Boulder, Colo.—Wana Brands, the nation’s No. 1 producer of cannabis infused edibles, was named Cannabis Manufacturer of the Year at the fourth annual Colorado Manufacturer Awards on Thursday, April 4. Wana Brands COO Dan O’Connor accepted the award on behalf of the Wana team. The awards recognize outstanding achievement in 15 manufacturing sectors, from biotech to breweries and everything in between. This is the first year the Awards program, which is presented by CompanyWeek and Manufacturer’s Edge, has recognized Colorado’s burgeoning cannabis manufacturing sector. Other finalists in the cannabis category included Incredibles and Green Dot Labs. Finalists were selected for their excellence in three areas: quality control, sustainability and community involvement.
“Receiving the Colorado Manufacturing Award for Cannabis Manufacturer of the Year is a confirmation of Wana Brands’ leading-edge position in manufacturing abilities,” O’Connor said. “Retailers know they can trust Wana Brands for its professionalism and unwavering commitment to quality and reliability across all of its products, and that begins with having the right manufacturing in place.”
Quality Control was considered in the nomination process. All Wana Brands products undergo rigorous internal and external testing to ensure precise dosage and consistency. The Company adheres to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines through detailed and consistent documentation of the manufacturing process, ensuring that label claims are accurate. Since 2017, Wana has experienced a 125 percent increase in sales and therefore the same increase in production capacity, all the while decreasing labor by 50 percent (indirect labor from 15 percent to 7.5 percent) by streamlining and optimizing processes throughout production, labeling and packaging. Wana will be implementing new and innovative processes in 2019 that encompass proprietary custom equipment that enable the Company to package and tamper proof its products on a significantly larger scale, which will further drive down costs while increasing margins. In 2018, Wana Brands boasted 99.9 percent product acceptance rate by its customers. This high level of consistency and acceptance by customers increases sales and reduces return, transportation and labor costs.
The Awards also considered nominees’ Sustainability Efforts. Wana Brands expects to receive all four certifications from Boulder County’s “Partners for a Clean Environment” (PACE) program this year for energy efficiency, zero waste diversion, water conservation and transportation. In the meantime, Wana has worked to make its procurement and receiving departments 95 percent paperless by instituting digital-reporting procedures. Less paper means a lower carbon footprint. The Company has also transformed its packaging with new containers for its artisan edibles, reducing three layers of packaging down to just one and reducing the amount of plastic waste in packages that are reusable, recyclable, and biodegradable. Wana’s packaging is child-resistant, FDA food-grade approved and protects against the four enemies of quality marijuana: moisture, oxygen, static electricity, and ultraviolet light.
Community Involvement is the final criteria for the Awards. With a goal to give 500 hours of staff time to nonprofit community partners in 2019, Wana Brands has instituted a robust Corporate Social Responsibility program, setting a goal to spearhead four to six community events annually and offering employees generous incentives to participate. This year, Wana Brands hosted a group project at Attention Homes, which serves homeless and at-risk youth in Boulder County, and participated in a month-long food drive to benefit the Sister Carmen Community Center. Other Wana CSR Partners include Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence (SPAN), Sister Carmen Community Center and Kynd Hub.
In February, Wana Brands received the prestigious A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau of Greater Denver and Central Colorado.
Since 1912, the Better Business Bureau has been on the forefront of positive marketplace change by partnering with leading companies committed to the best practices of business ethics, marketplace excellence, and effective industry self-regulation. The BBB is a mission-driven, nonprofit organization with over 100 offices across the U.S., Canada and Mexico working with consumers, businesses, and the government to advance marketplace trust.
“It is an honor to be recognized with designations such as the A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and Best Cannabis Manufacturer from the Colorado
Manufacturing Association. But more importantly, the honors bolster the continued normalization of the cannabis industry in the eyes of mainstream corporate America,” O’Connor concluded.
Wana Brands: Enhance Your Life. Included in the 2018 Inc. 5000 list at #1087 and boasting a three-year growth rate of 455% <>, Wana Brands is the No. 1 edibles brand in the United States, with more units and dollars sold than any other brand, according to November 2018 BDS Analytics report. Wana leads the industry in quality, consistency and potency, featuring a full line of edibles, including market-leading gummies and WanaCapsXR, a family of extended-release cannabis capsules that provide symptom relief for up to 12 hours. Wana products are available in Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois and Michigan. The Company is currently onboarding in Florida and Ohio and plans to enter California, Maryland, Missouri, Massachusetts, New Jersey and internationally in Canada by 2020. For more information or to subscribe to Wana’s e-newsletter, visit www.wanabrands.com.
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