The Dawn of a New Quality Era in (Grading) Cannabis

As the cannabis industry blossomed, consumers became ever more discerning, craving top-quality cannabis products and a consistent experience. For most companies, meeting these demands with manual processes was like trying to hit a moving target. Until now.

Twister Technologies, a trailblazer in the cannabis industry, has been crafting post-harvest automation tools for 15 years. Their legacy equipment, trusted globally, has processed millions of pounds of cannabis. Yet, as the needs of the industry evolved, so did Twister. Enter Marvel – their cutting-edge tech that brought the precision of artificial intelligence into visual quality control for grading cannabis.

Challenges in Quality Control

The invitation to deploy Marvel came from a major player in the cannabis industry, a producer processing an average of 2700 lbs per month, boasting four primary, well-recognized flower brands. Despite their robust formulations unit churning out consistent products, their flower quality wavered. Inconsistency between regions, fluctuations month-to-month; the variations were becoming a thorn in their side. As their CEO aptly put, “Our customers expect the same experience every time, and we simply are not delivering that.”

Reddit, the community-driven platform, became a mirror for their shortcomings. A string of negative reviews would send ripples of concern throughout the company, painting a clear picture: their cultivation efforts were on point most of the year. The real villain? The post-harvest processing.

Twister Technologies rolled up their sleeves, diving deep into the producer’s post-harvest process. The issues were glaring: the high turnover of staff, the dilution of standards over time, and most importantly, the subjective lens of human judgment. An internal review revealed that a staggering 14% of their flower ended up in the wrong packaging.

The Impact of Marvel

Marvel’s introduction heralded a new era. Instead of a team of 12, only 4 were needed. Every single flower went under Marvel’s watchful eyes. The speed and accuracy were staggering – processing flower at a rate of 100 lbs per hour, 16 times faster than humans, with a 20% boost in accuracy.

Skepticism was, of course, the first reaction. “How could a machine match the nuance of the human eye?” some wondered. But the results were undeniable. In just one month, Marvel flagged thousands of flowers that failed to meet the standards of any of the brands. These flowers had signs of disease, discoloration or defects that were unacceptable in any format. “That’s a potential of a thousand unhappy customers. Prior to Marvel this data was not available to me. With Marvel, I can see a visual representation in real time or historically of every lot we produce. And I can drill down to the individual flower if required,” said the CEO.

As weeks turned to months, the Reddit reviews began to reflect this shift. Negative reviews on quality concerns plummeted by 90%. The vision of consistency the CEO dreamed of was slowly turning into a reality.

It’s not just about numbers; it’s about trust. “Marvel has shifted the way we operate. We now have a level of confidence we did not have previously,” the CEO remarked. The COO chimed in, highlighting how Twister’s Marvel brought the cannabis industry in line with sectors like pharmaceuticals and food, where tech-driven quality checks are the norm.

The Future of Cannabis Quality

As the cannabis industry continues its bumpy rise, the role of technology in ensuring quality cannot be understated. Twister Technologies, with its Marvel system, underscores the importance of innovation, bridging the gap between promise and delivery. For cannabis producers, this is more than technology – it’s a promise of consistency, quality, and trust.