The Importance of Ancillary Cannabis-Related Businesses and Cannabis Brands

Emerald Intel has long been known for its accurate, comprehensive insights into the licensed cannabis industry. Now, with the launch of its newest dataset focused on ancillary Cannabis Related Businesses (CRBs) and cannabis brands, Emerald is expanding its view of the industry’s full ecosystem — from operators to the vendors, service providers, and brand houses that power it.

We sat down with John Stanfill, CEO and Co-Founder of Emerald Intel, to talk about what this new data means for the industry, how it supports growth across the supply chain, and what’s next for Emerald Intel.

Q1: John, why did Emerald Intel decide to expand into ancillary Cannabis Related Businesses and brands?

John Stanfill: “Reliable, accurate data is at the core of what we do—but understanding the cannabis industry means looking beyond just license holders. The cannabis ecosystem is complex — you’ve got licensed operators, of course, but also a massive network of vendors, service providers, and brand houses fueling the industry. By expanding into ancillary Cannabis Related Businesses and cannabis brands, we’re giving our users a more complete, 360-degree view of the market. Ultimately, we want to help sales and marketing professionals better understand and personalize their messaging and approach to win new business—and that can’t happen when you’re looking at only a small sliver of the total industry.” 

Q2: What exactly is included in this new dataset?

John Stanfill: “We’ve added more than 7,000 CRBs and locations, and over 37,000 decision makers tied to those companies. That’s in addition to our existing dataset of over 45,000 licensed cannabis businesses and 100,000 verified contacts.

Our profiles include details like ownership structure, parent-child hierarchies, verified contact info, and even social media profiles and compliance data. Essentially, it’s the connective tissue of the cannabis supply chain — the companies and people driving the industry behind the scenes.”

Q3: How do you define an ancillary Cannabis Related Business, or CRB?

John Stanfill: “An ancillary Cannabis Related Business is any company that provides goods or services to licensed operators. That can range from banking, insurance, and legal services, to cultivation products, infrastructure, technology, and packaging. These companies are critical — they’re the ones enabling the growth, compliance, and innovation we see across the market.

What’s been missing until now is reliable visibility into who those businesses are and who runs them. That’s exactly what this dataset delivers.”

Q4: And how about cannabis brands — how does that fit into the picture?

John Stanfill: “Brands are the public face of cannabis. We profile thousands of cannabis brands across flower, pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, beverages, and topicals, covering all regulated markets in the U.S. and Canada.

But we go beyond surface info — we map out parent-subsidary relationships, ownership ties, and the verified contacts for key decision makers. That kind of insight helps sales and marketing teams engage effectively and efficiently with the right people.”

Q5: What benefits does this new dataset provide to Emerald Intel users?

John Stanfill: “It’s about context and opportunity. Our users — from software providers and financial services to packaging companies and brand consultants — need a clear understanding of who’s in the industry and how they’re connected.

With the ancillary CRB and brand dataset, they can now identify potential customers, partners, or investors across the full value chain. Whether you’re selling into the industry or serving licensed operators, this data helps you find and connect with decision makers faster, with less guesswork.”

Q6: How does this expansion strengthen Emerald Intel’s position in the market?

John Stanfill: “Emerald Intel already provides the most complete and verified view of licensed cannabis operators in North America. By adding ancillary Cannabis Related Businesses and cannabis brands, we’ve essentially closed the loop — no other platform provides this level of connected intelligence across both licensed and ancillary segments.

This expansion makes Emerald Intel the go-to data partner for anyone selling into, or operating within, the cannabis industry.”

Q7: What sets Emerald Intel’s ancillary Cannabis Related Business and brand data apart from other data providers?

John Stanfill: “Depth and verification. Every profile in Emerald Intel’s database is re-verified regularly. We connect the dots between license data, business registrations, and contact-level intelligence, ensuring what you see is accurate and actionable. To date, no other data provider has been able to connect brands directly to licenses—we’re the first—and it’s a game-changer.

Plus, we integrate directly with HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho CRM, and even offer a Chrome Extension, so users can seamlessly bring our intelligence into their existing workflows. It’s not just about data — it’s about making that data usable and powerful for real business growth.”

Q8: What kind of companies benefit most from this new data?

John Stanfill: “Anyone selling into the cannabis space. That includes ancillary providers like software companies, consultants, marketing agencies, and packaging suppliers. But also licensed operators looking to benchmark, source vendors, or identify partnership opportunities.

We’ve already seen interest from investors and research firms, too, who use this data to understand market dynamics and emerging brand activity.”

Q9: What trends are you seeing among ancillary Cannabis Related Businesses and cannabis brands right now?

John Stanfill: “One big trend is consolidation and specialization. We’re seeing ancillary CRBs evolve from general service providers to niche experts — think compliance-focused software, energy-efficient infrastructure, or specialized packaging.

On the brand side, it’s all about differentiation and regional growth. Brands are becoming more sophisticated with data-driven marketing and multi-state expansion. Having verified information on those players helps our clients stay ahead of where the market is moving.”

Q10: What’s your long-term vision for Emerald Intel and this new dataset?

John Stanfill: “Our vision is to be the definitive source of truth for the cannabis industry — a single platform where anyone doing business in cannabis can understand who’s who, how they’re connected, and where the opportunities are.

This new dataset on ancillary Cannabis Related Businesses and cannabis brands is a major step toward that goal. The cannabis industry is evolving fast, and accurate intelligence is what enables growth, compliance, and collaboration. We’re proud to be powering that progress.”

Closing Thoughts

Emerald Intel’s expansion into ancillary Cannabis Related Business and cannabis brand data underscores its role as the connective intelligence platform for the cannabis industry. By shining light on the vendors, service providers, and brand houses driving growth across the supply chain, Emerald Intel continues to help businesses uncover opportunity — and make smarter, faster, more confident decisions in a rapidly evolving market.

Interested in learning more about Emerald Intel's newest datasets covering ancillary CRBs and cannabis brands? Learn more by requesting a demo.