Cannabis CEOs See Holistic Branding As Key To Consumer Experience

Creating brands that represent the entire consumer experience is the key to success, according to three cannabis executives who presented Thursday at the 

Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference on creating reputable brands in the space.

Michigan Is Key

Michigan provided a unique business opportunity for the company Red White & Bloom to start their venture in the U.S. because of the retail expansion and ability to vertically integrate, said CEO Brad Rogers.

“Michigan really is a phenomenal market and very different from every other market I’ve seen,” Rogers said.

Michigan’s friendly environment toward cannabis purchasing on the consumer end will help the company expand into the rest of the nation, the CEO said. 

Safe, Accessible And Pleasurable

Peter Barsoom, CEO of 1906, a cannabis edibles company, said the product is a promise to a consumer — and brands should fulfill the promise they make. 

“The promise of Nike is that you’ll be a better athlete even if you’re not really an athlete by using their products,” he said. “The promise of 1906 is around that functionality that cannabis can be safe, accessible and that you want to have pleasure in your life.”

1906 has created edibles aimed at creating a functional high to enhance life experiences, Barsoom said. 

For example, the company's "Midnight" edible uses sleep-inducing plant medicines and relaxing cannabis to ensure quality sleep, while the "Go" edible combines plant medicines, cannabis and caffeine for alertness, the CEO said. 

Click here more information about the upcoming Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Oct. 22-23 in Chicago. 

Brand Is Not Exclusive To Packaging

Paul Pedersen, CEO of NextLeaf Solutions, a cannabis extraction technology firm, said he looks at branding as more than just a label on the outside packaging of the product.

The cannabis industry has difficulty standardizing the consumer experience, unlike traditional consumer packaged goods companies like PepsiCo, Inc. PEP or Anheuser-Busch Inbev NV BUD 

This is something NextLeaf is aiming to solve, the CEO said. 

“If you look at great brands like Pepsi or Anheuser-Busch, they all have one thing in common,” Pedersen said.

“No matter what country you go to, it’s standardized. That’s the challenge in cannabis especially when you’re dealing in a verbal form, it’s almost impossible to have a standardized experience." 

Pedersen sees an opportunity to work with consumer packaged goods companies to create CBD-infused products so the partners can help with the standardization process. 

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Moderator Vernon Davis, senior vice president of Protis Global, left; 1906 CEO Peter Barsoom; Red White & Bloom CEO Brad Rogers; and NextLeaf Solutions CEO Paul Pedersen onstage Thursday, Aug. 15 at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Detroit. Photo by Dustin Blitchok.