This Black Female Founding CEO Says Cannabis Is The Next Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

This Black Female Founding CEO Says Cannabis Is The Next Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

With five states voting in 2020 to legalize some form cannabis sales, more state legislatures already taking up legalization in this year's legislative sessions, and the possibility of action at the federal level, the cannabis industry is poised for massive growth in 2021. As the legal cannabis industry takes off, it will become more important for major brands to understand how U.S. cannabis consumers think and what drives their demand.

Enter Carmen Brace, a consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry veteran who founded Aclara Research in 2016 to fill that exact void. With two decades of experience across Fortune 500 CPG companies including Campbell's Soup Company, Mars-Wrigley and ConAgra Brands, she's now laser focused on cannabis, founding and self-funding a cannabis data company, Aclara Research, serving on the board of directors for Chicago NORML and the Illinois Governor's Committee on Cannabis and Health. I had the chance to speak with Carmen about her data-driven company and her goals for the new year. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How did you get involved in the cannabis industry? What made you decide to pivot your career to cannabis?

In 2014, I took a year-long sabbatical to study four emerging trends while living