Episode 8: Perfecting Pre-Rolls, Packaging and Regulatory Activism with Nathan Russell and Ben Richards

In our eighth episode, host Benjamin Ballinger sat down with Nathan Russell and Ben Richards, the owners of the cannabis packaging company formerly known as CUSTOMPACKCO (now a subsidiary of AE Global), as well as the Michigan-based cannabis processor The Lab, and innovative pre-roll brand Road Trip.

In addition to running their production facility like a well-oiled, lean manufacturing machine, Nate and Ben are vocal proponents of regulatory reform in the state, particularly regarding the newest regulation updates proposed by Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency.

The duo has managed to win on several fronts—successfully selling controlling interest in their packaging company, launching their pre-roll brand into some of the biggest dispensary chains in the state, and growing their co-production facility to become one of the top pre-roll producers in Michigan.

In this episode, we dive deep into the strategic decisions Nate and Ben made to stay non-vertically integrated, the importance of operating with lean principles, and why more cannabis operators need to get involved in their state's regulatory conversations.

For the episode notes, transcript, and linked resources, please visit ⁠https://podcast.diamondminers.co/episode-8/