The Amazon of THC, How Edibles.com Will Take Cannabis National, ft. Thomas Winstanley

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Thomas Winstanley: It wasn't like I was coming into a system that was broken. It wasn't like I was coming into something that had a history that was going to play into the optics of what we were trying to do. It was kind of like, yeah, you get a clean slate, and that will always be a huge gift to me. It scared me to no end because I was like, are we really doing this? Like, we're going to build the weed platform. Bryan Fields: What's up, guys? Welcome back to another episode of The Dime. I'm Bryan Fields. With me, as always, is Kellan Finney, and this week we've got a very special guest, Thomas Winstanley of Edibles.com. Thomas, thanks for taking the time. How are you doing today? Thomas Winstanley: I'm great. Good to see you guys again. It's been a minute since Benzinga. Bryan Fields: Yeah, excited to have you here. Kellan, how are you doing? Kellan Finney: I'm doing really good, grateful to talk to Thomas today. How are you doing, Bryan? Bryan Fields: I'm stoked. We're going to pick Thomas's brain on the puzzle pieces, maybe try to get him to divulge some information about the forward-looking approach, but also have him help us make sense of this complicated puzzle piece he's currently putting together and what it all means. So, Thomas, before we get into the fun stuff, can you give a quick background on yourself and how you found your way to the cannabis space? Thomas Winstanley: Yeah. Well, I've always been a passionate advocate for the cannabis space, even before regulations existed. It's been something that, from my teenage years until present, has always been in my orbit. My background was in pharmaceutical marketing and advertising, then I moved into CPG, then alcohol and spirits, and then I came across Theory Wellness in 2018 and helped them grow from two medical stores in Massachusetts. By the time I left to come do the Edibles thing, we had about 18 dispensaries across seven states. It was an incredible time — the East Coast legalization movement was wild to be in the front seat of, and we were vertical, so we did everything from about 250 products across multiple states. We had the first automated beverage line in Massachusetts, built a great sub-brand called High Five, and really got a crash course in it. It was amazing — like my 15-year-old self would not believe what I get to do today. Going from cannabis into hemp was kind of like the next step in the journey, because you lose one set of handcuffs and then gain about 15 other sets. But it's all about total addressable market size, and for me it's about creating access to THC generally — whether through cannabis, which we did in spades, or now through hemp. It's the same mission, the same molecule, a lot of the same products. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be sitting in Edible Arrangements' offices, in an office filled with THC products, doing something like this. Still pretty wild. Bryan Fields: I want to get into all that, but first, for those who aren't familiar and can't visualize it — Edibles.com — what's the easiest way to explain what that is? Thomas Winstanley: Yeah, so we're a DTC wholesale marketplace of some of the best brands in the country, focused on gummies and beverages. We work with a lot of cannabis-native brands because they understand compliance risk, have a history of operating within regulations, and make great products. We're essentially collecting a portfolio of wonderful brands and products and trying to bring them to as many consumers as possible. Part of what helps with that mission is that people are starting to experiment — everyone in America at this point probably knows hemp exists and that you can buy it legally, which wasn't the case ten years ago. We want to help hand-hold and introduce people to this category, because it's super complicated. You see a brand like us that's focused on health and wellness, but then you also see these products in gas stations and liquor stores, and socially it doesn't quite connect. We're hoping to connect more of those dots for consumers than was previously available. Bryan Fields: Would you say if somebody was looking for a product but didn't know whether to go Wana, Wyld, or Kanha, they could come to Edibles.com and have all those options available to figure out what works? Is that the formulation concept? Thomas Winstanley: I'd almost reverse it. It's more like you come to the site and determine your desired outcome first. That's the lowest barrier to entry — most people trying these products aren't doing it to get high. They're looking for something to help them sleep, help them relax, maybe replace a glass of wine, or help with a hip injury or general comfort. Shopping based on outcome is step one, then step two is picking your flavor, your brand, your desired outcome, and testing products. One of my non-negotiables coming here was that if this was a get-rich-quick scheme to pump cash, I'm not the guy for that. I don't want a massive, unhealthy option menu. I'd rather condition consumers based on where they're at — don't walk into a bar and order three shots of Jack Daniels your first time drinking, and don't go to a weed or hemp website and immediately look for the highest dosage. Find the right fit for your lifestyle need. Kellan Finney: How do you curate the products you list on the site? Is there a specific protocol brands have to follow to get listed? Thomas Winstanley: A lot of it comes back to looking at the broad landscape. One thing hemp allows that cannabis doesn't is a far lower barrier to entry for product manufacturing, which means a proliferation of products that maybe aren't the best for you, without the same failsafes dispensary products have. When I first started, I was having people sign NDAs because I didn't want anyone to know what I was doing after leaving Theory. Two of the first people I talked to outside of Edible brands were Jake Bullock and Joe Hodas. I told Jake what we were doing and he was in immediately — I'd worked with him during the Theory days. Joe I'd known for a while too; Wana started around 2010, so they've been at it for 15 years, and guys like Mike Hennessy, who oversees their product development, are putting together incredible products. I did homework on use cases — why people come into this category — then figured out which brands are most relevant to service those buckets, brands people already recognize even if they're not intimately familiar with the products, like Wana, Wyld, or Kanha. From there it's pretty straightforward: I ask for samples, look at packaging, go through testing information, look at their history and distribution. I also have people here at Edible Brands who are great, unbiased product testers because they don't know these products — I'll hand someone a sleep gummy and ask if it works. We run everything through a heavy compliance audit, and I do say no to a lot of brands, which is tough for them to hear sometimes, but it might just mean 'not now, maybe in the future.' I'm always building the bench of who's next, looking at sales trends and buying patterns to figure out what else might resonate with customers. I don't want a 500-product, 15-page catalog like an overwhelming dispensary menu — I want to stay focused: fewer brands, larger reach. Over the next three to six months there are some wonderful brands that will be introduced. Bryan Fields: Why do you think they were so eager to join? What were they missing that you thought you could provide? Thomas Winstanley: I think it's similar to why I was interested myself. When Edible Brands first approached me about this, I actually said no at first — I wasn't sure how I felt about hemp. This was early 2024. But part of the allure is that Edible Brands, best known for Edible Arrangements, is a 25-year-old, privately owned and operated company with 700 retail stores and millions of customers. They have the name recognition and the infrastructure. Jake told me this felt like a bellwether moment, similar to when Total Wine entered the category — a signal the industry needs more of, showing how mainstream these products have become. I already knew Jake, Joe, and the folks at Kanha and Wyld from wholesaling. I think they also knew what I did at Theory was exciting, and that I was jumping in with both feet to build something that didn't exist yet. It wasn't a broken system I was inheriting, or one with a history that would affect the optics — it was a clean slate, which is a huge gift, even though it terrified me. We have yet to get a 'no' from a brand. Kellan Finney: The reason I ask is because there's a massive amount of trust involved — these are mega brands with huge reach who could've easily said no, but they recognized the vision and the opportunity of what this platform could become for getting eyeballs on their products and changing hearts and minds at scale. That part of the story shouldn't go unnoticed. Thomas Winstanley: Yeah, and I think that was a big part of it, because it's not like they don't already have DTC sales — they do. My pitch was always: I just want to help you sell more. I'm not trying to steal market share, I'm trying to help grow it. If we can offer a bigger total addressable market than they have on their own, let me try. In the best-case scenario, everybody wins — me, them, the platform, and the consumer. My success metric isn't hitting some topline revenue number; it's whether we're getting more customers access to these products, and better access to a slightly better mousetrap. Bryan Fields: That's a wild brief for anybody to take on. Thomas Winstanley: It's fun. You've got a platform and the opportunity to go left, right, up, or down — whatever the data, internal metrics, and gut tell you about gaps in the market. Kellan Finney: I want to ask about market share cannibalization, because you've got well-established brands, and even as an edible consumer myself, I don't know how to choose between all my favorites. Do any of the brands tell you they'd rather not be listed next to a competitor? Thomas Winstanley: Yes and no. They'll say things like, 'you should get these things from us, but maybe not those things from that other brand,' and I'll just note it and make the call myself. There's some gaming of the process — I look at sales numbers daily, see who's moving well and who isn't, and figure out how to support underperforming brands, maybe by restructuring the landing page or bestsellers section. The great thing is that we're still so early in this category's national trajectory that nobody's really fighting each other yet. The street fights are coming — I think beverages will get bloody in the next 12 to 18 months. Hemp is on the verge of a funding winter, because going national and landing a PO from a national retailer requires a lot of capital, not just to fill the order but to market it and fight for shelf space, where price compression becomes the greatest inevitability, especially in beverages. I've looked at brand pro formas, and I ask where their price reductions are built into their five-year plan — a lot of them assume they'll stay above market rate forever, which isn't realistic once retailers start capping shelf space. Bryan Fields: Are you guys holding inventory, or is it drop-shipped? How does fulfillment actually work? Thomas Winstanley: We do it two ways — we send product to our last-mile stores, or to our fulfillment center. We just launched national shipping about a month ago. Edible Brands has a supply chain company called Berry Direct, and I fly out to their warehouse in Indiana to walk their team through how I want things run. So I didn't have to spin up an entire national supply chain and distribution network from scratch. Kellan Finney: That's a huge advantage — not having to build your own fulfillment infrastructure nationally. Thomas Winstanley: Right, though I still always ask if I can get a better deal elsewhere — I want to keep it in the family, but I reserve the right to look at other fulfillment options. The economy of scale is a real advantage here: our facility handles perishables for 700 retail locations nationwide, and we work with a national shipping partner at really advantageous rates. I work closely with our head of supply chain, Jack, and it lets us scale as much as we want. I know my square footage today, what I can get to in six to twelve months, and I look at my product roadmap — we have about 35 SKUs now, maybe 50 by next quarter, maybe 100 by the end of next year. Having supply chain and fulfillment down the hall makes this so much easier than it would be for someone starting from scratch. Kellan Finney: Do you think that existing relationship with a national shipping company also eased regulatory concerns? Thomas Winstanley: Somewhat, yeah. Working with national brands and partners gives us a bit more of a shared risk appetite. Some brands also have restrictions on where their products can be sold — for example, if a brand's cannabis-side partner has an exclusive co-pack agreement in a certain state, they'll ask us not to sell there, and that's fine with me. I genuinely like all the people we work with — there's not a single brand relationship that's been a pain. Bryan Fields: This is where the internal resources Edible Brands provides become a massive advantage — everyone else is scaling their own supply chain with all its limitations, while you already have a connected network. Thomas Winstanley: Yeah, and honestly, it's better when people want to be with us. When I go to conferences, people come out of the woodwork wanting me to try their products, and sometimes I pass because it feels like a solution to a problem nobody has. Kellan Finney: Don't knock it until you try it. Thomas Winstanley: Sometimes it is a little sketchy — someone will say, 'try this new technology nobody's tried before,' and I'll take it and immediately regret it. Bryan Fields: Sounds like they're drugging you in a back alley. Thomas Winstanley: [laughs] No, but generally it lets me discover brands I never would have expected to be exceptional. When I see brands doing heavier CBD-to-THC ratios instead of flat 5 or 10 milligram gelatin gummies, that's exciting to me — as my own consumption changes, maybe I don't need straight THC anymore. I'd love to bring visibility to brands making wholesome, well-considered products instead of just throwing distillate into a gummy. Bryan Fields: Has your team considered taking an equity stake in some of these brands and providing distribution, marketing, and other support? Thomas Winstanley: Yeah, we have. That's part of why I look at pro formas. I have a lot of trust with our CEO, Somia Fared, who's learning a ton about the category. Beverages feel like a riskier investment to me right now because of expected price compression and inflated pro formas. On the product and gummy side, the lens is different — I loved building products at Theory, and for us the question becomes: is taking a minority stake in another company worth it, or do we build another profit center that diversifies Edibles.com's own reach? That's more interesting to me right now than an equity play. Bryan Fields: Has there been thought about brick and mortar? Thomas Winstanley: For sure. I love what Kim over at Soberish is doing — it's amazing. Retail is one of the best complements to this category because it lets consumers engage with the brand in a different form factor than e-commerce. In the dispensary world, customers gravitate toward the one person who gave them a great experience, and their lifetime value grows from there. That one-on-one engagement is hard to replicate online, even with agentic AI down the road. We're building a flagship retail store — I'm keeping the name Edibles.com Retail Store — and building it capital-light and lean, forecasting revenue per square foot rather than total topline. I learned from dispensary retail that not every store needs to be an 'Apple store' experience; sometimes the goal should just be clean and transactional. Kellan Finney: Have you tapped into Edible Arrangements' CRM and customer database for the store? Was there a specific audience you leaned into first? Thomas Winstanley: We haven't pulled feedback from the Edible Arrangements audience specifically — every time I ask them to send an email on my behalf, it has an economic impact on the other business, so I want to be respectful of that and not build a company reliant on someone else's success. For retail, I always felt there was a major gap in cannabis — historically you had to be a certain demographic to even get a cannabis retail license. Our approach opens up a longer-term opportunity, contingent on policy, where for a fraction of the cost of a dispensary license, you could open a 'dispensary-light' model with a lot of the same products within the gaps of federal policy. If the stars align, franchising Edibles.com retail locations would be an incredible unlock. We're not doing it next year, but we're building the path so we could say yes if the opportunity comes. Bryan Fields: What about the existential risk in the hemp industry — does Edible Arrangements as a company fully recognize that, and are there internal conversations about the uncertainty of the regulatory landscape? Thomas Winstanley: All the time. Early on, every time a policy headline dropped, I'd get five messages asking if it affected us. One of the first things I asked for when I joined was a budget for outside counsel — people were surprised, but we needed to go all-in on compliance. I instituted an internal flagging system: green flags we don't worry about, yellow flags that could go either way, and red flags that are genuinely concerning — Ohio was a recent red flag example. I do a lot of our government relations work, I lobby, and I'm an executive at the US Hemp Roundtable alongside Jim Higdon, who helps educate me on policy nuance. Our chief legal officer, Doug Knox, helps me build risk assessments that we present to Somia so she understands exactly what risk we're taking on and why. We're also members of the Hemp Beverage Alliance, and we do private meetings with policymakers — I've given testimony alongside Congressman James Comer at a roundtable with the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association. Not every brand takes compliance and advocacy as seriously as we do, but I think they should, because that's how you actually fight for the category's future. Kellan Finney: It must be tough internally — you build a quarter's roadmap and infrastructure, and then something spontaneous and random sideswipes the whole plan. Thomas Winstanley: We're constantly baking in contingencies. We chose Georgia for our retail store partly because it has a defined state framework for hemp sales — low risk. I try to condition the team here to understand we're not Edible Arrangements, which is like a tanker ship in the deep ocean — we're a dinghy in the bay that can quickly row out of the way. Texas was our beta test market, and we dodged a bullet there — we had a full contingency plan mapped out for what would happen if that market went dark, including messaging to customers and operators. It's the same redundancy thinking you'd apply in cannabis, or even selling strawberries — if one vendor has an issue, you have others lined up. Bryan Fields: The internal balancing act must be strange — a headline reads one way, but internally you already know it's not really what's happening. Thomas Winstanley: I don't even freak out anymore. I'm desensitized to risk at this point — if something happens, we pivot to plan B, and vice versa. Bryan Fields: Was navigating federal hemp policy testimony on your original job description? Thomas Winstanley: [laughs] Definitely not. Part of it is also having a strong network — since we're a wholesale marketplace, I can call other brands and get a gut check on how they're reading a new regulation in Florida or an FDA product quarantine issue, and there's a real freedom of information across the industry that helps everyone. Kellan Finney: So what would success look like for you six months from now? Thomas Winstanley: There are performance metrics I'm excited to keep chasing — I've been talking with our chief digital officer, Erica Randerson, who runs Edible Arrangements' e-commerce, about the KPIs we want to track now that we're operating on all cylinders. I'm excited to see how the retail store performs and whether it becomes a real barometer for growth, though we could walk away from it if it doesn't work and just move to the next thing. There are also some bigger e-commerce and DTC engagement projects I can't go into detail on yet that I'm excited about. Retail expansion is something I'm hopeful for, though I'm not betting everything on it. Portfolio expansion is one of the most exciting things to test — what happens when we start introducing new categories of products beyond what we currently offer. Early on, people internally wondered why they'd hired 'the weed guy,' and now they see the vision. We're still in the early innings — the operational groundwork has been really hard, but now that it's largely built, we get to focus on the things that actually excite me. Bryan Fields: I'm excited to watch and see which of these levers you pursue — there are clearly some good ones in the pipeline. Thomas, for our listeners who want to learn more or get in touch, where can they find you? Thomas Winstanley: First, Edibles.com — that's our website. You can find me on LinkedIn as Thomas Winstanley. Our social handles are being reset right now — we've been without them for about two weeks — so don't go looking for us on social just yet, but we should have new ones up within a week or so. Bryan Fields: Always a pleasure. Thanks for taking the time — this was a lot of fun. Thomas Winstanley: Yeah, cheers.