As 450 Cannabis Brands Gathered, These Were the Takeaways

PALM SPRINGS, Calif.—Let’s clear up some likely misconceptions about what happens at a cannabis convention: No, they do not shoot weed out of T-shirt canons. And they don’t give it away for free—that’s illegal, even in the most permissive states. But doling out generous samples for $3 a pop? Producing cumulous clouds of smoke that would make Snoop Dogg proud? Those, along with plentiful signs of where the legal cannabis business will continue to grow in 2022, were part of the landscape at the Hall of Flowers show held this month in Palm Springs. The event, launched in 2018, drew 3,700 attendees and 450 brands as it made its debut in the Los Angeles-adjacent desert city that has been leaning heavily (and successfully) into cannabis as a pillar of its tourism marketing. Most of the foot traffic early in the two-day event came from retail buyers who were getting a read on products from legacy players in the space, like CannaCraft, Pax and Curaleaf, in addition to looking for the next breakout brand and the hottest trends. As Adweek's senior editor on the cannabis beat, I was on hand with largely the same goals, as the industry cautiously returns to in-person events and, per BDSA, wends its way to a $25 billion year in legal U.S. sales. Sonoma County's CannaCraft had an outdoor display at Hall of Flowers. Read on for some of the conference high-lights, which featured an incongruous lack of food options for a heavy-toking crowd and an abundance of stylish swag that’s turning some cannabis purveyors into fashion merchants. Spotted on site: Garcia Hand Pick’s groovy Airstream trailer—her name is Bertha—fresh off a (long, strange?) cross-country trip and former NFL running back Ricky Williams touting his new Highsman brand, the name being a twist on the Heisman trophy he won in 1998. Garcia Handpicked built its activation around the 'Bertha' trailer. Fempowered, until it’s not It’s a well-known fact, and a shameful one, that there are few women in senior leadership positions in the country’s biggest cannabis conglomerates or the investment firms that fuel them. At the brand level, it can be a refreshingly different story, as evidenced by a stroll around the Hall of Flowers show floor and its adjoining palm tree-dotted courtyard. Both established and emerging companies like Leune, Kiva, Aster Farms, House of Saka, Her Highness, Hello Again, Garden Society, Megan’s, Cosmic View, Substance, Moon Made Farms and The Medicine Woman had significant square footage and brand presence. And several reported that they were doing brisk business—yes, actual orders—with coveted dispensary accounts. Women-owned cannabis brands at Hall of Flowers hoped to raise attention in a male-heavy category. “Several us were clustered together on the floor, which helped to tell a whole story,” Kate Miller, co-founder and CEO of Miss Grass, told Adweek. “And the female-owned brands felt more elevated and differentiated, design-wise and aesthetically.” But the bro culture, entrenched in the industry, also put its stamp on the event. At least a few male-skewing brands went old school, and not in a good way, by featuring "booth babe" types in cleavage-bearing, form-fitting clothes as part of their ground teams. Alex Halperin, editor and publisher of WeedWeek and a veteran of industry gatherings, was surprised by these so-called “boobtenders.” “Whether due to #MeToo or just good taste, I’m old enough to remember when brands had more reservations about drawing attention to themselves with bodacious babes,” he wrote as part of his event summary. “Not anymore.” And echoing a common criticism that was leveled against another recent industry confab in Las Vegas, Halperin said: “Perhaps not coincidentally, the overall vibe was very dude-heavy.” Miller agreed, saying, “It felt like we were going a bit backwards, like where the industry was a few years ago.” The price is right, and brand is boss A myth that often needs to be debunked about an industry that Brightfield Group predicts will reach $50 billion in U.S. sales by 2026: cannabis is a commodity business. In fact, it’s dominated by brands and consumers who are increasingly loyal to them, which may be due in no small measure to companies’ stepped-up emphasis on brand building, along with the influx of former traditional CPG execs leading that charge. Still, price matters, and there's a burgeoning cluster of brands focused on the affordable end of the scale. The trick is to marry an accessible price with a distinctive position. Yada Yada used a candy-like vibe to get attention for its brand. Pacific Dutch Group aims to check both boxes with Yada Yada, grown in the company's greenhouses near Santa Barbara and boasting THC levels that can top 30%. The colorful young brand is "not bargain bin," according to Scott Minker, co-president, but rather "high quality at a compelling everyday price point." With a cheeky name inspired by Coca-Cola, Slim Jim, Laffy Taffy, KitKat and other familiar convenience store staples, Yada Yada leads with a "fun and irreverent" personality that's targeting a number of demos. Its execs, meanwhile, use tried-and-true CPG marketing tactics to drive sales and "develop a meaningful, emotional connection with our consumers," Minker said. "As the category gets more and more crowded and brands emerge on a national level this will become increasingly more important than it is today, just like any other product in any other industry." Eat, drink and be Mary (Jane) While edibles—a category that includes everything from gummies and plant-based cookies to infused seltzers and wines—are still a single-digit percentage of the overall pie, they’re exploding in popularity. Sales of edibles are expected to top $2 billion this year, per Headset, and could reach $3 billion in 2022, appealing especially to important demos like women, baby boomers, seniors and cannabis newcomers. Drinks alone—well-represented at Hall of Flowers via Mad Lily, Wunder, Tonik, Maison Bloom and Big Chief, among many others—may top $420 million this year, per Brightfield, which is more than double the 2019 sales. By 2025, that number could reach $1 billion, the data firm predicts. Major alcohol giants have taken notice, with Anheuser-Busch InBev, Constellation Group and Pabst Brewing investing in the idea that Americans will increasingly want to drink their weed. As a proof point, execs at the outdoor booth of House of Saka, an infused wine brand with a Napa Valley provenance, were schmoozing with and locking down numerous new retail clients during the show. “Drinks are growing 30% faster than any other category,” Cynthia Salarizadeh, House of Saka’s founder and president, told Adweek. “People are becoming more familiar with them, and they’re buying more. More brands are available, and suddenly there’s more shelf space at dispensaries, giving the whole category more exposure.” Salarizadeh, who plans to expand her brand into Michigan and then Canada from its California home base, said new states entering the legal cannabis market will fuel beverage sales. “States coming online are immediately equipped for a beverage sector, which starts us on more of an even playing field with flower,” she said, noting that the quality bar has been raised in the category and consumers are responding. “Drinks are the future of cannabis, period.” Happy Danksgiving: How the Holiday Season Has Become a Boom Time for Cannabis

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450 Cannabis Brands Gathered in Palm Springs. Here's What You Could Learn From Them

As a $25 billion sales year ends, legal cannabis players are preparing for even more growth

T.L. Stanley

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T.L. Stanley