I met up with the company\u2019s young and affable Marketing VP, Thomas Winstanley, to help guide me through the excellent maze that is Theory Wellness and we talked and talked as we watched the crowded dispensary operate without a hitch. It was, to say the least, impressive, and all I kept thinking about was how much money they must be making right now. Winstanley, a proud millennial, was apparently determined to single-handedly dispel all perceived negative stereotypes associated with his generation merely by being whip smart and displaying a contagious indefatigable energy. It was, again, impressive, but it was also incredibly on-brand, as Theory Wellness\u2019 co-founders are a pair of millennialpreneurs<\/em>, CEO Brandon Pollock and Chief Strategy Officer Nick Friedman. If these guys met, say, two decades ago, one could imagine these BFFs launching a competitor search engine to Google to take on that giant\u2019s own dynamic duo co-founders.<\/p>\n Pollock smiled when I brought up the search engine\u2019s co-founders; he didn\u2019t disagree. \u201cYeah, it could\u2019ve been, yes!\u201d Pollock said, laughing. \u201cEven though we weren\u2019t first to market in Massachusetts<\/a> for a medical dispensary [Theory was 12th], we\u2019ve been really fortunate with our team who really embody the spirit of doing cannabis right and carry out the company\u2019s mantra of focusing on our customers first.\u201d<\/p>\n To hear the independently owned, vertically integrated, small-batch, craft cannabis company\u2019s marketing\/public relations\/social media\/customer relations expert, Winstanley, merrily recount the earliest days of Theory Wellness \u2014 a whopping six years ago \u2014 you\u2019d think cell phones and the internet weren\u2019t around yet. But, as he insisted, time moves extraordinarily fast in the cannabis industry; so, half a decade in dispensary years feels like a veritable lifetime.<\/p>\n Look, to buy into what Theory\u2019s selling isn\u2019t difficult, and undeniably evident with my own eyes. This is a world-class cannabis company that prioritizes details and a positive customer experience, precisely as Pollock and Friedman conceived it to be. So, no, it\u2019s not complicated, perhaps, but exceedingly difficult to pull off consistently. That\u2019s what moves Theory Wellness from being simply good to decidedly great \u2014 and maybe even legendary.<\/p>\n \u201cTheory began as a medical cannabis brand in Massachusetts following the roll-out of the state program,\u201d Winstanley said. \u201cPatients and wellness have always been at the heart of our business and where our company originates from. We produce more than 70 products that we sell at our stores, both to patients and recreational customers. Each product is specifically designed, tested and packaged to provide a customer with a premium experience with cannabis \u2014 whether it\u2019s to help you sleep at night, relieve a sore muscle, or simply to have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n OK, but what makes Theory Wellness different, or better, than the more than 100 dispensaries currently operating in Massachusetts alone? \u201cWe\u2019re independently owned and operated, unlike many competitors who are venture capital and\/or private equity-backed or publicly traded,\u201d Winstanley said. \u201cThis allows us to move quickly, pivot when we need to, and not wade through layers of bureaucracy.\u201d<\/p>\n Also, according to Winstanley, many of the giant players in the industry \u2014 including MedMen<\/a> and Aurora Cannabis \u2014 are posting losses. Theory Wellness numbers show that it\u2019s growing and scaling at unprecedented rates showcasing the power of a hungry company. The secret, according to the Theory, is that they operate more like a start-up than traditional brands. The formula is working like a charm.<\/p>\n Theory Wellness has been financially solid from the start. In 2018, the company posted revenue of more than $10M and employed 50 people. Just a year later, Theory made some $55M in revenue, employed 100 team members and claimed more than 200,000 unique customers. Winstanley says the company gave \u2014 via the 3% sales tax for the municipality \u2014 Great Barrington more than $3M in new revenue to a town that\u2019s home to less than 6000 people.<\/p>\n In 2020, the brand made $80M in revenue. Winstanley confidently states that number would\u2019ve been north of $100M if they didn\u2019t have to shut down for two months due to COVID-19 restrictions. The company also tripled its workforce to 300 and became a multistate operator (MSO) by opening two retail locations in Maine as well as a cultivation and production facility. A multi-state operator helps a brand expand nationally while carefully remaining within federal laws limiting interstate commerce.<\/p>\n In any industry or in any occupation there are detractors for those at the top \u2014 not everyone wishes you well \u2014 and Theory\u2019s no exception.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of players in cannabis right now, and you can see the beginnings of the war for licenses that occurred out in the western U.S. and the consolidation of the independently owned dispensary,\u201d Winstanley said. \u201cIt\u2019s still too soon to say which competitors are coming to the surface on the East Coast as legalization is really starting to take root and open up the playing field.\u201d<\/p>\n But, today, another unexpected competitor is upsetting the apple cart for many cannabis operators: the illicit cannabis market. Winstanley says that legal cannabis sales haven\u2019t proliferated to the extent that a significant market share has been consumed from the black market. \u201cThe products are cheaper, untested, and you don\u2019t need licenses or IDs to purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n But, after years of vacationing and enjoying the Berkshires region of Massachusetts, particularly its chic epicenter, the picture-postcard slice of Americana that is the town of Great Barrington, I wanted to know how this unlikely, scenic, low-key destination suddenly became widely regarded as the Humboldt County of the East Coast.<\/p>\n Northern California\u2019s Humboldt County, of course, is universally known as the mecca for West Coast cannabis and now, in a matter of a few short years, Great Barrington has emerged as the title holder on the other side of the country. But how?<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole cannabis dispensary industry in Great Barrington is crazy, it\u2019s become this whole thing, like a cannabis-centric area in the East Coast,\u201d Pollock said. \u201cMy business partner Nick grew up in Great Barrington, and when we launched our medical company we realized that Berkshire County, which has about 130,000 residents, didn\u2019t have a single cannabis dispensary because existing operators were focused on more high-density population centers. People were driving an hour-and-a-half each way just to get their medicine. There was a huge need here, so we opened our dispensary soon thereafter.\u201d<\/p>\n While currently enjoying such a rosy financial picture, I wondered in what areas, specifically, Pollock believed Theory could improve, if at all. \u201cEverything!<\/em> Our ethos is \u2018the more you learn, the more you realize you don\u2019t know anything\u2019 and we\u2019re always trying to improve every touchpoint with customers, every touchpoint in our production \u2014 every aspect of our organization needs improvement, particularly the two biggest issues facing the industry as a whole today: social justice and social equity and the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n And Theory Wellness isn\u2019t just talking the talk here: They decided to launch an unprecedented social equity program in Massachusetts and opened applications and interviews with economic empowerment candidates to apply for a sponsorship that included $100,000 in debt-free financing, $150,000 in wholesale consignment of products, and access to the brand\u2019s legal, finances, insurance, and marketing solutions to help the new companies succeed. Winstanley says the initial recipient of Theory\u2019s program, Legal Greens in Brockton, is the first Black female-owned dispensary on the East Coast. Theory Wellness has had a two-year relationship with Legal Greens that continues to this day.<\/p>\n But it doesn\u2019t stop there. Winstanley emphasized that Theory also looks to ensure they make local impacts across all of the company\u2019s locations, even as they expand. \u201cWe\u2019ve supported nearly two dozen non-profits thus far and those range from affordable housing in Great Barrington to a farmers market in Bangor, ME,\u201d he said. \u201cWe feel it\u2019s incumbent on us to use our success to demonstrate the positivity around cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n The company takes an equally serious approach when it comes to tackling our ever-warming planet. \u201cThis same approach comes with sustainability practices, too,\u201d Winstanley says. \u201cWe have one of the first East Coast outdoor farms to reduce our environmental footprint. Theory uses green energy to power our indoor cultivation and we\u2019re constantly introducing recyclable packaging solutions \u2014 we even have hybrid vehicles for our deliveries.\u201d<\/p>\n On the product side, Winstanley was excited to discuss Theory\u2019s small-batch unique genetics. \u201cOne of the more exciting elements of cannabis legalization is the breadth of knowledge cannabis consumers are developing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe take this seriously in the same way a sommelier considers the terroir of the grapes he\u2019s serving. We work directly with breeders to source genetics to complement our portfolio of flower that we think will find a good home in our indoor or outdoor gardens. The result speaks for itself with 50 percent of our sales coming from flower.\u201d<\/p>\n Five years from now\u2026 Winstanley jumped in. \u201cThe simple answer is we just don\u2019t know,\u201d he said. \u201cWith so many New England states allowing recreational and medical marijuana use in the future, things are changing by the minute and we\u2019re evaluating all possibilities. We find that cannabis time is not unlike dog years, so five years is really, really far away!\u201d [Laughs<\/em>] <\/p>\n Winstanley makes this next point emphatically. \u201cWe also firmly believe that the cannabis industry should be accessible to all,\u201d he says. \u201cThe legacy of cannabis from the past generations has been embroiled in turmoil and hardships. It\u2019s time to end that age and bring everyone a seat at the table to have the opportunity to capitalize and prevent it from being a pay-to-play industry. We want this industry open for all entrepreneurs from a diverse set of backgrounds.\u201d<\/p>\n I put it to CEO Pollock a little differently: Why will and won\u2019t Theory Wellness be successful forever? \u201cFirst, I think we\u2019re pretty good at anticipating the future while having a great team to navigate us once we\u2019re there,\u201d he said, smiling. \u201cWe won\u2019t be successful because, hopefully, a bunch of younger, hungrier, more diverse entrepreneurs beat us at our own game.\u201d<\/p>\n Full disclosure: Prior to departing Theory\u2019s still bustling retail floor, I purchased a couple of four-packs of the dispensary\u2019s best-selling, game-changing, cannabis-infused seltzer, Hi5 (pineapple and lemon, if you must know).<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the thing I\u2019ll take away from this sunny day in the gorgeous Berkshires: If I ever see Theory Wellness tucked away in a prime corner inside Fred Segal, I\u2019ll smile to myself at the knowledge that I\u2019d been right all along: quality attracts quality \u2014 be it in Great Barrington or even Beverly Hills.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/the-big-east-theory-wellness-berkshires.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nThe Numbers<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/the-big-east-theory-wellness-berkshires-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/the-big-east-theory-wellness-berkshires-2.jpg\")
<\/a>The Future<\/strong><\/strong><\/h4>\n