In an industry where insight into what consumers like, need and want from brands is very crucial and necessary for survival, a demand for deeper analysis seems to be missing and that’s where co-founders Solonje Burnett and Angela Bacon come in with the hopes of launching Erven to meet those demands.
Erven’s mission is to facilitate sustainable growth for brands and retailers through actionable insights, by cultivating an ecosystem that enables cannabis operators to securely share data, and communicate more effectively. We speak with the co-founders on what this new platform intends to accomplish.
What led to the creation of Erven?
SB – Erven was created through deep listening. When Angela and I met in December of 2021 at NCIA in San Francisco, she was already developing a consumer facing product that would help people find the medicine they needed at a discounted price. I was deeply impressed by her brilliant mind and we immediately knew that we’d collaborate on something. After a few months, I began introducing her to the community I’ve cultivated in the cannabis industry over the past 5+ years on discovery calls. We kept hearing from brands that their biggest issue was communication. Silos and bottlenecks, unanswered emails and overwhelmed inventory managers. Not being able to get the data they needed to take the action necessary to grow their babies to their fullest potential. We soon pivoted the product + name, and have been working on Erven ever since.
AB – Erven started as a project to fill a gap in cannabis advertising, by helping retailers publish promotions directly to verified users. The goal was to create something that helped cannabis companies better communicate with customers. But, after digging deeper with cannabis brands and retailers, we realized there was a much deeper issue of communication between brands and retailers, that subsequently led to product and experience gaps for customers. So we pivoted, and built a platform that helps retailers securely communicate product and performance data with brands. By focusing on closing the communication gap between retailers and brands, beginning with product data, we can enable these companies to reduce operational overhead, decrease missed revenue opportunities, and the right products are reaching the right customers.
What void do you hope to fill within the industry with Erven?
SB – Holistic integration. Erven aims to foster togetherness by addressing the industry’s systemic ineffective communication as well as lack of trust and transparency in a space that is founded on both secrecy and insecurity. We want everyone to win as a unifying agent. We understand that collaboration enables growth. As a federally illegal nascent industry, we need to do better and work differently.
AB – Communication and transparency. We believe the cannabis industry can only thrive through collaboration over competition, and our mission is to create a network of data and human relationships in which everyone thrives. On the surface, the issues stem from a lack of tools and integrations, because the industry is still very new. But the deeper issues we’re seeing – brands churning out of retailers, supply chain issues, retailers operating on razor-thin margins, and operators on both sides burning out – is caused and exacerbated by a lack of visibility between stakeholders. We are starting by securely communicating the most important data, but our mission is to expand this capability to reach every part of the business.
How important is data management and security in running a canna-biz?
AB – Data management and security in cannabis is supremely important, for compliance, business risk management and customer privacy. Every state has a complex web of regulations and requirements for cannabis businesses, and every part of the business relies on some form of data management. Sales information for tax compliance, Personally Identifying Information (PII) from customers and medical card holders, and inventory data – all different types of information used throughout the business – require secure and accurate handling by all who interact with it.
How can businesses incorporate this platform into their business?
AB – Erven integrates directly with the retailer POS, and communicates the data securely via API to brands in our custom portal. Getting started as a retailer or brand is really easy. Our implementation team handles the integration and product onboarding for retailers, and also helps brands with product onboarding and training. To get started, retailers and brands can schedule a demo and discovery session with us at our team link.
