Reads For The Weed-Kend: Innovative Business Verticals In The Marijuana Industry

As legal marijuana becomes more popular in the US and abroad, people are coming up with creative ways to capitalize on the trend.

Here's a look at some very interesting ventures in the cannabis world.

420 Flowers

Forget 1-800-Flowers.Com Inc FLWS, it's Buds & Blossoms’ time now. This Denver-based florist that specializes in pot-infused weddings takes buds "Straight from your bouquet to your bowl.” Owner Bec Koop was featured on CNBC’s Strange Success segment earlier this week.

The business started two years ago, when recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado, with a $1,500 investment. In 2016, Koop has already served 12 weddings. Most of them include a “bud bar,” which costs up to $85 per hour.

“We’ve got weddings with upwards of 120 joins,” Koop added.

On top of weddings, Buds & Blossoms does parties, wine-paring dinners and yoga brunches. The business is now expanding to other verticals, including a Cannabis Wedding Expo.

The “Keurig Of Marijuana”

Another noteworthy cannabis venture is that of CannaKorp, a tech startup that is looking to do for weed, what Keurig Green Mountain Inc GMCR did for coffee. The company has created a single-use pod-based marijuana vaporizing system and has called it the CannaCloud Pod.

Right now, the CannaCloud Pod’s patent is pending, but the device is expected to retail shortly (as soon as early 2017) for $150. In addition, each cPod will go for about $6 or $7, co-founder and CEO James Winokur told CNBC.

“Inside our single-use pods is natural cannabis, precisely measured and tested,” he added.

The startup has already managed to raise $1.6 million and is set to start manufacturing soon. According to Arcview Market Research calculations, the legal U.S. cannabis market is expected to hit $21.8 billion by 2020; CannaKorp expects to reach $400 million in recurring revenue by that moment.

"We really think of it as wellness," Winokur said. "People are using cannabis in a range of areas to make themselves feel better. Doctors can recommend cannabis now in certain states, and certainly that's a direct avenue for us. But other states allow for people to kind of self-medicate, and get to know how this makes them feel. We really want that controlled experience."

Deliver-Kif

Drone cannabis-delivery is not here yet, but Eaze is. This startup allows customers to have medical marijuana delivered at their homes using a mobile app. Last Monday, the company said it had recently finished a $13 million funding round led by Fresh VC. Also participating were DCM Ventures and Tusk Ventures.

While Eaze is only available in a few California markets, it's expected to expand soon, as an increasing number of states legalize marijuana in one form or another.

Keep in mind that “After Election Day, access to marijuana likely to reach all-time high across nation.” So, better be ready for the boom.

Some Other Investments

A few days ago, Benzinga shared a look at 10 marijuana stocks to watch ahead of a Hillary Clinton White House.