Vincent Ayar and Ooze

Ooze started in 2015, years before Michigan voted to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2018. Launching early meant building a product line, supplier relationships and brand recognition while the wider market was still taking shape.

The founding team was small. Vincent Ayar's fellow partners and co-owners include Steve Hannawa, whom Vincent credits with bringing e-cigarette technology to Michigan, and Danny Hannawa, Ooze's founder and president. In the beginning, the partners themselves were the entire staff.

"When you think 'ooze,' you think slime," Vincent Ayar has said. The name fit the company's early focus: much of the first product line was geared toward the concentrate market. It is also memorable, playful and easy to say — qualities that matter for a brand meant to stand out on a crowded counter.

The Ooze ethos rests on four ideas: fun, function, interchangeability and portability. Products are designed to be enjoyable to use, to work reliably, to fit together, and to travel easily.

One of the defining choices Vincent Ayar describes is control over components. "We source every single piece that goes into our products," he has said — including the batteries. For hardware, sourcing is where quality is won or lost, and owning that process is what allows a company to stand behind its products with a warranty.

Over the years, the Ooze line has served both flower and concentrate users. Notable products have included:

Ooze's growth was funded patiently. Early profits stayed in the company to pay for expansion, research and development, and marketing. "I'd much rather spend millions down the road than mere thousands today," Vincent Ayar has said.

The numbers tell the story. Ooze began in a 2,000 square foot warehouse with only the founding partners on staff. By September 2019 it occupied about 42,000 square feet and employed more than 50 people — roughly a twentyfold increase in space in about four years.

All of Ooze's owners are Michigan natives, and much of the shipping, marketing and design staff is local. Vincent Ayar has said the company is proud of its hometown but builds the brand for a national audience, and he has described its expansion as being about job creation. Distribution through Ooze Wholesale, now Cannatron, carries the brand to retailers across the US and Canada.