Bryan Gerber’s story shows how an unexpected customer need can reveal a larger market. After building Hemper into a successful cannabis subscription brand; his team recognized a serious supply gap and acted quickly. The resulting pivot toward cone manufacturing created new relationships with major operators and rolling paper companies.
For more than a decade, Bryan Gerber has been one of the most notable figures shaping the world of cannabis accessories and ancillary products. He is founder & CEO of Hara Supply, the largest manufacturer of cannabis cones and combustibles in the world, producing 100M+ cones monthly for the market’s largest MSOs, dispensaries and CPG brands. Dubbed the “King of Cones” by Forbes, Bryan oversees 9 facilities with over 4,000 employees, producing ~30% of all cones internationally.
Bryan is also the founder & CEO of five-time inc. 5000 company Hara Brands, a diversified cannabis accessory and lifestyle company that designs and sells innovative products for consumers and industry partners in the smoking market. Its brands include Hemper, Goody Glass, and Smokefiends, offering iconic monthly subscription boxes and a la cart shopping for core essentials dedicated to the smoking world, such as bongs, cones, bubblers, dab rigs, dab tools, grinders, rolling trays, vape pens, cleaning products, and more.
Company: HARA Supply
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company
Bryan Gerber: I am the CEO and co-founder of Hara Supply, the world’s leading manufacturer of cannabis cones and combustibles, and Hara Brands- a diversified cannabis accessory and lifestyle company. Through our portfolio of brands, including Hemper, Goody Glass, and Smokefiends, we offer a curated range of smoking essentials such as bongs, cones, bubblers, dab rigs, grinders, rolling trays, vape pens, and cleaning products, serving both consumers and industry partners.
What was the defining moment or challenge that prompted you to pivot your business model, and how did you recognize it was time for a change?
Bryan Gerber: Before Hara Supply (our cones manufacturing business), we were fully focused on Hemper, a subscription box for the cannabis industry. It was doing well, with tens of thousands of subscribers, in-house brands, and a growing retail presence- for a consumer brand we grew out of a dorm room, we were thrilled with its success up to that point. But the real turning point came when KushCo, a well known industry brand, called us with a $7M order which their supplier fell short on. That was a lightbulb moment: if a company of this caliber had such a massive need for reliable cones, the market was much bigger and underserved than we realized. We knew right away that this wasn’t just a one-off opportunity, but a chance to pivot into something that could transform our entire business trajectory.
Can you walk us through the most significant change you made to your business model and the immediate impact it had on your company’s trajectory?
Bryan Gerber: The biggest shift was not only a heightened focus on a new product category, but the sheer scale of operations we added. We were continuing to build the Hemper brand while pivoting towards becoming a global cones supplier with Hara Supply. The immediate impact was that we quickly secured some of the largest cannabis operators and rolling paper companies as our customers, which put us on a growth path that subscription boxes alone never could have. Suddenly, we were swimming in a much bigger pool than we had ever initially thought.
How did you convince your team, investors, or stakeholders to embrace such a dramatic shift, especially if it involved risk or uncertainty?
Bryan Gerber: We didn’t really have to twist anyone’s arm- the opportunity spoke for itself. KushCo put down a large deposit, which made it clear the demand was real and the risk was worth it. For our team, we framed it as less of a gamble and more of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we’d be crazy not to chase. It helped that we weren’t abandoning what we had already built with Hemper. The scale and urgency of this order made it clear the industry desperately needed a reliable supplier. Everyone could see that if we cracked the code on manufacturing cones, we’d have the chance to dominate a global market.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced during the pivot, and how did you overcome it to ensure the new model’s success?
Bryan Gerber: The hardest part was figuring out how to produce cones at scale under the right conditions. My co-founder, RJ Bhasin, toured factories in India and saw young workers under terrible conditions, using saliva as adhesive. That was never going to be okay for us. We started from scratch- set up our own factory, hired adult workers, enforced clean, safe conditions, and sourced high-quality paper directly from mills. As a result of our efforts, our facilities became the first in the cannabis industry to be ISO, GMP and Health Canada certified. It wasn’t easy, but by owning the process, we were able to scale quickly and meet the standards that our larger customers demanded.
Looking back, what’s one key lesson from your pivot experience that you’d share with other CEOs considering a major business model shift?
Bryan Gerber: Don’t shy away from opportunities that seem outside your original lane; sometimes those pivots are what could end up defining your company. When a door opens, you have to move fast, but you also need to make sure you control the key parts of your process so you’re not at the mercy of someone else. We leaned on our scrappiness to get started, but what sustained us was building the infrastructure to support massive demand. For any CEO, I’d say: don’t be afraid to leap, but make sure you build a foundation that can hold the weight of that leap.
