GrowGen And Harvest 360 Design Accelerator Program For Social Equity & Micro Licensing In NJ

GrowGeneration Corp. (NASDAQ: GRWG) reported Wednesday that it will team up with Harvest 360 Technologies, LLC to create an accelerator program for social equity and micro licenses and that it has hired Becky Gebhardt as senior vice president of marketing and E-commerce.

What happened 

The Denver, Colorado-based hydroponics chain revealed that the two companies will work on developing a national program to support individuals with education and training to acquire the skills necessary to gain access to the state licensing process and types of support that are required to be successful in this emerging industry.

The program will start in New Jersey, with a GrowGen commitment, of up to $500,000, to provide full scholarships for 25 cultivation teams that will establish micro grow licenses in the New Jersey adult-use cannabis market.

"This industry is expanding exponentially. Markets like Oklahoma and Michigan are proving that servicing smaller grows and home grows, is not only good business it is good practice" Michael Salaman president and co-founder of GrowGen stated, "this program with H360, gives us a direct method to impact the ability of new companies to grow their businesses"

Why It Matters 

GrowGen further noted that even though veterans, minorities, women and those

disproportionately impacted by the drug war are always encouraged to take part in new markets like New Jersey and New York, they are often not equipped with the necessary tools to successfully do so.

"Social Equity and Micro Cultivation Licenses are very closely related" Todd Scattini, Global CEO of Harvest 360 said in a statement, "I have seen it for myself in Missouri, how the Micro Grow program has helped veterans turn their lives around by helping treat chronic pain, PTSD, and receive therapeutic benefits from cultivation of the cannabis plant".

New Senior Vice President 

GrowGen also confirmed Wednesday the appointment of Becky Gebhardt as senior vice president, marketing and E-commerce. Gebhardt has more than 20 years of experience in the global consumer goods industry.

Prior to joining Grow Generation, she served as the global CMO of PopSockets, a privately held company in Colorado specializing in grips, mounts and wallets for digital devices. Prior to that, Gebhardt served as the EVP, CMO of Lands' End, and the VP creative director at Crocs respectively.

More recent news from GrowGen:

GrowGeneration To Invest In Total Grow Control Expanding Controlled Environment Agriculture Offering

GrowGeneration Stock Plunges As HGS Acquisition Falls Through; Cuts FY21 Outlook

GrowGeneration Inks Distribution Agreement With Groundwork BioAg To Provide Cannabis Growers With Mycorrhizal Inoculants

GrowGeneration Expands California Footprint With Opening Of Two Hydroponic Garden Centers

Price Action 

 GrowGen’s shares were trading 2.62% higher at $23.51 per share at the time of writing Thursday morning. 

Photo: Courtesy of Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash