In this edition of "Rising High," The Fly conducted an exclusive interview with Jenny Montenegro, chief operating officer of Indus Holdings (INDXF), a California-based vertically-integrated cannabis company. Here are some of the highlights:
COO APPOINTMENT: Indus Holdings announced on June 16 that Montenegro, vice president of commercialization, had been promoted to the role of COO. In the position, she will oversee the cultivation, distribution, manufacturing and sales department of the company. When discussing what attracted her to Indus, the COO said she had a very holistic upbringing and has always been a strong believer in plant-based medicine. She added, however, that she did not seek out getting into the cannabis industry until she started learning about edibles and became interested in the industry. “I was particularly interested in Indus from having the ability to be involved in so many different businesses and categories,” she said. “The fact that we’re vertically-integrated and the ability to control, for the most part, the supply chain seemed like a really interesting aspect about the organization.” “This is a very dynamic industry, it changes all the time and your ability to pivot and be really nimble is key,” she said. “I think I bring that, in addition to that laser focus to always listen to how to improve and get better.” The COO added that she also expects to bring discipline and structure to the COO position. “I’m just thrilled to be part of the Indus team,” she said. “I’m excited to be in this role as I continue to pursue my passion for continuous improvement and work with each one of those departments to maximize efficiencies and excel the company’s trajectory just towards profitability.”
COMPETITIVE EDGE: When asked about the company’s key differentiators, Montenegro said Indus has been working hard on cultivation resulting in increased yields and higher potency levels. “That is one of the key areas, the fact that we are able to control the flower and the different ingredients all throughout the cultivation and extraction process as a byproduct of that cultivation,” she said. The COO added that the higher yields are also a competitive edge as the bulk market is currently incredibly strong. “For us to have access to this extra yield just puts us in a really good position, for us to not only sell our packaged flower and have ingredients for the rest of our extraction and edibles, but to also be able to claim that bulk market and have a strong position,” she said. Montenegro also noted that Indus is well-positioned from being a vertically-integrated cannabis company. “There’s a benefit to is the way that our organization runs,” she said. “We’re able to play in so many categories and I think we have key players and experts in those areas to really be able to maximize quality as well as increase efficiencies and profitability.”
EXPANSION: The COO said California-based Indus sees opportunities “closer to home” and remains focused on building its core capabilities of cultivation, extraction and manufacturing. “All of our facilities are within 5 miles from each other so the ability to have all of our team here and have access to all of that create those synergies,” she said, adding that Indus still sees so much opportunity to tap into within the state. “Right now, the focus is to maximize our possibilities here.”
LEGALIZATION: When asked about the potential of the U.S. federally legalizing cannabis, Montenegro said it is hard to predict but she believes the country is continuing to take steps in the right direction. “I’m hopeful that one day it will be legalized federally, I think we’re still a few years out,” she said. “I hope it will happen sooner than later, but I think that we’re definitely making strides to getting federally legal.”
FLOWER VS. DERIVATIVES: As cannabis products become more diverse, Montenegro said she expects the use of both flower and derivatives to continue, adding it is difficult forecast which delivery systems may become prominent. “The industry is still very young and there’s a lot people of that are still coming into the market, so I think it’s hard to make that assessment right now,” she said. “As people get introduced to a category they feel a lot more comfortable when it comes to an edible, but there’s so much and it could evolve to concentrates, a flower, what have you. It’s constantly evolving.”
CHALLENGES: When asked about the biggest challenges facing the industry, the COO said they are ever-changing but currently she sees testing as a main hurdle. “Consistency across labs is definitely a challenge,” she said. “The industry could benefit from having guidelines that could apply across the board so companies can have a better line of sight and understanding of the predictability of the testing.” Montenegro added Indus is developing some partnerships with key labs to collaborate for testing. “We’re able to work together to figure out what can we do on our end to make sure we’re setting ourselves up to succeed and how they could provide their expertise from a science standpoint to help us to deliver the product that will provide us that line of sight,” she said.
OPPORTUNITIES: As the cannabis space develops, Montenegro said Indus is focused on the opportunity of seeing how the far the company can go in California, particularly with cultivation. “I’m borderline giddy when I see the amount of our harvest and higher yield,” she said. “Starting with that and how we continue to grow by having increased supply, we’re really excited about that.” The COO said with the increased yield, the company is looking to branch out and continue to gain market share.
CORONAVIRUS: When asked about the impact the coronavirus outbreak has had, the COO said the pandemic really allowed Indus to see the strength of its team. “In California, we were one of the first states to go into shelter-in-place,” she said. “I think we’re very fortunate to have the team that we have and we were quickly able to react to put into place new rules.” Montenegro said Indus has implemented social distancing measures and focused on protecting the health of its employees during the coronavirus spread. “I think it’s a positive to see the strength and the nimbleness of the team to be able to work through that, especially the early stages of COVID,” she said. The COO also noted that as demand increased in certain categories during the pandemic, being able to have less people in the room posed a challenge in a way. “It really kind of pushed us to maximize our efficiencies and maximize our ability to do more with less while continuing to follow guidelines and keep everyone safe,” she said.
OTHER CANNABIS STOCKS: Other publicly-traded companies in the space include Akerna (KERN), Aleafia (ALEAF), Aphria (APHA), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Auxly Cannabis (CBWTF), Biome Grow (BIOIF), CannTrust (CTST), Canopy Growth (CGC), Canopy Rivers (CNPOF), Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Cronos Group (CRON), CV Sciences (CVSI), Delta 9 (VRNDF), DionyMed Brands (DYMEF), Elixinol Global (ELLXF), FluroTech (FLURF), General Cannabis (CANN), Green Thumb Industries (GTBIF), Greenlane (GNLN), GrowGeneration (GRWG), Harborside (HSDEF), HEXO (HEXO), Hemp Inc. (HEMP), India Globalization Capital (IGC), Indiva (NDVAF), Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR), ICC International Cannabis (WLDCF), Khiron Life Sciences (KHRNF), Liberty Health Sciences (LHSIF), MediPharm Labs (MEDIF), MedMen (MMNFF), Mjardin (MJARF), Neptune Wellness Solutions (NEPT), Organigram (OGI), Origin House (ORHOF), Planet 13 (PLNHF), Real Brands (RLBD), Sproutly (SRUTF), Sunniva (SNNVF), Supreme Cannabis (SPRWF), Tetra Bio-Pharma (TBPMF), Valens (VLNCF), Tilray (TLRY), Trulieve (TCNNF), Vireo Health (VREOF), Wayland Group (MRRCF), WeedMD (WDDMF), Westleaf (WSLFF), Wildflower Brands (WLDFF), YSS Corp. (YSSCF), Zynerba (ZYNE) and 4Front Ventures (FFNTF).
Indus Holdings
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APHA
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Aurora Cannabis
-0.53 (-3.88%)
CV Sciences
+ (+0.00%)
CannTrust
+ (+0.00%)
Canopy Growth
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Cronos Group
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Trees Corporation
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IGC Pharma
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Tilray
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Trulieve Cannabis
+ (+0.00%)
ZYNE
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