Email interview with Matt Frost, CEO & Founder of anna
Matt Frost is the CEO and Founder of anna, a streamlined self-checkout solution for cannabis and CBD retailers. His deep expertise in healthcare analytics programming, along with a dogged entrepreneurial drive, informed and inspired his creation of a fully compliant model for frictionless retail automation within this tightly regulated sector.
Mr. Frost previously spent almost a decade in the health sector, formulating HIPAA privacy-compliant insurance billing and data analytics programs for some of New England’s largest healthcare operators. His pursuit of an MBA through Boston University galvanized his leap into the cannabis space, where he quickly went about securing anna’s patent-pending technology and launching the new company. A native of Massachusetts, Mr. Frost divides his time between anna’s Boston headquarters and its satellite office in Boulder.
About anna
anna elevates the cannabis retail experience with modern self-checkout solutions engineered to boost sales volume and take the headache out of compliance. Designed by a team of analytics experts and ecommerce software engineers based in Boston and Boulder, anna’s advanced technology facilitates seamless, fully compliant order fulfillment with point-of-sale (POS) interfacing and real-time analytics that help retailers maximize revenue and reduce operational costs. With anna’s AI-powered fast order fulfillment and retail automation, customers can easily order online or in-store, discover new products, and make their purchases in under a minute for a next-level shopping experience. Visit Tryanna.com to learn more about anna—cannabis retail for now.
How do you see cannabis vending machines playing a role now?
Every other retail industry has the ability to self-checkout, and cannabis can be no different. Customers who know what they want can shop with ease—skipping lines and shopping contactless with anna. With cannabis deemed an “essential business,” it’s critical we offer customers the ability to get their product in the most efficient way possible.
Are consumers getting more comfortable with them?
With everything, new technology takes time to implement. Like self-checkout kiosks at grocery stores, once customers become accustomed to the ease and speed, they’ll become more comfortable using anna.
Do you foresee dispensaries using multiple machines in their store?
Ultimately, anna operates best with about four machines in a dispensary at once. With one budtender—the anna.agent—overseeing transactions, four machines allow an optimal number of customers to utilize the technology, expediting check out for those who know what they’re purchasing.
In the future, how do you see cannabis vending machines being used and will they interact with dispensary websites and apps and individual phones?
anna already interacts with dispensary websites and mobile devices through the anna.app—where customers can preorder on their phone. Once they arrive at the dispensary, they scan a QR code and check out. The whole process takes less than two minutes. As we move into the future, this technology will become more seamless.
Do cannabis vending machines provide sales reports for dispensaries and how is restocking handled now and will in the future?
This is where data comes into play—as cannabis sales mature and technology enters the equation, marketers will have more access to consumer data to make smarter decisions for their target customers. Currently, the machines are stocked with whatever the dispensary sees fit—typically best sellers. Dispensaries can make educated decisions about the products they are selling based on the sales metrics that anna provides them.