DENVER (February 6, 2019) – ONE Cannabis™ is forming an all-star team of franchise professionals to guide the emerging franchise brand. The cannabis franchisor, with both retail and cultivation franchise opportunities available, announced today the appointment of Justin Livingston, as VP of Franchise Development to develop and lead the franchise sales team.
Livingston joins ONE Cannabis with more than a decade of experience in growing franchises worldwide. His appointment comes on the heels of a December announcement that Mike Weinberger, former Maui Wowi brand president and Kahala Brands vice president of franchise development, joined the company as chief operations officer to lead all franchise-related areas and oversee day-to-day operations of the company.
“Franchising allows entrepreneurs to be ushered into an industry that is complicated and where success can be elusive,” Livingston said. “Through the franchise business model, we’re helping newcomers and existing owners compliantly operate their business without having to learn the expensive lessons of growing a cannabis dispensary or cultivation facility. Franchising will play a key role in developing and standardizing the nascent industry, and ONE Cannabis will be the franchise guiding the way.”
ONE Cannabis began franchising in early 2018 and currently has five franchise agreements signed for Colorado development, as well as several agreements in the works in other states and in Canada with different entrepreneurial teams. The company expects to add a dozen corporate and franchise locations in 2019 in multiple states and then quadruple its number of locations in both high growth and established legal cannabis states in the next three years. Through its franchise opportunities, ONE Cannabis eases the industry’s barrier to entry, making cannabis entrepreneurship more feasible to a broader group.
“Marijuana legalization is increasing rapidly across the U.S. – already, lawmakers in at least 17 states have filed marijuana legalization bills for 2019 sessions,” said Weinberger, noting a recent article from MarijuanaMoment.net. “With this, interest in our franchise opportunity only continues escalating, and Justin is the right person to oversee and build up our franchise development team. His track record of successfully building franchise programs from scratch is impressive. I’ve seen it first-hand and am excited to see where we take ONE Cannabis.”
Livingston, a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE), joined Coyote Ugly Saloon in 2014 as the Vice President of Global Development. His role at the most famous bar on the planet was to develop the international franchise program—including marketing, development, operations and support of its world-wide franchisees—as well as launch their franchise brand in new markets around the world. Prior to Coyote Ugly Saloon, his time at Maui Wowi Hawaiian Coffees and Smoothies was spent perfecting its franchise program and bringing in more than 150 of its 200 franchisees. He also ran the international sales program and expanded the brand into six different countries. Livingston is also the founder of Franchise Transformations – a franchise consulting firm that specializes in all aspects of franchising, including helping create robust franchise programs from existing independent businesses.
ABOUT ONE CANNABIS:
ONE Cannabis is a cannabis franchisor with both retail and cultivation franchise opportunities available. The company’s franchise opportunities are founded on the proven business model perfected by 10-year industry veteran and founder of Green Man Cannabis, Christian Hageseth. With countless industry awards under the Green Man name, the marijuana mogul is now focused on building the world’s most powerful cannabis business franchise system under ONE Cannabis. The multi-state franchise is based out of Denver and co-founded by Hageseth as well as other cannabis & franchise industry veterans. Named an “Industry Trailblazer” by High Times magazine, Hageseth’s entrepreneurial journey in the cannabis industry is chronicled in his book: Big Weed: An Entrepreneur's High-Stakes Adventures in the Budding Legal Marijuana Business.