DENVER, Nov. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Baker, the leading customer engagement software company for marijuana dispensaries, today announced the acquisition of Seattle-based Grassworks Media, the second largest CRM player in the cannabis market, making Baker the largest and most innovative company in the space.

As a result of the acquisition, Baker will add Grassworks’ approximately 150 dispensary clients to its roster of retail clients across 16 states and Canada. Grassworks’ management team will join Baker in its new Seattle office, where Baker’s existing northwest sales representatives are based. As part of the acquisition, Baker will eventually leverage the best of Grassworks’ technology to augment its offering. Current Grassworks customers will not be immediately affected.

“We’re thrilled to announce our first — and one of the industry’s first tech acquisition – acquisitions,” said Joel Milton, CEO and Co-founder of Baker. “Since our founding, we have been focused on organic growth opportunities. As the market develops and we continue to grow and scale, we started to look at other strategic growth opportunities that would help us enhance our team, offering and further establish Baker as the industry leader. This acquisition does just that. We are joined by Grasswork’s great team and are now, by far, the leading CRM platform in Cannabis.  This puts substantial space between Baker and our competition, and allows us to provide the best product in the market to our growing customer base.”

Founded in 2014, Baker has grown from three founders, representing a couple of dispensaries in Denver, to a staff of over 50 and representing more than 700 dispensaries across 16 states and Canada.

“We’re really excited to be joining forces with the market leader,” said Ryan Porter, CEO of Grassworks. “Baker has a fantastic product and talented leadership team, and together we’ll build the absolute best products for the cannabis industry.”

The Denver-based software company has a unique data-driven approach that helps dispensaries leverage their brands to keep their customers happy and loyal, and increase revenue almost immediately.

Baker’s acquisition is the latest in some big moves within the Cannabis industry, which show a trend in investments and industry consolidation.

“Within the last month we saw huge alcohol conglomerate Constellation invest nearly $200 million in a Canada-based Cannabis company, and iAnthus, a cannabis market operator, purchase GrowHealthy, a medical cannabis grower,” said Morgan Paxhia, Managing Director and Chief investor at Poseidon Asset Management, an investor of Baker’s.  “As the industry evolves, we can expect to see many more money investments and acquisitions like Baker’s, which, as an early — and continued – investor, is great to see. Congratulations on its continued growth.”

For more information about Baker, visit: http://www.trybaker.com/

About Baker:
Baker is a Denver-based customer engagement and marketing automation platform for Cannabis dispensaries and brands. With their data-driven approach to turn anonymous visitors into repeat customers, Baker’s smart products include personalized messaging, loyalty, and online shopping. The industry-leading platform is described as the perfect recipe for a successful dispensary, with results to prove it: on average Baker clients see a 40% boost in average order size, and a 300% ROI in just six weeks. Founded in 2014, the company graduated from notable startup accelerator 500 Startups, and is already powering the Cannabis retail experience for more than 750 dispensaries and over 1.2M of their customers. Investors include Michael Lazerow, Base Ventures, XG Ventures, Poseidon Asset Management, Phyto Partners, The founders of Outside Lands, and others.

About Grassworks Digital:
Grassworks Digital was founded in Seattle, Washington in early 2016 by Ryan Porter and Rob Einaudi, and Christian Coomer. The company develops and operates ordering and CRM tools for the leading Cannabis retailers and dispensaries.