Q&A: Sensi Brands CEO Tony Giorgi on Leadership, Culture and Global Expansion

Tony Giorgi, CEO of Canada-based Sensi Brands Inc., discusses the company’s
growth and strategies in an interview with Eugenio Garcia, founder and CEO
of Cannabis Now. Launched in January of 2020, Sensi Brands has achieved
significant success with innovative products like multi-pack and infused
pre-rolls, leading to a significant market penetration in Canada. The
company operates five distribution paths, including wholesale distribution,
CPG brands distribution, medical cannabis clinic, national medical cannabis
marketplace, and a retail farm gate store. Despite market challenges, Sensi
Brands recently acquired a state-of-the-art facility capable of producing
110,000 kilos annually, aiming for global expansion, particularly in the
U.S., EU and AUS markets.

As we kick off 2026, Giorgi offers business advice to fellow entrepreneurs
and delves into the Sensi Brands work culture, along with the company’s big
goals for the future.
Tony Giorgi at Sensi Brands’ new facility.

*Eugenio Garcia: To start, tell us about your background as an
entrepreneur.*

*Tony Giorgi: *I’ve earned a bit of a reputation here in Canada for being a
serial startup specialist, taking companies literally from ideation to full
production and commercial operations. I’ve built six companies over the
last 30 years. The first four were in technology. The largest transaction
was a company called Q9 Networks, where we built highly secure and
system-redundant data centers housing the computing infrastructure and data
for the likes of banks and government, supporting their mission-critical
data applications. That company sold to Bell Canada in 2012 for $1.2
billion.

Post that, I co-founded a digital transformation company called K2 Digital
targeting the financial services vertical. I got introduced to the senior
leadership team of MedReleaf. MedReleaf was one of Canada’s first medical
cannabis companies…I had met them in 2015, and by 2016 the master grower
had resigned his role and we started up what became the Flowr Corporation
out of Kelowna, BC.

And so, the Flwr Corporation was my first foray into cannabis. We built the
largest indoor facility in the country. It quickly became renowned for
being one of the best-quality facilities in the country. I took the company
public in September of 2018 and at that point I stepped down to go focus on
building what now is today known as Sensi Brands.

*EG: And what’s been your approach to building Sensi Brands?*

*TG:* Sensi Brands started off in 2020. We took a very unique approach to
the market because, if you recall, everybody that got into the cannabis
industry—whether it was south of the border or whether it was in
Canada—everybody took the approach of wanting to become the largest
cultivator or the largest extractor. The example that we always give is
that we’d be sitting here in our offices, and the next licensed producer
would go on LinkedIn and say, “Woo hoo. We just got our license, and we’re
launching a soccer mom brand.” And we went to look at what a soccer mom
brand is, and they were underpinning it with a 22% indica strain that would
put a soccer mom through the soccer parking lot. There’s a whole evolution
and strategy and process to developing a brand. And unfortunately, in the
cannabis industry, the entire process was completely orphaned. People were
just making stuff up, and their brands were failing. There were no real
brands that were gaining market share, or any type of loyalty to the brand
because of the poor execution of those brands.

So we launched Station House, our first brand. We pioneered the first
multi-pack pre-roll in Canada that was offered in 6, 12, 18 and 24 pack
configurations. When we launched, nobody at the time was doing multi-packs.
In fact, the majority of licensed producers were using undesirable product
or oversupply for the purposes of putting up KPI numbers for yields, which
would then inevitably be either destroyed, burnt or would be milled and
used for pre-rolls.

*EG: What is it that makes those pre-rolls so compelling for consumers?*

*TG:* We took a very serious approach to pre-rolls, perfecting how to make
them. None of the automation equipment, even to this day, scales
appropriately to be cost-effective on making pre-rolls. We’ve tested a vast
majority of the pre-roll automation technology and realized that we needed
to come up with our own automation process. We believe we make the best
pre-rolls today. But not only that, we use the best paper. We only use
single-strain whole flower. We don’t blend lots. We don’t use trim or any
other waste material. It’s all high-quality, single-strain flower that we
then mill to multiple specifications so that we know that the granular mill
inputs fit much tighter together, which gives us a better burn. And on top
of all that, everything is quality assured and hand-finished by our
employees. You’re getting the best quality burning pre-roll underpinned
with the best quality cannabis input. With that strategy and launching it
into a multi-pack, we very quickly became the number one multi-pack player
in the country.

*EG: Well,* *you look like a man who should be smiling, and also a man
who’s been working really hard at something really special, with a
crackerjack team. Before you were a serial entrepreneur, where did you get
your foundation for business? Did it come naturally? Did you have a mentor?
Was it schooling? *

*TG: *Honestly, my family. I would say that my business acumen is all
grassroots street smarts, negotiation. I’ve been working since I was 13
years old—got my first paper route at 10, you know, I did the whole
McDonald’s and Burger King and fast food, but it was just always hustling,
always negotiating.

I’m a salesman at heart. So when I started building my first company, it
was really through a sales-driven lens. And then, of course, over the last
30 years, I’ve been able to really sharpen my skills in terms of business
acumen and learning how to run a very effective business.

*EG: Is there a secret sauce to it all?*

*TG: *Look, we’re immigrants—we love to work. We don’t know anything
different. And so we work hard, long days. At the end of the day, it’s just
learning those skill sets and how to run a business over time. There are
three pillars that I would highly encourage any business person across any
business and industry to focus on. It all comes down to three things:
Innovate. Make sure that you’ve got the best products that you’re proud to
stand behind, that will be highly desired. Automate. Make sure that you
automate the shit out of everything, so that you reduce your cost
structures as low as you possibly can, and outshine everybody. And lastly,
you execute. I’ve kind of lived by those three pillars, and that’s kind of
what’s made Sensi Brands, in my opinion, one of the best standing cannabis
companies in Canada today.
[image: Sensi Brands team]Sensi Brands employees on a team outing.

*EG: You’ve talked about the long days it takes to build a company at this
scale—what kind of culture have you built at Sensi Brands, and how do you
keep your team energized and invested?*

*TG:* We’ve built an incredible culture—culture’s everything. This entire
company is made up of family and friends. The theory was, “How cool would
it be if I could build a company that attracted people that I genuinely
like spending time with o that when I walk into the office every day I get
a big smile on my face because I’m working with the people that I genuinely
love, that genuinely make me laugh, and are playing at the top of their
game in their respective discipline. The company is made up of trusted
people who are playing at the top of their game and are near and dear to me.

*EG: Love that.* *What are you smoking on there? And how important is it
for you to actually understand the product that you’re producing? Because,
quite frankly, a lot of people in your position, and it’s not a negative,
but they don’t understand the product, and they don’t consume the product.*

*TG:* Oh, my God, I love the question. What a great question. I’m a big,
big believer that you need to eat your own dog food. Years ago, I was an
experimental weed smoker. When I launched the Flwr Corporation, I went all
in. So I’m a certified cannabis sommelier—I’ve got my level one and level
two sommelier certification. Today, I consume daily—anywhere from four to
eight joints a day. I intimately understand what the product does, and
quite frankly, I don’t know how any CEO could be effective in any industry
if they’re not consuming and understanding and experimenting with their own
product. Our entire senior leadership team is certified as cannabis
sommeliers. We’re all active consumers. We all eat our own dog food.

And to answer your question, I am religiously loyal to Amnesia Haze, Ghost
Train Haze—it’s my favorite strain. I only smoke sativas. I find through my
experience in smoking that indica’s to me are very medical focused and very
sedative experiences where a sativa that I’m having right now I can
function and it actually inspires me and gives me energy. I’m all in to
making sure that I understand our product as well or as better, than any
other CEO in the industry, which I think gives us a competitive advantage,
because I’m the one leading our discussions in the R&D room, and we are
innovating things because I know exactly what the product’s going to do. We
currently distribute have 365+ SKUS across Canada, and I have formulated
every single product, from our pre-rolls and how we infuse them and how we
coat them, to all the formulations for all of our vapes, to being
personally responsible for launching one of the world’s first THC oral
pouch. All of that I’ve done on my own, and I would not have been able to
do any of that without being a consumer and a sommelier and somebody who’s
experienced with the product.
[image: Potluck Chillows]Sensi Brands has launched the one of the world’s
first oral THC pouch, a testament to their innovation and continued drive
to continue pushing boundaries.

*EG:* *I know that Canada has very serious restrictions on packaging, on
advertising. How have you guys transcended that obstacle and effectively
marketed your products to have the success that you’ve had in retail?*

*TG:* I think it comes down to, again, innovating products that resonate
with consumers. In terms of marketing, we are very restricted by
HealthCanada Regulations, so we tend to lean on the quality of product.
We’ve also done an incredible job in all of our trade marketing materials,
digital promotions, as well as executing at the major trade conferences.

*EG: You mentioned the massive export business you have with Australia. How
big is the international potential and focus for you guys? *

*TG: * So, couple things: One, we have been working with a tolling partner
over the past couple of years, and been distributing and selling product
into Australia. Now that we have our own EU GMP (European Union Good
Manufacturing Practice) license, we are now able to sell directly into
international markers. We recently signed a $5 million deal today for
product going into Germany. The EU markets are sizable with expansion into
UK, Poland, Spain with France around the corner. The EU market is massive,
and we think with the quality of our supply, we should be able to sell well
into those markets.

We’re looking to enter the US market. I don’t want to say too much more on
that, because I want to get further down into the process before we
divulge. But we are definitely targeting the US, entering with our brands
Station House and Potluck.
[image: Sensi Brands cannabis facility]A bird’s-eye view of Sensi Brands’
new state-of-the-art facility.

*Eugenio Garcia: In the next three to five years, where do you see Sensi
Brands landing—and how do you view the broader global cannabis landscape:
accelerating opportunity or continued pushback?*

*TG:* Where we’re going to be is hard to tell. But the goal is that we’re
going to be one of the last few standing. I think we built up an incredible
company. Our pipeline of new products is extensive, and we’re excited for
some of the new products that we’re launching. I think the walls are going
to come down to the US. It looks like Mr. Trump intimated that he’s
starting to remove those barriers. And I think once the US opens, it’s
going to create a massive opportunity for the entire cannabis industry as
whole to which I hope that Sensi Brands and our brands will participate in,
so huge expectations with the US opportunity and same goes for the European
markets and international markets.

At some point, I think there’s going to be a lot of consolidation. It’s
already happening…We hope to be one of the companies that has a meaningful
market share and recognized as a global and trusted brand of cannabis
products.

Our dream and goal is to be able to walk into a German dispensary or an
Australian dispensary, or a Spain dispensary and see Potluck and Station
House products available for sale and being promoted in those markets in
particular.

The post Q&A: Sensi Brands CEO Tony Giorgi on Leadership, Culture and
Global Expansion appeared first on Cannabis Now.