Kolas: Sacramento Shop Puts Veterans and Community First

Kolas – Sacramento, CA

“We want to affect change,” says Dennis Luong, marketing director at Kolas. Passionate, driven and working toward bettering community, Kolas keep active in local programs such as joining the Cannabis Cares Program in setting a goal to raise $100,000 toward the Sacramento homeless initiative. One can participate in the fundraiser by purchasing Cannabis Cares pre-rolls. Kolas also supports many veteran programs. “We constantly offer preferred specials on products to soldiers for veterans that need it,” says CEO Garib “Justin” Karapetyan. The store’s community involvement spans to Aftershock Festival, Farm to Fork food events and neighborhood block parties. The flagship store is accompanied by a growing family of dispensaries that have been brought into the Kolas network, which expands by supporting small business dispensaries and co-ops, as well as offering support and training programs. Kolas aims to progress the cannabis industry through vertical integration and expand its footprint by way of horizontal diversification.

The Place

The shop hires pedicabs, which give people free rides to the store and tour them around Sacramento. Their color theme is purple, and the interior design is sleek. Veterans are the focus at Kolas, and the brand goals are set internationally, keeping veterans a priority in that growth. As Karapetyan shares, Kolas products are “grown by veterans, sold by veterans and consumed by veterans.” Kolas grow facility is run on Cogen Technology which uses turbine engines that take natural gas and convert it into electricity. “The Achilles Heel for a grower is power,” says Karapetyan. Essentially taken off the grid, they’re able to conserve power through turning natural gases into electricity, taking that heat and converting it into cool air.

The Product

“We are vertically integrated and horizontally diversified,” Karapetyan says. Kolas offer house-grown cannabis and product from other growers originating from California. The menu is diverse, and their house flowers focus on OG varietals. High tolerance folks feel Kola’s flowers are strong contenders. “We love OG genetics and grow for the highest percentage of THC,” he says. Additional offerings include Princess Thai, which activates the imagination. Their Gali Gold is the 2010 High Times winner for Indica. Regulations changed how medical patients accessed quantities and dosages, Kolas focus is on keeping prices low and potency high for those with medical needs.

“We are vertically integrated and horizontally diversified.”

— Garib “Justin” Karapetyan, Kalas CEO