In this episode of Higher Exchanges, we sit down with Ted Lidie, founder of Alien Labs, to talk about building one of California’s most iconic flower brands—and what it takes to scale that success across markets.
We cover:
🌱 The Alien Labs origin story and legacy in the 215 era
🤝 Partnering with Connected and navigating Prop 64
🔥 What makes truly great flower—and why it’s harder to grow now
📉 Pricing pressure, quality control, and the reality of California cannabis in 2025
🏜️ Expanding into Arizona: lessons learned and brand reception
🌴 The Trulieve partnership in Florida and growing under medical-only rules
🌍 Going global: takeaways from Germany and where Alien is headed next
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.