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Trang Trinh
For Trang Trinh, some of the best business advice she ever received came from her parents: work hard and be nice to people.
She says these simple mottos have guided her philosophy as CEO of TREC Brands, which has committed to donating 10% of its profits to causes that matter to its consumers.
“I find that people are more successful when they empower and encourage those around them,” Trinh says. “As I progressed through my past careers, I realized that I’m here because of the village of people who have mentored me, sponsored me, supported me along the way. In return I try my best to pay it forward because I’m really nothing without the team around me and I think that they are what matters the most to TREC Brands. They’re the reason I wake up in the morning and the reason that keeps me awake every night.”
Trinh is a certified public accountant who has held a number of finance-related positions in her career, including most recently covering cannabis mergers and acquisitions at Deloitte, which she says helped build her “foundational toolkit” to be an entrepreneur and instill business structure that was key to helping start TREC.
She describes TREC as a “socially conscious cannabis brand house.” TREC is not a licensed producer, but it partners with Canadian LPs that have a solid reputation and operational standards to build consumer brands, including Wink, a line of sativa-dominant pre-rolls, and Blissed, a brand designed to “uplift the modern woman,” Trinh says.
“We come up with the brand and then we scour the country for premium products that will fit into our brand,” she says. “The beauty of our business model is that our consumers can trust that we’ve already gone out and done the homework for them, that we found the most premium product and sourced it.”
Trinh sees the next iteration of Canada’s cannabis regulations as an important step in providing more options for a broader consumer base. Edibles, extracts and topicals are expected to hit the Canadian market in October.
After releasing its Blissed cannabis oils this fall, TREC plans to expand into premium chocolates and healthy baked goods.
“We find that there’s a huge gap in the market right now for female-focused cannabis brands,” Trinh says. “With Blissed we are addressing women in the 30-to-35-and-older age demographic to empower their cannabis usage, break down their stigmas which we know there are a lot of right now still and create an educational hub for women to share their experiences.”