Ankur Rungta, Founder & CEO of C3 Industries (NCIA Cannabis Business Summit 2021)

12/17/21 • 12 min

We speak with Ankur Rungta, the Founder & CEO of C3 Industries as part of our NCIA Cannabis Business Summit 2021 coverage.
C3 Industries, a multi-state, vertically integrated cannabis company headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with several product brands including the award-winning Cloud Cover Cannabis and Galactic Meds, and a retail network, High Profile Boutique Cannabis.
C3 Industries launched its first production operation in 2018, with a 36,000 square foot indoor cultivation and manufacturing facility in Portland, Oregan. The company has since opened additional operations in Michigan and Massachusetts. The company produces high-quality cannabis products across all categories in Oregon and Michigan and is soon to launch in Massachusetts and Missouri. You recently opened a new 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in St. Louis, which will commence operations this month.
In addition to the facility, C3 has finalized an exclusive licensing partnership with California’s Kiva Confections to bring its premium edibles brands to the Missouri market. Per the agreement and subject to regulatory approvals, it will produce Kiva’s full suite of brands: Lost Farm gummies, Camino gummies, Petra mints, Terra chocolate bites, and Kiva Bars.
They will produce C3’s Cloud Cover Cannabis line of concentrates, cartridges, and pre-rolls starting late 2022.
Ankur Rungta is co-founder and chief executive officer of C3 Industries Inc. Under his leadership, the company has raised over $100 million of capital and currently employs almost 400 people. Ankur and his team have overseen the development of six award-winning cannabis production facilities as well as twenty-one retail stores in Michigan, Massachusetts, Missouri and Oregon.
Ankur is also a co-founder and board member of Nickel City Pictures, a film and television production company based in Los Angeles and New York City that has produced such box-office hits as “John Wick 2,” “November Man,” and “Mother’s Day,” among others.
Prior to launching these companies, Ankur worked as an investment banker at Moelis & Company in New York and as a corporate attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, advising clients on capital markets and M&A transactions.
Ankur earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 2004. He earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law school in 2008, when he graduated Magna Cum Laude and Order of the Coif.
In 2014, he was nominated to the Michigan Opera Theatre Board of Directors. He has taken an active role in the arts organization – where he serves as Vice Chairman of the Board and leads the Nominating and Governance Committee, the youngest person to hold those roles.
Ankur is also a dedicated family man. He and his wife reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with their two children. He enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, playing basketball, watching college and professional sports, and keeping up with current events and politics. Ankur was born in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in Buffalo, New York.
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Cannabis and Sexual Health with PleasurePeaks Founder & CEO Antuanette Gomez

Grassroots Marketing is joined by The Leading Canadian Women In Cannabis. International Speaker & Cannabis Business Consultant. She is a Forbes 30 under 30 scholar and international speaker on cannabis and sexual health. The Founder & CEO of PleasurePeaks, Antuanette Gomez.
Peak Pharm Labs is a cannabinoid sexual health and wellness company with the mission of enhancing intimacy and sexual function. Antuanette appeared on our High on Healthy series in April 2018.
We talk about a recent announcement from about Pleasure Peaks and Hybrid Pharm announcing a partnership and creation of Peak Pharm Labs. This new joint venture is dedicated to making sexual health and wellness products through its extensive research and collaboration with various industry-leading healthcare professionals.
From Weedmaps: Pleasure Peaks is designed to improve sexual health through research on cannabinoid therapies for women with fibroids and endometriosis by the company's Pleasure Labs initiative. The testing is conducted by doctors worldwide in sexual health medicine and cannabinoid research.CBD-infused intimacy products enhance pleasure and reduce discomfort for better intimacy and sexual health. The CBD-infused product offering includes bath salts, 2-in-1 lube and massage oil, and suppositories.
Pleasure Peaks provides affordable sexual health products ranging from infused suppositories to infused lubricants. It has a diverse mix of products because every person has a unique sexual barrier and interests.
Weedmaps profiled you and they wrote: Before cannabis you were a holistic nutritionist at a chronic pain clinic in 2015 when you learned just how often her patients used cannabis to manage their pain. They then brought up Pleasure Peaks brands itself as an “elevated sexual health company focusing on plant-based products and philosophy” since its inception in 2016. The brand's identity and impetus arose as Gomez recreationally consumed cannabis to add a spark to the bedroom.
“It wasn't until I worked in medicine did I understand that cannabis can be a great alternative for easing sexual health ailments for optimal sexual experiences,” Gomez shared. “I knew the cannabis lubricant was great for easing discomfort in the bedroom but it wasn't until I met patients diagnosed with endometriosis, fibroids, and PCOCs that I took creating a medical cannabis company seriously.”
Pleasure Peaks is 100% Black, female, LGTBQ owned and operated. The company has also created an inclusive culture that invites conversation from every corner by hosting virtual online community pleasure classes, a podcast, and global tantric cannabis couple retreats.
Learn more at www.pleasurepeaks.com, @cannalube on Facebook, @pleasure_peaks on Instagram and @PleasurePeaks on Twitter. https://www.antuanettegomez.com/
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Caroline Yeh, CEO and Co-founder, of TSUMo Snacks (NCIA Cannabis Business Summit 2021)

Cannabis Brand TSUMo Snacks Debuts Line of Savory Snacks into the California Market and their CEO and Co-founder Caroline Yeh fill us in.
The cannabis snack brand aims to elevate the way people snack with a line of low dose cannabis-infused salty snacks. TSUMo Snacks, a cannabis-infused edible brand with salty and savory offerings officially launched today in California. The Company’s snack portfolio fills a large void in the current sweet-centric edibles market and features low-dose, nostalgic-themed products in flavors that consumers have historically loved.
TSUMo brings consumers a unique and elevated snacking experience by infusing familiar flavors and form factors with premium THC. Low dosed at 10mg of THC per bag, the debut line of snacks features five delicious flavors:
Classic Cheese Puffs: the go-to snack to satisfy any cheese craving
Fiery Hot Cheese Crunchers: to spice up your snacking high
Zesty Ranch Mini Tortilla Rounds: the chip that boldly goes where no ranch has gone before
Hint of Lime Mini Tortilla Rounds: chips that pack a punch of lime zest and citrus
Salsa Verde Mini Tortilla Rounds: the perfect amount of spice and south-of-the-border zing
“We believe that there is a big opportunity for TSUMo to deliver great-tasting salty and savory snacks to those seeking a differentiated infused edibles experience,” comments Caroline Yeh. “With endless flavor and form factor innovation opportunities, everyone will grow to love TSUMo’s munchable and delicious snacks.”
Priced at $5/unit, TSUMo Snacks will initially be available for purchase and delivery in select parts of California through the Company’s website. For more information, visit tsumosnacks.com and follow us on Instagram at @tsumosnacks.
About TSUMo Snacks:
TSUMo is a brand that brings consumers a unique and nostalgic snacking experience by combining familiar salty and savory flavors with THC. Each bag of crunchy goodness has 10mg of THC so you can savor the flavors — and the feeling.
Caroline Yeh, CEO and Co-founder, of TSUMo Snacks, has over 6 years of experience in product development, operations, marketing and distribution within the cannabis industry. Prior to that, Caroline spent 12 years working in the traditional consumer packaged goods space.
With her profound ability to help both large and small companies scale and commercialize innovative brand portfolios in traditional and nontraditional channels, Caroline is qualified to speak about emerging cannabis industry trends, shifts in consumer behavior (edibles vs. smoking), how to make your brand stand out from the crowd, and how TSUMo is filling a large void in the current sweet-centric edibles market with their new line of savory snacks.
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