Columbia Care Inc. announced the launch of Forage, a first-of-its-kind cannabis discovery tool designed to streamline and customize the individual shopping experience for expert and novice patients and customers alike. This interactive, web-based platform suggests curated products depending on the user’s desired mood and experience, and syncs with their local dispensary's inventory and pricing to enable online orders. The platform also helps to fill a data void in the industry, adding another layer of contextual information to the existing point of sale, helping to discover which products consumers in any given market would have chosen or matched with, if available. This crucial and dynamic data set can then be used to optimize operational decisions such as inventory forecasting, new and existing product offerings, brand selections and cultivation and manufacturing prioritizations, as well as planning decisions in new markets or markets preparing for conversion from medical to adult use. Customers and patients will be able to access Forage anywhere by visiting forage.io as well as in select dispensaries across the country. Through an industry exclusive partnership with display provider Lightbox, Forage will be accessed on-site via an interactive panel that will also allow the user to engage with the dispensary’s loyalty program and learn more about its brands, promotions and products. Forage was brought to life in collaboration with Siberia, a global product design and digital engineering agency, with the creation of an algorithm that can instantly scan thousands of cannabis strains, their associated attributes and user-reported outcomes. By identifying and matching these strain identifiers to pre-selected activities and desired moods, the algorithm is able to provide the best recommendation for the user based on their dynamic needs and priorities. Through a few simple, but data-rich questions, the user is able to select how they would like to feel, what they will be doing, and are then delivered a list of product recommendations and the option to pre-order. Users are also able to create individual profiles on the Forage platform, organizing previous selections and product choices to simplify their shopping experience going forward. Forage is the most recent technological leap for the industry, disrupting a status quo for how customers and patients are able to interact with the Company’s expertise and cultivation knowledge. At the beginning of the pandemic, Columbia Care launched Virtual.Care, a virtual shopping experience that brings patients and customers face-to-face with cannabis professionals. Since its introduction in April 2020, Virtual.Care has ensured accessibility during the height of the pandemic, enabling more than 5,000 consultations. The new Forage platform will be rolling out across Columbia Care’s growing portfolio of dispensaries, including its new Cannabist branded locations, over the next 12 months.