Getting to know Sasha Aksenov, Co-Founder & Chief Innovations Officer

Sasha is a Co-Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of The Blinc Group. A hands-on creative leader, a serial entrepreneur, a multiple award-winning brand strategist, and a design industry veteran with a successful 25+ year track record of launching and scaling multinational brands and products.

For the past 7+ years, Sasha’s key focus has been on cannabis vaping, where he has become a recognized thought leader, often quoted and called upon for his opinion by major cannabis brands and key media like Forbes, MJ Business Reporter, and Green Entrepreneur.Continue reading

The difference between a vape cart and a product experience

When it comes to cannabis vaping products, we often encounter most the same at point of sale; the same cartridges, disposables, batteries, etc. only differentiated by packaging and brand promise, while the hardware is only identified by logos and color treatment, with form factors remaining vastly repetitive and outright boring. Think about it, how many brands have the same cart with the same white ceramic tip? Take them out of the context of packaging, and you will be hard-pressed to tell the difference from 3 feet away. That’s a big problem, especially so in strictly regulated markets like Canada, where packaging guidelines are universal and your only visual differentiator is brand and product design.

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Getting to know Sasha Gnedeva, Blinc’s Director of Procurement

A seasoned marketing and procurement professional with a passion for building productive relationships with clients, partners, suppliers, and team members, Alexandra is a strategist focused on identifying trends and tailoring products to meet market requirements.

Sasha invested in the company and joined the team as Brand Ambassador in September 2017 and has since learned the ropes of procurement, quality control and safety specific to the cannabis vaping category.

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What is ANSI/CAN/UL 8139 certification for cannabis vaping devices?

Cannabis vaping devices have a battery-powered heating element that heats a solution, usually cannabis oil, to produce a vapor. Low quality or misused lithium batteries have been known to cause fires and explosions related to vaping devices.

Health Canada requires ANSI/CAN/UL 8139 for any battery-containing cannabis vaping device. It is also poised to become a requirement for any vaping device, whether nicotine or cannabis, in the United States. 

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