EXCLUSIVE: What It Takes To Build A Successful Cannabis Edibles Brand, A Discussion With Industry Leaders

Brands are "easy to make, they're like children," but are "really hard to grow up to mature adults," Christine Smith CEO and founder of Grön, told the crowd at Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference earlier this month in Miami Beach, Florida.

Smith joined three other cannabis experts, Caroline Yeh, co-founder and CEO at TSUMo Snacks; Kelly Flores, COO at Wana Brands and Kristi Palmer, co-founder of Kiva Confections, on the stage at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach where they shared their secrets for building a cannabis edibles empire. Rosie Mattio, founder of MATTIO Communications moderated the panel.

Speaking of the importance of branding and marketing in the cannabis edibles space, Grön's Smith said that her brand has successfully utilized both traditional and more creative ways of advertising, stressing the power of an innovative approach.

Building a cannabis edibles brand "takes a lot of time and you just have to keep figuring it out and trying different things," she said.

A licensed architect-turned-confectioner, Smith shifted gears in 2015, combining tempered chocolate curiosities and a limited market for cannabis edibles while remaining committed to sustainably-produced seed-to-sale confections. "I started in the basement of my house," she said.

Keeping Up With Evolving Regulations

However, that time has passed, said Kiva Confections' Palmer who crafted the first Kiva Bars with her husband Scott in their kitchen in 2010. 

"I hope that in the future we live in a world where starting an edibles business can be done in the kitchen… that's where we should be," she said. "That would be the most inclusive to businesses of all sizes."

Palmer, who has been in the cannabis industry long enough to witness all its trials and tribulations, said that in the early days, cannabis businesses didn't want too much exposure. However, with the cannabis regulatory framework evolving over the years, making "loud marketing campaigns" has become a trend.

Touching on the regulatory landscape in the cannabis industry, Palmer called laws related to marketing cannabis edibles in some states "frustrating" and "stupid," referring to those that prohibit fruits on the product's packaging.

"If you have a best-selling strawberry product in your home market, you have to reinvent what goes where the strawberry was on that pack," she said, adding that regulations like this one are "overreaching" and setting the industry back.

TSUMo Snacks' Yeh seconded Palmer, agreeing that ever-evolving regulations (sometimes twice a year) are a challenge for the edibles business, especially if you are running one in multiple states.

However, on the flip side, she's witnessed regulations changing for the better. "In California, regulations had evolved to the point that a product like mine can exist versus when we first came out with our regs, my product would not have been able to exist."

Product Development As One Of The Key Factors

In partnership with legendary chef Roy Choi of TSUMo Snacks recently released two new chef-driven flavors, with each snack back infused with 100mg of THC – driven by recent consumer trends.

"I look at what the trends are happening in the market overall," Yeh said, adding that she is not focused on the cannabis industry only in terms of developing new products.

Wanna Brands' Flores said they are more focused on functional products, but when it comes to meeting consumer demand in different regions nationwide, the company is leading with gummies.

"Distillate gummies are easy to manufacture; it's the lowest capital-intensive product; it's easy to get distillate and it allows us to get in at a price that's relatively competitive," Flores explained.

In addition to new products, Wanna is also investing in the community, she added.

"We work with all of our partners," Flores said. "We are also giving back and building loyalty throughout the community."

Photo: Courtesy of Margo Amala on Unsplash