Member Spotlight: The Travel Agency’s high-flying JOURNEY

When New York State legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021, the first dispensary licenses were awarded to people with cannabis convictions and nonprofits serving that population. That reparative promise caught the attention of Arana Hankin-Biggers, now the President & Co-Founder of The Travel Agency: A Cannabis Store.

The Travel Agency’s store in Brooklyn.

“I was drawn to the cannabis industry because of the mandate that was laid out, aiming to correct the wrongs of the racist war on drugs,” says Hankin-Biggers, who has a background in real estate development, economic development,  and politics. 

In 2023, she founded The Travel Agency in partnership with the Doe Fund, a nonprofit providing housing, employment, and support to people who have experienced homelessness and incarceration. The first location, in New York City’s Union Square neighborhood, funnels more than half its profits to the Doe Fund.

“We opened up our first store in 45 days,” says Hankin-Biggers. “We came up with the name, the brand, the logo, the colors, and the store design in 45 days.” They haven’t slowed down: The Travel Agency now operates three locations in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn and employs more than 200 people. Keep reading to learn more about this innovative cannabis brand from Hankin-Biggers herself. 

The Mission

“The Travel Agency exists to empower people to explore cannabis’s potential as a trusted, natural, and transformative way to enrich their lives — when, where, and how it fits them — free from stigma and full of possibility.”

What Sets The Travel Agency Apart

“Being first to market helps a lot in the cannabis industry. Many dispensaries have the same look and feel, but with our design aesthetic, we wanted to be out of the box.”

“When we first opened, there were 3,000 illicit shops in New York City, and we were quite purposeful about distinguishing ourselves from the illicit market. Our stores are incredibly elevated, they're a little fancy, and they don't feel like an illegal space by any means. I think that definitely made people a lot more comfortable about transitioning to the legal market.”

“There are still people who are afraid to even walk into our store, and we’re trying — through the design, through the branding, through marketing like the Pigeon Project — to make it really fun and silly, make it more approachable.”

The Travel Agency’s president and co-founder, Arana Hankin-Biggers.

Standout Moment: The Pigeon Project

The Travel Agency partnered with a professional pigeon trainer to launch the first-ever cannabis carrier pigeons, outfitted with tiny backpacks. 

“The visibility was tremendous, and people have become even more obsessed with the brand. There are so many restrictions around cannabis marketing and advertising that you really have to be creative. One of our brand values is joy. I mean, it's cannabis, after all  — we're looking to have fun.”

Best Thing About the Cannabis Industry

“In New York, the community is incredibly diverse, very much committed to rolling out a program and supporting a legal market that supports the growth of BIPOC-, women-, and queer-owned businesses. They're really committed to doing whatever they can to reverse the racist war on drugs and give back to communities that have been disproportionately harmed.”

“I would say 70%, maybe more, or our employees are Black and Brown folks. We have tons of employees that used to work in the legacy space as well, a couple who have cannabis convictions, and we're very much committed to doing what we can to support our employees, make sure that they're able to grow within our company and in the wider, broader industry.”

Biggest Challenge in the Industry

“I mean, there're so many challenges — it’s cannabis! But the uncertainty around rescheduling, the abundance of the illicit market, and the intoxicating hemp-derived market. It's just challenging to run a successful cannabis company. It requires such a robust skill set and lots of capital. And you can't write off any business expenses.”

Ending on a High Note

“Being able to build a company culture that really believes in putting people first is really my favorite part of the wider, broader, amazing community of cannabis in the state.”

The elevated interior of The Travel Agency: A Cannabis Stor