Grass Roots Founder Elisha Millan’s goal for improving the hemp community in Chattanooga is unwavering. Beyond its two storefront locations and philanthropic arm, Grass Roots continues to grow. In an effort to provide reliable, professional, and transparent resources to area dispensaries, Millan launched Henry’s Wholesale Dispensary Supply in fall 2019 as part of the Grass Roots corporate family. 

Through Henry’s Wholesale, area dispensaries and hemp retailers have access to in-person wholesale shopping to stock their stores. From wholesale mylar bags for packaging to glass pieces and flower, Henry’s Wholesale offers the full spectrum of supplies and inventory for area store owners. The wholesaler provides store owners and operators with a few distinct advantages, among them the ability to buy smaller amounts of inventory without meeting distributor minimums. 

“Henry’s Wholesale Dispensary Supply creates a common marketplace for dispensary owners and farmers to come together without the hassle of negotiating prices,” Millan says. “Grass Roots has one of the largest footprints in hemp in the area, and we’re excited to add our expertise and buying power to smaller stores.”

Key benefits of Henry’s Wholesale Dispensary include: 

• No minimums on orders. Through Henry’s Wholesale, shop owners have access to the same rates as major wholesale partners without minimums. 
• Reliable and professional service. Choose harder-to-ship merchandise, like glass pipes, in person without the hassle of mail orders for delicate items. 
• Authorized sellers with extensive education and training. Henry’s Wholesale and Grass Roots employees bring extensive experience, certifications, and training with specific brands and product lines to pass on to store owners. Similarly, as certified retailers with brand name products, Grass Roots eliminates the risk of purchasing counterfeit products. Grass Roots employs certified hemp graders to deliver the highest quality of hemp available.
• Transparent operations and reputable products. Henry’s Wholesale ensures store owners receive exactly what they ordered. Millan and her team maintain relationships across the country with farmers and hemp business owners to deliver the highest quality products. Buyers are guaranteed professionalism and security in their purchases.

Help for Small Businesses During the Pandemic

Grass Roots wasn’t immune to the change in consumer behavior during the COVID-19 crisis. In an effort to promote public health and safety, Millan and her store associates turned to true window shopping, placing products in the downtown location’s storefront windows for customers to peruse, while the Fort Oglethorpe location remained open. They continued convenient curbside pick-up and shipping for call-in orders and pivoted in-store interactions to ensure the health of customers and store associates. (Read the store update here.)

But more significantly, during the lockdown, Millan and her team saw an opportunity to assist the region’s hemp community. Millan offered to buy back inventory from smaller stores during the economic downturn related to COVID.

“Some small stores may not be able to open, and they may not have a website to help their customers,” Millan says. “In order to help these stores stay solvent and to continue to operate, we’ve offered to buy their freight at the cost we’d pay distributors to give them cash flow and enable them to stay open.”

Overall, Millan has had positive feedback from Henry’s Wholesale and the buyback opportunities. The initiative further supports Millan’s mission and goal as a wholesaler and hemp dispensary in the region — to connect the hemp community and bring everyone together in a single marketplace, and to do so with a high degree of professionalism.

“By establishing Henry’s Wholesale, we’re putting a hedge of protection around local stores and farmers from the mega distributors in the U.S.,” Millan says. “It will centralize the product availability for consumers, and strengthen product knowledge for sellers, retailers, and consumers.”

Visit one of our Grass Roots locations or contact us to learn more about Henry’s Wholesale Dispensary Supply.