About Friendly Stranger
Friendly Stranger is a Consumer company based in Toronto (Canada) founded in 1994 by Robin Ellins, and was acquired by Fire & Flower in November 2020. Cannabis culture items are retailed online and through Toronto stores. Friendly Stranger has raised $11.25 million across 2 funding rounds from investors including Fire & Flower, VIVO Cannabis and Green Acre Capital. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Robin Ellins. Its website friendlystranger.com draws about 19 thousand monthly visits. Its focus areas include Retail, Cannabis Brands and Retailers, Brands and Diversified. Its competitors include Tilray, SNDL and Galaxie Brands; 1 of its 3 listed competitors has raised funding.
Company details
Friendly Stranger was founded in 1994 in Toronto, Canada, and operates as a retailer in the cannabis culture sector. Vaporizers, bongs, grinders, hemp products, and accessories are sold both online via its domain and in physical stores. Brands such as 420 Science, Arizer, and Bee Line are carried, with leadership provided by founder and CEO Robin Ellins.
- Headquarters Toronto, Canada
- Founders Robin Ellins
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsConsumer
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website friendlystranger.com
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook
- Acquired by Fire & Flower (Nov 2020)
- Total Equity Funding$11.25M (USD)
in 2 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$1.25M (USD), Private Equity Round
Jun 2019
- InvestorsFire & Flower
& 2 more
- Acquired byFire & Flower
(Nov 2020)
Funding Insights of Friendly Stranger
Friendly Stranger has successfully raised a total of $11.25M across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Private Equity Round of $1.25 million completed in June 2019. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $11.25M
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Private Equity Round — $1.25M
- First Round $10M
(Oct 2018)
- Investors Count 2
All 2 funding rounds of Friendly Stranger with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2019 | $1.25M | Private Equity Round | – | VIVO Cannabis | – |
| Oct 2018 | $10M | Private Equity Round | – | Green Acre Capital | – |
3 investors in total: 3 institutional.
Investors in Friendly Stranger
Friendly Stranger has secured backing from 3 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Fire & Flower, VIVO Cannabis and Green Acre Capital.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Green Acre Capital is focused on cannabis industry investments. | greenacrecapital.ca | Canada | ||
Health-based cannabis products are manufactured for medical use. | 2012 | vivocannabis.com | Greater Napanee, Canada | |
Cannabis retail services are provided across Canada. | 2015 | fireandflower.com | Edmonton, Canada |
Investor details for Friendly Stranger
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People of Friendly Stranger
1 people are tracked at Friendly Stranger (1 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Robin Ellins | Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Friendly Stranger
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Timeline of Friendly Stranger
4 dated milestones of Friendly Stranger across 26 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Friendly Stranger is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $10.0M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Private Equity Round, of $1.2M.
- Exit Acquired by Fire & Flower.
Competitors of Friendly Stranger
Friendly Stranger has 3 listed competitors in our database, 1 of them funded. They include Tilray, SNDL and Galaxie Brands.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tilray.com | 2013 | Leamington, Canada | $98.25M | Online e-distributor offering cannabis products for medical purposes | ||
| sndl.com | 2014 | Calgary, Canada | 5 | Cannabis-infused liquor is branded and distributed by SNDL. | ||
| galaxiebrands.com | 2017 | Puslinch, Canada | Diversified cannabis products are developed and distributed by Galaxie Brands. |
Detailed competitors of Friendly Stranger
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Web traffic of Friendly Stranger
The website of Friendly Stranger (friendlystranger.com) receives about 18.9K visits a month.
- Monthly visits18.9K
▼ 4.6% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Friendly Stranger. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
torontohemp.com | torontohemp.com | 100% | – | ||
jupitergrass.ca | jupitergrass.ca | 100% | #5,028,448 | – | |
chrisconrad.com | chrisconrad.com | 75% | – | ||
gordssmokeshop.ca | gordssmokeshop.ca | 64% | #975,717 | – | |
lemonadestand420.com | lemonadestand420.com | 62% | #7,359,927 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 13 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Friendly Stranger
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- 13 similar websites
- Audience overlap
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Top companies in Cannabis Industry & Retail
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Friendly Stranger (Cannabis Industry & Retail) in Canada, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Online e-distributor offering cannabis products for medical purposes | 2013 | Leamington, Ontario, Canada | USD 98.25 M | USD 914.37 M | 2,840 | |
Medical marijuana is produced and distributed by Aurora Cannabis. | 2006 | Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | USD 230.07 M | 1,100 | ||
Platform for managing cannabis manufacturing operations is provided. | 1987 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | USD 110.63 M | 388 |
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Related news about Friendly Stranger
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Frequently Asked Questions about Friendly Stranger
Friendly Stranger was founded in 1994 and raised its 1st funding round 24 years after it was founded.
Friendly Stranger is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. It is registered at Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Robin Ellins is the CEO of Friendly Stranger, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Friendly Stranger is a funded company, having raised a total of $11.25M across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Private Equity Round of $10M, raised on Oct 2018.
Friendly Stranger was founded in 1994 in Toronto, Canada, and operates as a retailer in the cannabis culture sector. Vaporizers, bongs, grinders, hemp products, and accessories are sold both online via its domain and in physical stores. Brands such as 420 Science, Arizer, and Bee Line are carried, with leadership provided by founder and CEO Robin Ellins.
Friendly Stranger's top competitors include Tilray, SNDL and Galaxie Brands.
Friendly Stranger has 3 investors. Key investors include Fire & Flower, VIVO Cannabis, and Green Acre Capital.
Yes. Friendly Stranger was acquired by Fire & Flower in November 2020.