Like a fine wine: Cannabis operators turn to Ganjier program to educate employees

Participants in the Ganjier Product Specialist program at MJBizCon will have an off-site opportunity to use Makita lenses to review cannabis samples. (Photo courtesy of Ganjier)

Before he pivoted to the cannabis industry, Chris Fesperman worked for a craft brewery where new hires were expected to complete Cicerone Beer Server certification within their first 90 days.

Now director of product and education at California-based Kiva Sales & Service, the distributor of Kiva Confections and dozens of other marijuana brands, Fesperman is making it possible for more than two dozen Kiva staff members to complete the Ganjier Product Specialist program.

“It creates a culture within the (organization) so everyone has a base level of education, and they’re all speaking the same language,” Fesperman told MJBizDaily.

He and Elizabeth Rice, regional sales director for sister brand Kiva Confections, both graduated from the Certified Ganjier program, a monthslong endeavor that involves online courses, live training and in-person exams.

When the pair learned that Ganjier was launching the Product Specialist program, part one of the Certified Ganjier pathway, they encouraged Kiva to join at least 10 other cannabis companies offering the training to employees.

Professional certifications

Rice earned a certified sommelier distinction during her 20 years working in the wine industry.

When she graduated with the initial cohort of Certified Ganjiers in late 2021, she became the first person to earn both certified sommelier and Certified Ganjier credentials.

“To really sell it, you have to understand it,” Rice said of the parallels of selling wine and cannabis.

Once you “know what you’re talking about, then you can sell better,” she said.

Rice said the sommelier and Ganjier programs are incredibly similar in how they teach sensory analysis and to critically evaluate products based using one’s sight, smell, taste and touch.

“The cannabis course goes into a lot of cannabis nuances,” she said, such as:

• “How do the trichomes look?
• “How’s the trim?
• “How’s the cure?

“It was (evaluating) things that are different from wine, but it kept the same structure.”

Sommelier similarities

The similarity to the certified sommelier program is no coincidence, according to Derek Gilman, a second-generation cannabis cultivator and managing director at Northern California-headquartered Ganjier.

In fact, the Certified Ganjier program was patterned after epicurean programs that exist for cheese, cigars, beer and wine.

“In each of these programs, there are multiple levels,” Gilman told MJBizDaily.

“Just a few weeks ago, we launched our Level One: the Ganjier Product Specialist program.”

In-person events at MJBizCon

Ganjier is partnering with MJBizCon – Dec. 3-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center – to offer program participants a ticket to the expo floor and exclusive access to a tasting and aroma-training event.

Attendees who sign up for the Ganjier Product Specialist program and one of three MJBizCon Combo Packages will complete a 10-hour online video training ahead of the event and receive a three-day pass to the world’s largest cannabis business trade show.

Well-known industry experts were recruited to film the videos, which explain cannabis from seed to smoke:

• Kevin Jodrey, a cannabis plant breeder and owner of Wonderland Nursery in Humboldt County, California, teaches cultivation.
• Guy Rocourt, co-founder of Eureka, California-based Papa & Barkeley, gives instruction about the therapeutic benefits of edibles, topicals and tinctures.
• Lena Burns, a Humboldt County hash maker, outlines consumption options for cannabis concentrates and best practices for assessing such products.
• Daniel Klompstra, ingredient specialist at Boston Beer Co., outlines how infused beverages are created and offers insight into their effects.

Students who pass the in-person exam during MJBizCon will be recognized at a graduation event during the trade show.

While the full Certified Ganjier program takes about a year to complete, Fesperman believes students of the Product Specialist program could finish it over a long weekend.

“If you can binge-watch a Netflix show, you can get this done in a weekend,” he said.

Course curriculum

David Tart, senior marketing manager for marijuana multistate operator Curaleaf Holdings, is one month from returning to Ganjier’s Humboldt County campus to take his final exam for the Certified Ganjier program.

He started the program in late 2022 with other colleagues from New York-headquartered Curaleaf and traveled to Humboldt in May 2023 for in-person instruction.

“It is so chock-full of information about cannabis; every bit of this information is about the plant,” Tart told MJBizDaily.

“They talk about botany and how to read test results and what terpenes do and how each cannabinoid affects you biologically – just very cool, nuanced stuff.

“And then the whole program closes with evaluation of cannabis and customer protocol: How do you interact with people day to day as a Ganjier?”

While navigating the program, Tart said he found himself picking up suggested reading.

“I was a human sponge from the first day I enrolled,” he said.

To sign up for a Ganjier Product Specialist/MJBizCon Combo Package – which includes the in-person exam, a trade show pass and exclusive off-site tasting and aroma training – visit mjbizcon.com.

Kate Lavin can be reached at kate.lavin@mjbizdaily.com.