What’s It Like to Work for Cannabis Ancillary Businesses? 

There is no doubt that the cannabis industry offers great promise for ambitious candidates. As more states legalize cannabis and public opinion continues to favor federal legalization, career opportunities will only look more promising. As a result, high-profile executives from sectors such as food and beverage, alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals are showing keen interest in the industry. 

Before entering the cannabis market, serious job seekers need to consider some important choices. Chief among these deliberations is choosing whether to work with a plant-touching company or an ancillary business. Your choice here will seriously affect job opportunities and potential career growth. 

As a well-established recruiting service in the cannabis sector, M&F Talent knows well the opportunities and challenges presented by working for cannabis ancillary businesses. 

Understanding Ancillary Cannabis Businesses 

Ancillary businesses are organizations that operate in the cannabis industry without actually dealing with cannabis products. While a majority of businesses in the ancillary space operate in a business-to-business (B2B) capacity, some work in a business-to-customer (B2C) capacity.

Ancillary cannabis businesses offer a diverse array of goods and services tailored to the cannabis industry. In the B2B realm, software firms specializing in seed-to-sale, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, and point-of-sale (POS) systems provide numerous employment opportunities within the ancillary sector. In like fashion, the entire cultivation equipment and hydroponic supply vertical falls within the ancillary space. 

In the B2C sphere, manufacturers and retailers that produce and sell smoking paraphernalia like vaporizers, rolling papers, and pipes fall under the ancillary vertical. Similarly, cannabis storage products like jars and humidity control packets are popular B2C ancillary products. 

Besides these popular career avenues, ancillary cannabis enterprises encompass marketing agencies, harvest technology firms, extraction equipment providers, security companies, media entities, staffing agencies, and more. Despite their significance, ancillary cannabis enterprises often remain relatively obscure organizations to your average consumer. 

Career Opportunities with Cannabis Ancillary Businesses 

In recent years, the cannabis ancillary business sector has flourished with widespread adult-use legalization. As cannabis has grown more mainstream, it has also created avenues for new businesses to populate the industry. 

New regulatory frameworks in compliance have spurred the expansion of ancillary fields related to security and inventory management. Similarly, the proliferation of branded cannabis products has fueled growth in cannabis marketing agencies, packaging firms, and distribution platforms. 

Advantages of Working for Cannabis Ancillary Companies 

Cannabis ancillary companies are often compared to businesses that sold “picks and shovels” to miners during the gold rush era in California. While miners physically dug the gold out of the ground, ancillary businesses supplied them with everything needed to do so – including tools, housing, food, and more. Today, this is a popular way for cannabis ancillary businesses to describe their organizations. 

While success with an ancillary job will undoubtedly require a good deal of hard work, many feel they offer greater stability compared to cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and sales. Mainly because, ancillary businesses are not constrained by state borders like plant-touching companies. Similarly, they don’t have to worry about fighting for licenses from competitors. This goes for cultivation technology, professional services, seed-to-sale software, smoking accessories, product packaging, and much more. 

If you have a background in outside sales, for example, a cannabis ancillary business like a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider could offer serious career growth because your territory could span several states. Conversely, people doing outside sales with cannabis products are constrained within a particular state or municipality and can only rise so high in the ranks. 

Challenges of Working for Ancillary Cannabis Businesses 

The ancillary cannabis sector presents unique challenges often not encountered with plant-touching organizations. Foremost among these challenges is the intense competition within the ancillary marketplace. Unlike plant-touching businesses, which often benefit from regulatory caps on licenses in tightly regulated markets, ancillary enterprises are subject to unfettered market competition. This challenge is particularly pronounced in B2B scenarios, where ancillary firms in fields such as security vie for the business of a limited number of dispensaries and cultivation facilities. 

Given the nascent stage of the legal cannabis industry, many small business owners fail to recognize the value of ancillary services such as staffing agencies and marketing firms. Yet, as the industry continues to evolve and grow, there is no doubt that B2B organizations and professional services will see more demand in the future. 

Start Your Cannabis Career with M&F Talent!  

The recruiting team at Mac & Fulton Talent Partners has been around since the earliest days of legal cannabis. Contact us to start your job search in this exciting field!