Key Takeaways
- Jeff Freeman connects cannabis to his family history and business philosophy, emphasizing problem-solving over branding in the industry.
- MFused has generated nearly $700 million in retail sales, focusing on customer needs and understanding the retail ecosystem.
- Freeman critiques the cannabis industry for prioritizing vanity over sell-through success, advocating for responsible inventory management.
- The company prepares for a more regulated industry by leveraging technology, data, and community partnerships, particularly in California.
- Freeman plans to document his personal and business journey, aiming to inspire others while expanding MFused into a national brand.
For Jeff Freeman, cannabis is not simply an industry. It is deeply connected to his family history, his personal experience and the business philosophy that has shaped MFused, the cannabis vape company he co-founded.
Freeman, who serves as MFused’s co-founder and chief creative officer, recently discussed the company’s approach to product development, retail strategy and expansion on Branding Like a Boss, hosted by brand strategist Angela Pih.
His central argument is straightforward: Cannabis brands should spend less time selling the idea of a brand and more time solving problems for consumers, retailers and the people working at the point of sale.
“We’re obsessed with the customer,” Freeman said during the interview. “Everything from mapping out the customer journey … to making commercial adult-use products” has informed the company’s approach.
According to Freeman, MFused has generated nearly $650 million in retail sales historically, with the business funded through customer purchases rather than outside capital. He said the figure was approaching $700 million at the time of the interview.
Those figures were presented by Freeman and were not independently verified as part of the interview.
From Family Tragedy to Cannabis Entrepreneurship
Freeman describes himself as an “accidental multi-generational cannabis operator.”
His connection to the industry began with tragedy. His father was murdered in a drug deal when Freeman was young, an experience that initially pushed him away from drugs and cannabis altogether.
Growing up with a disabled mother, Freeman said he focused heavily on academics and initially viewed sports as his route toward changing his circumstances.
His relationship with cannabis changed in his early twenties, when his mother encouraged him to investigate medical marijuana and its potential therapeutic applications.
At first, Freeman was skeptical.
“I didn’t see any valid testing or consistency,” he said, recalling his early exposure to the emerging medical cannabis market.
Rather than walk away, however, he decided to investigate the industry himself.
That decision eventually led him and his co-founders, Adam and Young, to begin experimenting with cannabis extraction and vaporization technology in a Seattle garage.
Freeman says the company was among the first to develop a cannabis vape product, initially as a medical product.
The early business was far removed from the scale of today’s cannabis industry. The founders experimented with extraction equipment and tested different approaches to creating products that could deliver more consistent experiences.
For Freeman, the underlying objective became larger than simply selling cannabis.
It was about creating products that could provide consumers with greater control over their experience.
Building Around the Customer
MFused’s strategy has been shaped by what Freeman describes as an obsession with understanding the entire cannabis retail ecosystem.
That ecosystem includes far more people than the end consumer.
Freeman breaks the retail environment into four layers: executives and owners, managers and buyers, operational employees such as budtenders, and the consumer.
Each group has different objectives.
Owners care about profitability, traffic and the financial performance of their stores. Managers focus on inventory, operations and sales. Budtenders want products they can understand, explain and confidently recommend. Consumers ultimately want products that deliver value and an experience that meets their expectations.
The distinction has influenced how MFused approaches sales.
Rather than simply attempting to convince retailers to carry more products, Freeman said the company analyzes factors such as pricing, inventory, velocity and average order value.
The goal is to understand how products actually perform after they reach the shelf.
“We started really getting obsessed with price bands and velocity,” Freeman said.
That approach has also influenced the company’s product development.
Instead of beginning with the question of what MFused wants to sell, Freeman said the company begins with the problems faced by retailers and consumers.
“We started to sell solutions,” he said.
Choosing Victory Over Vanity
One of Freeman’s strongest criticisms of the cannabis industry is what he describes as “selling vanity over victory.”
In his view, brands can become overly focused on large orders, flashy marketing campaigns or products that sound innovative without adequately considering whether those products will sell through.
He offered one example involving a major cannabis operator that wanted to purchase approximately $500,000 worth of CBD products.
Freeman said he reduced the order to approximately $250,000 because his analysis indicated the larger quantity would take roughly six months to sell.
Rather than accept a large purchase order, he argued that MFused had a responsibility to ensure the retailer could actually sell the inventory.
“If you give somebody something … that’s not associated to their particular store’s economics or customer base,” Freeman said, “you’re creating a problem.”
The philosophy reflects a broader emphasis on sell-through rather than sell-in.
A brand can generate a large wholesale order, but if products remain on dispensary shelves, the apparent success of that initial sale can be misleading.
MFused has increasingly used vendor-managed inventory, or VMI, to monitor product velocity and help retailers determine how much inventory they need.
Freeman said approximately 70% of the company’s business operates through VMI, with sales teams using point-of-sale information to develop demand plans.
The company also provides account health and profitability reports to retail partners, according to Freeman.
Turning Retail Data Into Product Strategy
The company’s focus on retail economics extends into its approach to product development.
Freeman said MFused evaluates products based on factors including cost, market opportunity, product-market fit and the unique value proposition offered to consumers.
The company’s leadership also includes engineering expertise, allowing the team to deconstruct products and analyze their components, manufacturing requirements and costs.
That approach has led to extensive testing of hardware and formulations.
For vape products, Freeman said the company evaluates factors including vapor quality, vapor density, terpene retention and dosing.
Dosing is particularly important to Freeman because of his early interest in medical cannabis.
He sees controlled dosing as a way to make cannabis consumption more predictable and accessible, particularly for consumers who may not want an overwhelming experience.
“Microdosing allows you to demystify this whole thing,” Freeman said.
The Science and Art of Cannabis Formulation
While hardware receives considerable attention in the vape category, Freeman believes formulation and terpene development are often underestimated.
He compares the process to mixology.
Rather than treating a single terpene source or extraction type as inherently superior, MFused experiments with different terpene sources and combinations to create distinct flavor and sensory profiles.
The company works across several product categories, including high-potency products, cured resin and rosin formulations, as well as wellness-oriented ratios.
Freeman said the objective is not simply to create products that are technically different, but products that provide consumers with distinct experiences.
Hardware, formulation, temperature, vapor quality and terpene composition all contribute to that experience, he said.
The company’s approach also reflects a broader philosophy about intellectual property.
Freeman argues that proprietary technology is valuable when it produces a meaningful improvement for consumers or creates a sustainable competitive advantage — not simply because a company can claim ownership of a patent.
“Building things that are proprietary just to be able to say that you have a patent on something is … vanity,” he said.
For MFused, the more meaningful advantage can be the process itself: how products are formulated, manufactured, tested and refined.
Preparing for a More Regulated Industry
Freeman also expects regulatory changes to increase the importance of technology, testing and intellectual property across cannabis.
He pointed to potential federal regulatory developments and increased scrutiny of formulations and devices as reasons companies should prepare for a more sophisticated operating environment.
That preparation is partly informed by MFused’s earlier work with medical cannabis.
Freeman said one of the company’s earlier sister businesses worked with respiratory practitioners, physicians, PhDs and other specialists to investigate cannabis formulations and their effects.
Some of those learnings, he said, have influenced MFused’s adult-use product development.
The company’s approach is therefore built around continual experimentation rather than a single product formula.
“We’re always chasing an edge,” Freeman said.
A Bootstrapped Alternative to the MSO Model
MFused’s financial history is another important part of Freeman’s narrative.
He emphasizes that the company has grown without the outside capital that has characterized much of the cannabis industry’s expansion.
That has meant a slower, more operationally focused path.
Freeman said the company had to spend years building its infrastructure and retail relationships before expanding aggressively into new markets.
That experience, he argues, has created a different kind of discipline.
Instead of prioritizing rapid expansion at all costs, the company has periodically slowed its growth to reinforce its operational foundation and strengthen its leadership team.
Freeman sees that patience as central to what he calls the “infinite game” — a long-term approach focused on building a durable company rather than maximizing short-term visibility.
He also describes MFused as a minority-owned business and said the company has intentionally focused on building career opportunities for its employees.
For Freeman, business success includes seeing employees purchase homes, start families and develop careers.
California Becomes the Next Test
MFused currently operates in five markets, according to Freeman, with additional states planned.
One of the company’s biggest upcoming moves is its planned entry into California.
Freeman described California as perhaps the most important U.S. market for cannabis brand visibility and credibility, even as he acknowledged the market’s complexity and competition.
MFused plans to enter the state with a local legacy cannabis partner, according to Freeman.
The move represents something of a homecoming. Freeman said his cannabis journey began in California, including time spent in Oakland and the Emerald Triangle.
Rather than attempting to enter California solely as an outside multistate operator, MFused plans to work with local industry participants.
Freeman sees the state as an opportunity to combine the company’s experience in other markets with California’s culture of cannabis innovation and creativity.
He also expects California to become an important testing ground for the company’s next phase of product and brand development.
Building a National Brand
MFused’s expansion comes as Freeman begins placing greater emphasis on his own personal brand.
He said he had historically stayed relatively behind the scenes but now plans to become more active on LinkedIn and Instagram, documenting the company’s expansion and sharing more of his personal story.
That story, he believes, has relevance beyond cannabis.
It is a story about overcoming family trauma, building a business without outside funding and competing against much larger companies.
“I think my story is important to share because it can inspire somebody,” Freeman said.
His vision for MFused is similarly ambitious.
Rather than simply becoming another multistate cannabis operator, Freeman wants the company to demonstrate that an independent, community-funded cannabis business can scale into a major national enterprise.
The company’s next chapter will test that thesis as MFused expands into new markets, develops new products and prepares for California.
For Freeman, however, the underlying philosophy remains unchanged: understand the customer, understand the retailer, build products that solve real problems and continually improve.
The ambition may be national, but the strategy remains rooted in the same principles that guided the company from its earliest days in a Seattle garage.
“Build the best vape company in the world,” Freeman said. “Period.”
