Meet Luis Merchan, CEO Of Flora Growth, One Of The Companies Leading The Global Cannabis Movement

With over a decade of experience in corporate strategy, enterprise sales management, merchandising and workforce management, Luis Merchan has served as CEO of Flora Growth Corporation FLGC, a leading all-outdoor cultivator and manufacturer of global cannabis products, since December 2020.
During Merchan’s term as CEO, Flora has added over 10,000 new investors and went public on Nasdaq, making it the first cannabis company to list on an American exchange through a traditional IPO. 

Prior to leading Flora, Merchan served as vice president of Workforce Strategy and Operations for Macy’s Inc M. Throughout his tenure at Macy’s, Merchan led various sales and marketing initiatives including the B2B corporate sales team that was responsible for $160 million in annual revenue. He was also an executive sponsor of Macy’s ERG “LA VOZ” aimed at advancing Latinos in the workforce. Merchan was awarded Macy’s Chairman’s Award in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The Architect Behind Vital M&A's Turn Flora Into A Global Cannabis Business

Flora estimated, in December 2022, its revenue guidance between $35-45 million, incorporating revenue contributions from its various operating divisions, including recently acquired Vessel Brand and wholesale cannabis revenues from Cosechemos, its facility in Colombia.

In January, Flora announced that the team at Cosechemos had produced its first batch of crude oil, thereby initiating the process of becoming EU-GMP certified. The facility will serve as the company’s primary processing hub, facilitating the drying and processing of Flora’s all-outdoor cultivated flower into finished, packaged dry flower and extracted material for domestic production and export to wholesale cannabis markets.

Under Merchan’s direction, Flora has secured $34.5 million in financing and signed deals with retail distributors, including Walmart WMT, Macy’s and Columbia-based Tropi.

In addition, Flora signed an agreement with luxury clothing and lifestyle brand Tonino Lamborghini, to distribute designer CBD beverages through the high-end retailer.

In March, Flora completed its first import of CBD-containing food and beverage products into the United States from Colombia under its Mambe brand.

In February, Flora acquired JustCBD, an established CPG brand with a portfolio of over 300 products and a seamless omnichannel approach that includes a direct-to-consumer business with over 300,000 customers and a network of over 14,000 stores across the globe, for cash consideration of $16.0 million and 9.5 million privately issued Flora common shares.

Merchan said the acquisition continues to strengthen Flora’s foothold in the U.S. “There is incredible opportunity to leverage our economically-advantaged cultivation to support the expansion of the JustCBD brand in the global market,” he added.

Flora will also explore integrating its supply chain by utilizing the CBD oils and isolates from its Cosechemos cultivation in JustCBD products to leverage its owned, cost-advantaged cultivation to drive lower cost of goods.

In addition, the company signed a distribution agreement, with Israel-based, DNO Group, to distribute the Mind Naturals brand in the Hong Kong region. DNO Group is a leading distributor of global independent brands and has over 50,000 points of sale throughout Asia in addition to its broader global reach.

Come and meet Luis Merchan in person at Benzinga’s Cannabis Capital Conference, to be held on Apr 20 and Apr 21 at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach Hotel in Florida. He will share his thoughts, knowledge and experience leading one of the most important companies building global cannabis markets.

Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference

The event will feature traditional keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, networking, company presentations as well as investor and celebrity appearances, all of which will take place at the hotel's large exhibit space to facilitate networking opportunities better.

"We've seen cannabis businesses raise tens of millions of dollars at our events, and this year's meeting will be even larger, with a record level of investment capital and top-notch operators," said Jason Raznick, Benzinga's founder and CEO.

Renowned for being the premier gathering of cannabis entrepreneurs and investors in North America, April's Cannabis Capital Conference returns with an extraordinary edition, recharged with an impressive list of speakers. Check out the full lineup here.