Tony Giorgi is the CEO of Sensi Brands Inc. in Canada. He discusses his company’s strategies and growth with Eugenio Gárcia, the founder and CEO Cannabis Now. Sensi Brands was launched in Canada in January 2020. The company has been a huge success, thanks to innovative products such as multi-packs and pre-rolled infused cannabis. The company has five routes of distribution: wholesale distributions, CPG brands, a national medical marijuana marketplace, a farm gate retail store, and medical cannabis clinics. Sensi Brands, in spite of market challenges, recently purchased a modern facility that can produce 110,000 kilograms annually. The company is aiming to expand globally, especially on the U.S. EU and AUS marketplaces.
Giorgi shares his business wisdom with other entrepreneurs as we begin 2026. He also explains the work culture at Sensi Brands and the big future goals of the company.
Eugenio Garca: Tell us about yourself as a businessman.
Tony Giorgi: Here in Canada I’ve gained a bit if a reputation as a serial start-up specialist. I literally take companies from concept to production and full commercial operation. Over the past 30 years, I have built six businesses. Four of the first six companies I built were in the technology sector. We built data centers that were highly redundant and secure for banks, government agencies, and other organizations. Bell Canada bought the company in 2012 for $1.2 Billion.
Following that experience, I started a digital-transformation company named K2 Digital to target the financial sector. The senior leadership of MedReleaf introduced me to them. MedReleaf was one of Canada’s first medical cannabis companies…I had met them in 2015, and by 2016 the master grower had resigned his role and we started up what became the Flowr Corporation out of Kelowna, BC.
Flwr Corporation, my first cannabis venture, was the Flwr Corporation. The largest indoor facility was built in Canada. The facility quickly gained a reputation as one of the highest-quality in the nation. After taking the company public, I decided to step down and focus my efforts on Sensi Brands.
How did you build Sensi Brands, if at all?
TG: Sensi Brands was founded in 2020. We took a very unique approach to the market because, if you recall, everybody that got into the cannabis industry—whether it was south of the border or whether it was in Canada—everybody took the approach of wanting to become the largest cultivator or the largest extractor. We always use the example of sitting in our office and watching as the next licensed cannabis producer posts on LinkedIn, “Woo Hoo.” “We just received our license and are launching a brand for soccer moms.” When we looked into what the “soccer mom” brand was, they had a 22% Indica strain to support it. This would be enough for a mom of soccer players to get through the soccer parking lots. To develop a brand, there’s an entire evolution of strategies and processes. Unfortunately, this entire process has been left to fend for itself in the cannabis sector. Their brands failed because people made up stories. Because of their poor execution, there was no brand that had any real market share.
Station House became our first product. In Canada, we were the pioneers of multi-pack prerolls in sizes 6, 12, 18, and 24 packs. Multi-packs were not available when we first launched. The majority of licensed manufacturers were using unwanted product or excess supply to put up KPI figures for yields. This would be destroyed or burned, or milled into pre-rolls.
What makes pre-rolls such a compelling product for the consumer?
TG: The pre-rolls we make are the best. We have perfected their making. Even today, none of the automated equipment is scalable enough to make pre-rolls cost-effective. After testing the vast majority of pre-roll technology, we realized that it was necessary to develop our own automated process. We think we produce the best prerolls available. We also use only the finest paper. Only single strain whole flowers are used. Blending lots is not done. Trim or other waste materials are not used. All of our flower is high quality, one-strain, and we mill it to different specifications. This allows us to know the milling inputs will fit together much better, which results in a more efficient burn. All our products are hand finished and quality checked by employees. This means you’re receiving the finest quality pre-rolls, backed up by high quality cannabis. We quickly became number one in multi-packs with this strategy.
EG: Well, It’s hard to believe that you have been so dedicated and worked with such a great team. How did you develop your business skills before becoming a serial entrepreneur? Was it a natural thing for you? You had a mentor, right? Did you go to school?
TG: Sincerely, I would say that my business acumen is all about street smarts and negotiation. My business acumen comes from my street-smarts and negotiation. I’ve been working since I was 13 years old—got my first paper route at 10, you know, I did the whole McDonald’s and Burger King and fast food, but it was just always hustling, always negotiating.
At heart, I am a salesman. When I built my first business, the focus was on sales. In the 30 years since, I have developed my knowledge of how to manage a successful business and become a better businessperson.
What is the secret to all of this?
TG: Look, we’re immigrants—we love to work. Because we don’t have any other experience. So we put in long and hard hours. In the end, you just have to learn these skills and run your business. Any businessperson, regardless of their industry or business, should focus on three key pillars. All it takes is three simple things: innovate. Ensure that your products are the highest quality, something you can be proud of and that is highly sought after. Automate. Automate everything. This will allow you to reduce costs as much as possible and be the best. Last but not least, it’s time to execute. Sensi Brands has, to my mind, been one of Canada’s most successful cannabis companies because of these three principles.
EG: You’ve talked about the long days it takes to build a company at this scale—what kind of culture have you built at Sensi Brands, and how do you keep your team energized and invested?
TG: We’ve built an incredible culture—culture’s everything. It’s a family-run company. This was the theory: “How awesome would it be if i could create a company where I worked with people who I really enjoy being around. I want to walk in every day with a huge smile because I work with people who I truly love. People that make me laugh. And people at the very top of their profession. It is made of people I trust who play at the highest level and who are dear to me.
Love it. What’s that you are smoking? How important is it to you that you understand what you are producing? It’s true that many people who are in the same position as you don’t know what they’re doing and don’t use the products.
TG: The question is so interesting! It’s a wonderful question. It’s my firm belief that one should eat their own dogfood. A few years ago, I experimented with smoking weed. As I started the Flwr Corporation in 2010, I went for it. So I’m a certified cannabis sommelier—I’ve got my level one and level two sommelier certification. Today, I consume daily—anywhere from four to eight joints a day. I know what it does and I’m sure that no CEO can be successful in their industry without consuming, understanding, and experimenting with the product. The entire senior management team at our company is certified as cannabis experts. All of us are active cannabis consumers. All of us eat dog food.
And to answer your question, I am religiously loyal to Amnesia Haze, Ghost Train Haze—it’s my favorite strain. Only sativas are smoked by me. My experience with smoking has shown me that indicas tend to be more medically focused and sedative, whereas a sativa I am currently enjoying gives me energy and inspires me. I’m all in to making sure that I understand our product as well or as better, than any other CEO in the industry, which I think gives us a competitive advantage, because I’m the one leading our discussions in the R&D room, and we are innovating things because I know exactly what the product’s going to do. Our company distributes 365+ products across Canada. I’ve formulated each product from pre-rolls to vapes to the first THC pouch. This is all work that I did on my behalf. Without being an expert in the field, I could not have achieved any of this.
EG: Canada has some very strict restrictions regarding packaging and advertising. How did you overcome this obstacle to market your product effectively and achieve the level of success in retail that you enjoyed?
TG: Again, I believe it all comes down to creating innovative products that are popular with the consumer. HealthCanada Regulations limit our ability to market, and we therefore tend towards quality. In addition, we’ve done a great job with our digital marketing promotions and trade materials. We also executed at all the major trade shows.
You spoke of the huge export business that you do with Australia. What is your international focus and potential?
TG: Two things to note: We’ve worked with a partner for the past two years and have distributed and sold product in Australia. We can now sell to international brands directly, as we hold our EU GMP license (European Union Good Manufacturing Practices). Today, we signed a deal worth $5 million for the product that will be sold in Germany. With expansions into UK, Poland and Spain, the EU market is large. France will be next. With the EU being so large, our product quality should allow us to do well in these markets.
We are looking at entering the US market. We won’t say much about that because we want to understand the whole process. Our brands Station House, and Potluck will be entering the US market.
Eugenio Garcia: In the next three to five years, where do you see Sensi Brands landing—and how do you view the broader global cannabis landscape: accelerating opportunity or continued pushback?
TG: We can’t tell where we are going. We want to be among the few remaining. I believe we’ve created an amazing company. We have a large pipeline of products, and are excited to launch some new ones. The walls will come down in the US, I’m sure. I think Mr. Trump has hinted at the removal of these barriers. It looks like Mr. Trump is starting to remove those barriers.
There will be consolidation at some point. It’s already happening…We hope to be one of the companies that has a meaningful market share and recognized as a global and trusted brand of cannabis products.
We want to have the ability to go into any German, Australian or Spanish dispensary to find Potluck or Station House products for sale.