In the cannabis industry, "vertical integration" is often talked about in terms of efficiency, cost control, and operational excellence. But as Ryan Cook explained on High Touch, it’s not just about backend benefits. When done right, vertical integration can build deeper trust and loyalty with customers—and create brands that actually mean something.
Ryan Cook co-founded The Clinic, The Lab, and The Bank—three vertically integrated cannabis businesses that became household names in Colorado. Through cultivation, extraction, and retail, they built a closed-loop ecosystem that put consistency and customer experience first.
“It was very understandable that if [a patient] picked up some flower or they picked up a concentrate or a vape or some gummies, and it said The Clinic on it… and they knew The Clinic grew that… it seemed to make sense.”
In a fragmented industry, most cannabis brands still feel disconnected. But when a consumer sees the same name on the product they smoke and the store where they bought it—and knows that the same team handled everything in between—it builds confidence.
Cook and his team leaned into this.
“You grew a bond and a relationship with the brand that you could trust in them. And no different than any brand loyalty that we see in any industry.”
This structure helped The Clinic stand out early on. But it also presented new challenges.
One of the limitations of vertical integration? Wholesale friction. Competitors weren’t eager to stock products with another retailer’s name on them.
“Our competitors would say, ‘Yes. I love The Clinic. It's great. No interest in putting your product on our shelf.’”
That pushback led to a pivotal innovation: separate product brands.
The Bank (flower) and The Lab (concentrates) were created as standalone brands, even though they were still cultivated and processed by the same team behind The Clinic. This gave the company flexibility to wholesale products without undermining retail partners.
But it also did something more powerful—it created brand clarity for the customer.
“They're tying themselves to, ‘I'm a concentrate user. I'm an edible user. I'm a flower person.’ And they're buying into those brands.”
By separating product lines into focused identities, Cook’s team could tailor marketing, storytelling, and quality standards to specific consumer needs. This wasn’t just branding—it was connection.
As the industry matured and Cook transitioned into MSO leadership (most notably with Jushi), the need for distinct, well-run brands only grew.
“When you can start running separate P&Ls… it allows you to think about the marketing a little bit differently.”
Multi-brand portfolios allowed for:
And yes, it helped with financial forecasting too.
Behind all the operational talk—P&Ls, wholesale logistics, KPIs—is a more personal story: the customer’s experience.
Consumers might not know the term “vertically integrated,” but they feel the effects of consistency, quality, and transparency. When they trust a brand to deliver a product that meets their expectations every time, that’s brand loyalty in action.
“As long as a patient is generally informed, they're gonna understand… So you need to make sure that you're understanding what that client is looking for.”
In the end, vertical integration isn’t just a supply chain strategy. It’s a brand-building opportunity. And if you do it with intention, it can create experiences—and relationships—that last.
🎧 Hear the full conversation with Ryan Cook on the High Touch podcast.