Ben Stoller, CEO at Cannaprints – Interview Series

One of the most exciting aspects of a legalized and regulated cannabis marketplace—something that was never possible in an unlicensed market—is product format innovation. Whether it is vape cartridges filled with live rosin or diamonds instead of standard distillate, joints infused with every imaginable extract, or topicals becoming a staple in wellness routines, this innovation creates endless opportunities to normalize cannabis use.

One category where innovation is constantly accelerating is the edibles market. Cannabinoids are now being produced in shapes and formats rarely explored before, such as easily dissolvable wafers and paper strips that offer exceptional versatility.

To take a deeper look at why the edibles space is uniquely suited for product innovation—and how “flat” cannabis edibles can be integrated across various production methods—MyCannabis.com spoke with Ben Stoller, CEO of Cannaprints.

How would you say that earning your MBA from Seton Hall gave you a better understanding of the crucial roles you held before entering the cannabis industry?

The Seton Hall MBA provided a formal analytical framework for the high-stakes operating roles I held across private equity and portfolio companies, specifically around capital allocation, cost structure, and how operational decisions compound over time. It reinforced the discipline of evaluating any business through the numbers first: identifying where true margin sits, what actually ties up working capital, and how to verify whether an operational pivot is generating a return.

That rigor carried directly into cannabis. In a hyper-regulated, fragmented state-by-state market, you cannot manage by gut feel or anecdote. You need rock-solid unit economics, audit-ready compliance documentation, and the strategic focus to allocate scarce capital exclusively to production lines and formats that can scale efficiently.

Prior to working with CannaPrints, what roles in finance and investment strategies did you hold? How did that experience help you navigate your many duties at CannaPrints?

I spent roughly 27 years in private equity operating roles after founding and successfully selling a hedge fund. That career was centered on evaluating business models, establishing rigorous operational discipline, preserving cash, and deploying limited capital toward the highest-conviction returns.

At CannaPrints, that background means treating every choice (from formulation R&D and partner vetting to state expansion and headcount) as an explicit allocation of capital and executive focus. It is the direct reason we have expanded across New Jersey, New York, and into Ontario without diluting equity at every turn. That prior experience taught us to be ruthless about what we fund and what we pass on. That same disciplined lens guides our partnership structures and capitalization strategy, ensuring we protect our equity and retain long-term control over our proprietary technology.

As someone with experience across many industries, what interested you about working with cannabis brands and CannaPrints in particular?

I had seen enough consumer and manufacturing businesses to recognize when a category was still early and operationally messy. Cannabis edibles were dominated by inconsistent dosing, high sugar, and heavy formats that were expensive to ship and store. CannaPrints offered a proprietary printing process that could deliver precise, low-weight, dissolvable formats. That combination of technical differentiation and a clear operating problem to solve is what drew me in. It was not the category for its own sake; it was the chance to apply manufacturing discipline and capital efficiency to a product that could actually be better than what was already on shelves.

What is so unique about the edibles market when compared to other sectors of the New York and New Jersey cannabis industries? What skills and expertise does brand building and advancement require in that sector when compared to other product sectors?

Edibles require far tighter control over dosing, consistency, and consumer trust than flower or vapes because the onset is delayed and the product is metabolized. In New York and New Jersey, operators face strict potency variance rules, tight packaging constraints, and mandatory warnings all while trying to deliver an experience consumers actually want to repurchase.

Because of that, brand building in this category is less about lifestyle imagery and more about operational reliability: exact milligrams, clean ingredients, and a predictable effect. Real advancement requires deep formulation science, strict supplier control, and clear sell-through data. You cannot market your way past an inconsistent product. The brands that win in this space treat formulation, testing, and compliance not as back-office functions, but as their most valuable brand assets.

Where did the idea of CannaPrints’“flat” cannabis edibles, meaning wafers and paper strips for instance, first come from? How many tries and experiments did it take to perfect the production process of such a unique cannabis product type?

The concept originated from taking precision deposition technology—already proven in other regulated industries—and applying it to cannabinoids. Instead of relying on traditional bulk mixing or infusion, we can print the active dose with controllable accuracy.

Getting there required dozens of formulation cycles, equipment customizations, and stability testing rounds. Early R&D focused purely on print cleanliness, structural integrity, and clean dissolution. We then refined the process to incorporate all-natural flavors and colors while optimizing the format for rapid sublingual delivery. The true milestone was reaching repeatable commercial scale: the process is now fully documented, validated across manufacturing partners, and consistently producing shelf-ready units across multiple states.

From a production standpoint, how is producing THC sublingual products different from producing more common types of cannabis edibles like gummies or chocolates?

Gummies and chocolates rely on bulk batching, kettle mixing, and mechanical portioning. If the emulsion isn’t completely uniform throughout the cook, you end up with potency variances and hot spots from piece to piece. Our process prints a metered amount of cannabinoids directly onto each wafer or strip, controlling potency at the unit level rather than depending on bulk mixing uniformity.

Formulating sublinguals also introduces completely different physical challenges. Traditional edibles mask cannabinoid bitterness behind heavy fat or sugar matrices. A thin strip or dissolvable wafer has to mask taste, dissolve cleanly under the tongue, and remain shelf-stable without that bulk carrier. That demands pharmaceutical-grade process controls, specialized printing lines, and rigorous validation. The payoff is immense: a micro-thin format with faster, more predictable onset, zero calories or sugar, and a fraction of the shipping and storage footprint.

Given their versatility, what have been some popular ways that consumers have used CannaPrints’ products into their own consumption routines? How are possibilities of the infused wafers changing how edible chefs create and produce their own dishes and experiences?

On the consumer side, adoption naturally splits into two main routines: sublingually under the tongue for rapid, smoke-free onset, or dissolved directly into hot or cold drinks to turn any beverage into an infused experience. Because the format is zero-sugar, vegan, and micro-dosed, people can seamlessly integrate it into their daily wellness habits (such as an afternoon tea or post-workout hydration) without committing to the calories or heavy onset of traditional baked goods or gummies.

For chefs and hospitality operators, the wafers eliminate a massive operational hurdle: the need to formulate an entire recipe around cannabinoid stability. Instead of infusing large batches of oils or butters, which introduces heat degradation, flavor imbalances, and uneven dosing, chefs can introduce a calibrated, dissolvable dose at the point of service. That shifts the focus from managing kitchen-level batch risk to plating an uncompromised dish with repeatable precision.

How is environmental friendliness and conservation considered throughout CannaPrints’ production processes?

The largest environmental impact comes directly from the format itself. A printed wafer removes the dead weight of water, cans, and glass inherent in traditional infused beverages. That drastically cuts down shipping mass, fuel consumption, secondary packaging, and retail refrigeration needs. On the manufacturing floor, we rely on natural colors and clean ingredients while optimizing print deposition to virtually eliminate ingredient scrap. Our operating partners adhere to strict process documentation that minimizes run waste and batch errors. We treat conservation as an operational efficiency metric (measuring less material moved, less packaging discarded, and lower energy consumption per unit) rather than treating it as an afterthought marketing claim.

From your experience with the Reusable Packaging Association and elsewhere, what are some useful ways cannabis companies can adopt more environmentally friendly packaging policies?

The most practical steps are reducing material weight and volume first, then improving what remains. Lightweight formats like printed dissolvables already eliminate the vast majority of liquid, glass, and can weight that traditional edibles and beverages carry. Beyond the primary product, companies can standardize on mono-material or recyclable primary packs, design for tighter case packing, and work with distribution partners on returnable transport totes and consolidated secondary packaging where regulations permit. The key is measuring actual material weight reduction per active dose rather than just adding sustainability claims to heavy, existing formats. Policies that start with product architecture deliver far more measurable results than simple packaging swaps alone.

Like the wafers CannaPrints makes, what major innovations in edible production and technology do you see happening in the future? How do you see the edibles market as a whole evolving?

Precision dosing and lighter delivery formats will continue to win market share because they solve the consistency, shelf-life, and cost issues that legacy infusion methods cannot. At CannaPrints, we are expanding our core printing technology into several high-impact directions that build directly on what we already produce.

First, we are developing formulations that incorporate solventless live rosin and liquid diamonds paired with targeted effect profiles (such as energy, focus, sleep, and intimacy) so that each dose delivers both clean cannabinoid potency and an intentional, repeatable experience. Second, we are engineering strain-specific variations designed to translate the true terpene profile and sensory character of iconic cultivars, like Sour Diesel, into an instant dissolvable format. Third, we are printing precision-dosed THC wraps that can be rolled around any combustible flower, giving consumers an exact, measurable boost without forcing them to change how they already enjoy smoking.

All of these products are natural evolutions of our primary deposition platform. Looking at the wider edibles market, the category will continue shifting toward faster onset, reduced packaging mass, and formats that integrate cleanly into daily lifestyles. Ultimately, the operators who document their processes, maintain absolute batch consistency, and can seamlessly transfer production across state lines will be the ones who scale these innovations into lasting national brands.

Thank you for joining us, Ben! For more information on CannaPrints, please visit its website.