs.

The Runner Ups

VOYAGER

Introducing a new way to consume cannabis without smoking or vaping, offering precise dosing tailored to personal needs.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS

One of L.A.'s fastest growing cannabis delivery services.

HERRON FAMILY FARMS

Top shelf organic, probiotic cannabis flower grown in clean mountain air and water, mixed in with some California sunshine.

HOUSE OF SAKA

Producers of award-winning Saka PINK and WHITE Vinfusions, a line of infused beverages made from alcohol-removed Napa Valley Wines.

HALO CANNABIS

A community-forward vertically integrated cannabis company.

HENDRX FARM

An award winning cannabis nursery offering professional breeding, research and development, and commercial clones and seeds located in Humboldt County, California.

FUMÉ

A brand creation company with assured space for 18 SKUs on the shelf of the one of the world’s largest cannabis retailers.

ENDOURAGE

Delivering proprietary hemp derived therapeutics with proven human efficacy to address the $1 trillion+ clinician-directed use market.

BLINC

A designer and distributor of cannabis vaping hardware.

DADIRRI

A product line created to offer top of the line products to the Colorado cannabis consumer looking for a cleaner, tastier, and superior cannabis experience.

SUNPATH

A company that brings the power of renewable sunlight indoors through fiber optic cables. This helps increase crop yield and health, while lowering production costs.

NUG

A vertically-integrated California cannabis company.