Alex Ayers, Sales and Operations Manager for Custom Cones USA – Interview Series

While many product sectors within the cannabis industry have experienced their own successes, few have seen the monumental growth of the pre-roll sector. The sales figures and growth percentages achieved by pre-rolls are incredibly noteworthy for a variety of reasons. Whether due to their convenience for locals and tourists alike, or their general affordability compared to other product formats, pre-rolls have reached achievements that even traditional flower products haven’t.

To gain a deeper understanding of the reasons behind this major success and exponential popularity, mycannabis.com had the pleasure of speaking with Alex Ayers, Sales and Operations Manager for Custom Cones USA.

What were the most useful courses in entrepreneurship you studied at the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs? How did the lessons in those courses eventually become helpful?

The most impactful course I took in the entrepreneurship program at the University of Colorado–Colorado Springs was a real-world application course where we had to develop a business concept from initial business plan all the way through to pitch deck. The final for the class was actually pitching to real investors, with the potential to take the idea forward as an actual business if we wanted to seek funding.

Those lessons have come back to help me throughout my career. The biggest takeaways were:

• Taking a project from concept to execution, not just ideation.
• Working with others, negotiating, and compromising on ideas in order to push forward as a team.
• Managing large tasks over a long timeline and prioritizing the work that actually moves things forward.
• Finding common ground with people who are passionate about their own ideas, and turning that into momentum for the business.

What roles did you hold in the Colorado cannabis industry? How different was working in the cannabis industry during the very first few years of the industry’s existence?

I held a wide variety of roles during my time in the Colorado cannabis industry. My primary background was in cultivation — I was running actual grows, and eventually became the Commercial Program Director for Grow Warehouse. In that role I was the commercial consultant, doing everything from design-build, to teaching classes, to on-site consultation on pests, disease, irrigation, and just about every challenge that came up in cultivation.

In those early years I also worked as a budtender at the dispensary I was at, and across just about every part of the grow — watering, propagation, harvesting, you name it. I even got time in a butane-based extraction lab and worked consumer events. It was an opportunity to learn every side of the industry.

The biggest difference about working in cannabis in those early years was that it was the Wild West. There were no firm rules or regulations — they were constantly changing as regulators learned more about the industry and operators set the tone in order to keep up with the market. Things were turbulent, but it was a lot of fun because you were constantly having to take on new challenges. It taught me a lot about pivoting and how to adjust in the face of unbridled change, which made me very agile in this space. There was never a dull moment, and that environment made me really resilient as an operator.

How did your roles at Grow Warehouse provide you with a much greater understanding of the many equipment needs of cultivation facilities? How did those needs change between smaller and larger-sized cultivation facilities?

My time at Grow Warehouse gave me a really broad understanding of different cultivation methods and, more importantly, how to find solutions that matched the scale, goals, ambitions, and budget of every business I touched. What made the role so interesting was that no two grows were the same. People have been growing cannabis for a long time, but this was the first time it was being done at a commercial, recreational scale legally. We were constantly learning, and the technology was changing fast — new lighting, new nutrient formulations, new pest management programs, new growing media.

That pace of change taught me a lot about really understanding your client and their needs, and then making sure to not only hit those needs but also work with people whose ambitions sometimes outpaced their budget or their capabilities. A big part of the job was re-tooling expectations and getting them to the best possible solution that was reasonable and responsible for the type of business they were actually running. It was very focused on being a partner and helping those businesses grow as a trusted resource.

From smaller to larger cultivation facilities, the right solution depended heavily on what they were trying to do and what resources were actually available — power, AC, dehumidification, all of it. The job was tailoring solutions to the scale of the customer rather than over-spec’ing something that was outside their budget or didn’t really match their production goals.

With Grow Warehouse and other cannabis ancillary companies that you worked for prior to working with Custom Cones USA, what were some clever and effective ways that you increased sales and awareness for the companies? Also, what were the largest trade shows you attended on behalf of Grow Warehouse or other similar companies?

One of the most clever and effective ways we drove sales and awareness was through education. The industry was so new at that time, and so many people were coming into it because of the new legal framework with very little experience from the black or gray market prior to legalization. There was a huge education gap.

At Grow Warehouse — and at a few other companies — I developed educational programs. I taught a six-part Intro to Cultivation class once a month. It was a compounding curriculum that took potential retailers, growers, and customers all the way from seed-starting and taking clones through harvesting, curing, irrigation, and pest management.

That educational angle gave customers a way to learn, but it also positioned us as a trusted resource. It showed them that the reason to work with us wasn’t just the products and tools we carried — it was that we could give them real advice they could rely on. I built the curriculum off my own experience plus a lot of research, much of it from outside the cannabis space, focused on the foundational horticultural techniques that apply whether you’re growing cannabis, tomatoes, or anything else. We wanted to make sure we were teaching real, grounded education and not anecdotal stuff that couldn’t be backed up.

On the trade show side, there were fewer shows back then, though it grew quickly. MJBizCon was always the biggest. We also did Indo Expo in Colorado every year, which was really large at the time, and then CannaCon and Lucky Leaf as additional markets opened up. MJBizCon was hands-down the largest show I did, especially in those early days at peak attendance.

What professionally interested you about joining the Custom Cones team? What did you feel was so special and strong about Custom Cones as a company?

What drew me to Custom Cones professionally was that it brought me closer to the plant and back to working with cannabis-specific operators. I spent some time in hemp, which I really enjoyed and learned a lot from, but at my core I’ve always been focused on traditional cannabis. I was also drawn to the fact that the team was made up of industry folks — people who were genuinely dedicated to the space.

The cannabis industry, for better or worse, has become a very attractive industry. That means you often end up working alongside people with little experience or who aren’t really passionate about the plant — they’re just focused on the revenue potential. That wasn’t the case at Custom Cones USA. I could tell immediately that these were people who loved what they did and loved the industry they worked in. It was exciting to join a team that mirrored my own passion for the space.

What are your regular duties as Sales Operations Manager? For a company with so many different product lines and formats, how do you adjust your duties and sales strategies depending on the product line?

As Sales Operations Manager at Custom Cones USA, a big part of my role is facilitating back-end process development and supporting our sales team. On top of that, I run our SDR team, which is very focused on lead development, outreach, and follow-up from trade shows — lead generation is a major focus.

I also spend a lot of time building resources, both internally for our team and externally for customers, with the goal of making day-to-day operations as easy as possible on both sides.

With so many product lines and formats, we really focus on selling to the customer’s actual need, not just pushing what we happen to have available. There are so many unique form factors and so much variety in the pre-roll space alone. The job is to genuinely understand what the customer is trying to achieve with their product and point them toward a SKU that’s going to meet those demands, stand out on the shelf, and deliver a great smoking experience.

As someone with direct experience in both the plant-touching and ancillary sides of the industry, why do you think pre-rolls have recently become the most popular cannabis product format among customers? Is it only for the convenience and relative affordability that pre-rolls offer, or are there more factors at play?

Over my time in the industry, I’ve seen the role of pre-rolls in dispensaries — and the way consumers actually consume cannabis — change a lot. Back in 2012, pre-rolls were a really understated category. They typically weren’t a boutique product, and producers weren’t necessarily taking the time and attention to make a really high-quality pre-roll.

From 2012 to now, pre-rolls have become one of the premier products on the shelf. The first reason is that convenience is everything. Consumers want to be able to stop into a dispensary and quickly buy something they can go consume with friends, and there’s really no better format for that than a pre-roll. They’re easy to consume and they’re inherently social.

The way people use cannabis has also shifted — from something you did privately at home with friends to something people enjoy at a barbecue, a cookout, or other social settings. In that environment, the convenience of a pre-roll has become king.

On top of that, producers have figured out how to make a genuinely high-quality pre-roll that carries through the quality of the flower they spent so much time and energy growing. That’s gone a long way in making consumers more interested in the format.

There’s also a generational shift. Cannabis is now something you can buy in all sorts of formats at a store in many places, and a lot of consumers simply aren’t as skilled at rolling as they used to be — they don’t need to be, because they can just buy it pre-rolled. Pre-rolls are also an affordable way to access cannabis and try a strain before committing to bulk flower. You can sample a few different strains across pre-rolls, find what you like, and then buy that strain in larger quantity or whatever format you prefer.

While working with Custom Cones USA, what were the most memorable or customized orders that the company produced? What were the craziest looking customized cones that have been previously requested by clients?

I’ve learned to never be surprised by the creative formats that customers come up with. One of the things that’s incredible about the cannabis industry is that it’s always focused on pushing forward — new things, new formats, new experiences.

Some of the most creative work I’ve seen has been around the packaging side as much as the pre-roll itself. Everything from pyramid-style packs that open up, to multi-packs with integrated lighters or matches, to hemp wick built into the packaging — all sorts of ways to create a more complete experience so the customer has a one-stop-shop option once they leave the dispensary.

That kind of creativity is what makes this work exciting. I’m constantly being blown away by what brands and producers are coming up with.

How do you think the pre-roll market will expand and evolve in the future? Will pre-rolls as a product format continue to hold the top spot on the sales charts that it currently holds?

I think pre-rolls are going to keep holding the top spot on the shelf. The convenience is unbridled and the experience is timeless. There’s a reason people have been smoking joints as long as cannabis has been available — it’s social, it’s flavorful, and it’s impactful.

Looking at where the growth is coming from, there are three categories in particular that I expect to keep climbing:

1. 1. Infused pre-rolls. Consumers are looking for strong flavor and strong impact. They love the potency, and they love what adding concentrates to a full-flower pre-roll does to the experience.
2. 2. Blunts. This category has been a little understated for years, but we’re starting to see real growth. Blunts are a unique experience — a slower smoke, a different flavor profile, and a fun way to share cannabis with friends.
3. 3. Small format, high quantity. Smaller pre-rolls — what we’d call dog-walkers, around a third of a gram — sold in multi-packs rather than as a single or a two-pack. You’re selling convenience in bulk. A lot of consumers want a jar of pre-rolls ready to go, whether it’s because they don’t roll themselves or they just don’t want the hassle, but they love that perfect smaller serving they can quickly enjoy in pre-roll format.

Thank you for joining us, Alex! For more information about Custom Cones USA and its products, please visit its website.