WW COUNCIL ON INFUSED DRINKS, CANNABIS MARKETING
WeedWeek Council is a new initiative to build a community of industry leaders, and share their insights with WeedWeek’s audience.
We recently asked council members’ if they thought infused beverages will become a hot product category and for what they think are the most important trends in marketing and branding:
Peter Gigante, Head of Policy Research at Eaze says, Drinks will be big, but…:
A major question outstanding is how regulators and the public health community will respond. Depending on what is being infused (i.e. will there caffein or other added energy boosters and in what quantity, I could easily see an outcry that the risk of overconsumption is too great with infused beverages, much as some critics do with edibles today.
(Disclosure: Eaze is a WeedWeek Recharge sponsor.)
Here’s Gigante on branding trends:
“Celebrity brands have done well in other industry areas. It remains to be seen if cannabis consumers, and WHICH cannabis consumers, will be swayed by familiar names or if other factors like quality and price will still reign top of mind.”
James Eichner, Sana Packaging
The most interesting trend in cannabis branding is the growing focus on showcasing regenerative agricultural practices as an integral part of a brand’s story.The word “sustainability” means different things to different people…On the other hand, it’s clear a regenerative cannabis farm cultivates cannabis using regenerative agricultural practices like no-till, living soil, etc. Visit https://regenerativecannabisfarming.org/ to learn more.
Tammy Pettigrew, The Cannabis Cutie:
“My favorite trend in cannabis branding is seeing products that are labeling what the end experience will be after consuming their products, like uplifted, relaxed, or focused. For beginning consumers this is ideal, especially since there are thousands of strains that exist and we have now learned that the sativa-indica binary is a myth.”
What else is on the Council’s mind?
Jacqueline Rosales, Soapbox Sample
“There are big challenges in the candy and confection cannabis space from the food scientist and engineer perspectives. I think it’s something very interesting to watch given the current challenges with regulations.”
