Vincent Ayar and Ooze Wholesale (Cannatron)

Designing a good product is only half of building a consumer brand. The other half is getting it onto shelves reliably — managing inventory, fulfilling orders on time, supporting retailers and keeping relationships with distributors who serve their own networks of stores.

Ooze Wholesale was built to do that work. Based in Oak Park, Michigan, alongside the Ooze brand, it serves as the link between the products and the thousands of shops that sell them.

In addition to Ooze itself, the distribution business carries a portfolio of house brands, including:

The network spans more than 500 distributors and more than 8,000 retail shops across the United States and Canada. That reach is what allows a brand founded in a 2,000 square foot Oak Park warehouse to compete for space nationally.

For Vincent Ayar, distribution connects directly to the brand work he has led at Ooze since day one. Product decisions — how items are packaged, how they fit together, how they're supported under warranty — affect how easily a retailer can stock and sell them.

The business was originally known as Ooze Wholesale and was later renamed Cannatron. The new name gives the distribution business its own identity, distinct from the Ooze consumer brand, while it continues to distribute Ooze alongside its other brands.

Ooze Wholesale (Cannatron) was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in 2019 and 2020. The honor belongs to the company and reflects the growth of the business and the team that built it.

Like Ooze, the distribution business is based in Oak Park, Michigan. Keeping operations in Metro Detroit reflects a priority Vincent Ayar has spoken about directly: the company's expansion is about job creation, and much of the shipping, marketing and design staff behind the brands is local.

Read more about Vincent Ayar's Michigan roots, or explore the founding story of Ooze.

Original name: Ooze Wholesale. Current name: Cannatron. Location: Oak Park, Michigan. Vincent Ayar's role: Partner. Brands distributed: Ooze, King Palm, Truweigh, Stache, Loud Lock and Green Monkey. Network: 500+ distributors and 8,000+ retail shops across the US and Canada. Company honor: Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies, 2019 and 2020.