Brand Spotlight: 710 LABS | high times

Producing deeply good concentrates that are promoted with fun and appealing branding is the telltale sign of making it in the cannabis industry. But behind this forward-thinking magic is another important component at play to consider: corporate culture. For 710 Labs, exceptional products and the best vibes go hand in hand.

“It’s important to us that we hire people who really want to be at 710 and who know who we are and what we stand for,” said Brad Melshenker, CEO and Founder of 710. “I think that’s been our philosophy from the start ; We want people who want to learn, want to grow with the company, and want to be part of it, not just stamping in for a paycheck. It takes time to build that culture and find those people.”

Melshenker came to the company from humble beginnings and was determined to do something with cannabis, although admittedly he got off to a rocky start.

Courtesy of 710 Labs

“I got involved with cannabis when I was 16 and have never looked back,” he explains. “Twenty-three years later, I still love this plant more every day. I sold my first eighth of what we called “Kind Bud” when I was 16 so I could smoke for free. Fast forward to 2005 when I moved to LA to get into the fashion industry; That’s when I started to get acquainted with the Prop. 215 model and the business side of the industry. I thought if I could legally do what I’ve been doing for the past eight years during college and beyond, it would be a dream come true.

“I acted as an intermediary between some of the best breeders and the best dispensaries in the state, immersing myself in both worlds as much as possible. When Obama took office and Eric Holder announced he was leaving regulation to the states, I knew it was a sign to leave fashion and go all out. In 2008 I raised money for friends and family and built my first penitentiary in Encino, California. This was a total failure as I was using LEDs before LED technology was sufficient to grow cannabis indoors. But like all failures, which really are the path to success, this failure led to the next chapter of our move to Colorado, where you could become a for-profit LLc, as opposed to California, where you had to hide behind a not-for-profit model at the time to be compliant.”

With headquarters in Colorado and California, it is important to Melshenker that every employee, no matter how newly hired, feels personally connected to the brand and wants to grow with the company. In an industry that sometimes puts profits ahead of people, that’s huge.

“I want to make sure I’m building a relationship with everyone in the company; That’s very important to me,” said Melshenker. “I want to meet you; I want them to understand that in a way this is family. I think it’s important to grow in this way with people you care about and who are invested in the company and its success and in each other.”

Courtesy of 710 Labs

With an early interest in cannabis coupled with an entrepreneurial spirit, Melshenker knew he was destined to work with cannabis, but he had ambitions beyond retail and smoking. Realizing that some states would start legalizing the plant, he began growing and extracting it, and the rest is history.

“Our commitment is to only sell products that I would consume,” Melshenker said of the pride and care that goes into 710’s offerings. “Quality above all is our ethos. Even about making money. And I know every company says that, but we live it. Top-notch hash over self-interest is the formula. We throw batches in the trash when they literally don’t meet quality control standards. There is a lot of creative branding and packaging out there, a lot of medium quality products, but I learned early in my career [that] A high-quality product always sells the fastest and creates loyalty. Our fans know that they can also count on our consistency.”

710 laboratories

Known for unique products like water hash and noodle doses (aka hand-rolled joints), 710 Labs has differentiated itself from others in the concentrate industry and stands out from the crowd with the consistent quality of its offering.

“Quality above all is our ethos. Even about making money. And I know every company says that, but we live it.” – Brad Melshenker

“This is the product I’m most proud of right now,” said Melshenker of 710 Labs’ Pre-Rolls. “There wasn’t a pre-roll on the market in either California or Colorado that I wanted to buy. I’m not the world’s best joint roller, although it’s meditative for me. I wanted to develop the ultimate joint with the highest quality buds in it. No small parts, no trim, no shake, no ground powdery dry nugs.

“I wanted to create something that my weed snob spirit would buy. We trim off excess paper to achieve the perfect bud-to-paper ratio. We added the gluten-free rotini noodles as a crutch/filter for airflow and stability, and boom, our Noodle Doinks came out and we can’t keep them on the shelves. Tensecond Tom, who leads this department and helped set up the process as it is very tedious, is commended for making my vision of producing these products at scale a reality.”

In addition to the company’s focus on developing some of the best products on the market, the 710 crew also has an eye on social justice. Specifically, with a location in Oakland, they’re trying to ensure the underserved community has access to resources.

“We welcome social justice programs because we understand and empathize with the injustice that has been done by the government’s past war on drugs,” Melshenker said. “Specifically in the city of Oakland, where our California facility is located, we have two social justice partners in two of our cannabis licenses, and in addition, our company also supports the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, which helps with job finding and provides community and support for formerly imprisoned persons.”

710 Labs has also worked with a transition program for foster children to help them gain hands-on work experience. The company interviewed and hired a number of people from this program who have become a great asset to the team. Unlike other brands that just speak up, 710 Labs makes sure they lead the way when it comes to actual inclusion.

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As for the next steps for the brand, Melshenker has many exciting plans in the works. “We have a lot of announcements regarding new product lines, like our Rosin Pods, which are coming out in a couple of months, as well as our Persy Doinks (three grams of flower, one gram of hash rosin),” he said. “We’re also adding new flavors to our genetic library from the extensive phenohunting we do for new strains.”

Finally, consumers can anticipate future collaborations where leading developers work with 710 Labs. “We will continue to release limited edition artist drops and collaborations, similar to our notable ones with Richard Prince, Camp High and Joe Roberts (LSD World Peace),” Melshenker shared. “I’m very excited about our upcoming collaboration with The Elder Statesman and our new line called itsPurpL with Jaleel White that just launched. Finally, our seed company Green Beans will be launched in 2022. We are definitely in expansion mode on all fronts, including new states and markets.”

Visit 710labs.com for more information.

Read this story, originally published in the August 2021 issue of The High Times, in our archive.