Harvest of Battle Creek partners with national company

A national cannabis company entered the Michigan market. 

Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. is strategically partnering with Harvest of Battle Creek, a medical marijuana provisioning center. Harvest of Battle Creek is licensing the Harvest brand name from HHR. It is the cannabis company’s first existing partnership in Michigan. 

Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. is one of the largest multistate cannabis operators with dispensaries in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, North Dakota and Pennsylvania. The company had between $350 million-$400 million pro forma revenue in 2019, according to a Harvest investor presentation.

“Harvest is always on the lookout for strong strategic partnerships in its existing and emerging markets that further Harvest’s vision of becoming the most valuable cannabis company in the world,” said Alex Howe, the head of corporate communications for HHR. “Harvest of Battle Creek is no different. Harvest-branded stores follow a consistent structure tying them to the physical location and community of which they are a part.”

Not all products sold at Harvest of BC are under the HHR brand, and Howe said they are selling all third-party products. Some of the products that are sold at Harvest of BC include a wide selection of flowers, concentrates, edibles, topicals and capsules.

HHR currently operates 31 open dispensaries and has rights to over 45 open dispensaries on a pro forma basis. Howe said under the licensing agreement, they will provide Harvest of BC with operational training and standard operating procedures so the Battle Creek location can leverage the company’s experience for their own use.

“HHR will be sending individuals from its corporate headquarters to help train the employees of Harvest of BC,” he said. “Based upon our experience in other states, HHR will be helping Harvest of BC to train its employees on cannabis and specific products, as well as how to provide best-in-class customer service.”

Along with training its employees, Harvest of BC recently formalized a commitment to Harvest’s proprietary CannApprove protocol, which is a set of testing and quality protocols developed and implemented that Harvest products must pass before they are allowed on store shelves.

According to HHR, the products are tested internally or in third-party laboratories for “toxic ingredients” such as vitamin E, caprylic acid, mineral oil, squalene, polyethylene glycol (PEG), propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin (VG), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) oils and triethyl citrate. 

The partnership with the Battle Creek provision center comes more than a month after the first adult-use recreational marijuana retail license was issued. 

"We're thrilled for this relationship to build our presence in Michigan at such an exciting time for the state's burgeoning medical marijuana market,” said Steve White, HHR CEO. “With the recent start of recreational sales, Harvest is in a prime position to contribute to the market's growth and success. Michigan's commitment to ensuring consumers have access to only the highest-quality products aligns perfectly with Harvest's mission, and we look forward to serving the Battle Creek community."