Fog & Tree – Pioneering Cannabis Fragrance

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

We spoke with CEO Liz Kost, of Fog & Tree, which is a Cannabis-centric fragrance company based in California. Liz is an experienced executive in the cannabis sector; she is branding highly regulated products, women in cannabis, scaling a startup through a global pandemic, and more. 

Innovation

Fog & Tree's product line is anchored by their clean Cannabis fragrances, which check all the natural product boxes: paraben-free, cruelty-free, propylene-glycol-free, sulfate-free, toxin-free -- they really covered all their bases, as even the alcohol used is derived naturally from sugar. 

And, here's the kicker -- these scents are infused with cannabis terpenes, not THC or CBD, two molecules that can make branding difficult due to their as-of-yet unsettled legal and banking status. Terpenes are what gives cannabis its highly inhalable smell. These aromatic oils (think pine, lemon, and berry) give different marijuana strains their unique scents.

The Fog & Tree product line also includes therapeutic hair treatments formulated with beneficial Cannabinoids and Cannabis-infused room sprays. They intend to expand in their niche space by continuing to set themselves apart from oversaturated cannabis markets like CBD with smart, effective branding, innovative product formats and an unwavering dedication to setting higher standards for luxury cannabis consumer products.

Experience

Fog & Tree co-founders Liz Kost and Jason Foraker started Purple Line Media in 2015, a cannabis branding and packaging company. Purple Line Media was the answer to struggling cannabis brands lost in a sea of DIY branding, with ever-shifting labeling and marketing laws. Purple Line Media successfully elevated branding launch strategy for over 100 cannabis companies, raising the bar considerably from the long-held standard of plastic baggies, and if you were fancy, plastic film canisters with duct tape labels. 

Coupling her expertise in deftly navigating highly regulated verticals with ever-shifting legal considerations, and her proven ability to create successful branding, Liz realized that creating her own cannabis-centric product was the natural evolution. When the Hemp Farm Bill was signed in 2018, Liz and Jason saw an opportunity to create a broad market product much like the ones they had worked with as Purple Line Media.

Fog & Tree, a line of cannabis-based personal-care products, was formed. Fog & Tree seeks to evoke a full sensory experience with the science of aromatherapy, taking you on an experiential tour of California. Much like the marijuana that anchors their brand, one inhale can transport you on a journey up a winding highway through magical redwoods, breathing in the scents of herbaceous vegetation, dewy with coastal fog, and tinges of cannabis flower differentiated by a massive range of terpenes.

Vision

Their decision to move into the cannabis beauty space was intentional, as was the choice to focus on fragrance built on the wonder of cannabis terpenes. The cannabis-infused beauty sector was already estimated at a whopping 5 billion in 2018 and is projected to grow to 18 billion by 2026.

Fog & Tree also focuses heavily on millennials, a demographic sought after by many industries. With a collective spending power of 1.4 trillion, they're not to be ignored as a prime consumer demographic. Rather than focus on millennial habits, like not buying diamonds or frequenting the nearest strip mall Applebee's, Fog & Tree hones in on their positive spending trends; such as their unwavering dedication to #SelfCare and engaging with fragrances in new and unique ways.

Long gone are the days of switching between the special occasion and date night cologne that you buy exactly one bottle of each year. We are buying luxury perfumes from boutique brands that we saw on Instagram. The beard oil you use in the morning can't clash with your everyday cologne and we don't do artificial, sickly-sweet smells. We're rolling peppermint on our wrists for headaches, misting our bedrooms with lavender and smudging the bad vibes out of our living rooms. We're flexing our olfactory muscles and we're willing to spend money to do it.

This careful attention to viability in the broad product market is in part why Fog & Tree was able to grow their brand and expand into over 20 stores within a year of their December 2018 launch. It also landed Fog & Tree a deal with luxury trendsetter monolith Fred Segal and was drumming up a cacophony of retailer buzz around the brand. 

With over 140 different terpenes found in cannabis, the fragrance possibilities are endless. While this route was chosen due to its standout qualities (the CBD market is heavily saturated and will likely decentralize once the full cannabis plant is legalized), it also has several therapeutic qualities. Fog & Tree is currently the only fragrance brand that utilizes genuine cannabis terpenes, making them an early adopter of what is likely to be a huge trend in the coming seasons.

If you want to get in touch with Liz Kost, Fog & Tree, or are interested in investing, you can do so through several routes: 

You can email Liz directly Liz@fogandtree.com.Visit Fog & Tree at their investor portal, where you can invest for as little as $100 using their MicroVentures offering. You can also sign up for their newsletter here.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.