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Executive Spotlight: Chef Lauren Gockley, Director of Edibles, Coda Signature

Title: Director of Edibles

Company: Coda Signature

Years at current company: Five years—I was one of the original founders when we started Coda Signature in 2015.

Education profile: I’m a classically trained chocolatier. I completed my studies in France at L’Ecole du Grand Chocolat in Tain-l’Hermitage, home of the Valrhona Chocolate Company.

Most successful professional accomplishment before cannabis: I worked my way up in the culinary world for a decade, including upscale restaurants such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Bank in Houston and Thomas Keller’s Per Se in New York. Along the way, I developed a fascination for the potential of chocolate as a superfood—and also how it influences our psyches. It has a powerful ability to transport you to moments of nostalgia, to communicate love, to get you through tough times. I’m proud of the fact that I have been named one of Dessert Professional’s Top 10 Chocolatiers in North America and have gained so much knowledge about natural cacao while working as a raw, vegan chocolatier.

Company Mission: Coda Signature seeks to elevate the sensory experience of cannabis the way music elevates life. Inspired by both classical music and classical confections, Coda Signature creates cannabis-infused products full of imagination. The company has established itself as a leading luxury brand with products featuring bold flavor combinations and top-quality, natural ingredients.

Company’s most successful achievement: We have created a new standard for affordable indulgence in cannabis. Since we launched our original line of hand-painted truffles in 2016, we’ve defied industry norms, both in cannabis and in the mainstream culinary world. At a time when the rest of the industry was taking a formulaic approach to edibles, we were looking for ways to do it differently, experimenting with unexpected flavor combinations and beautiful designs. Now we’re seeing competitors out there bringing new flavors and inventive products, and we hope we’ve inspired the industry as a whole to move forward.

We don’t rest on our laurels, though. My goal is always to find new ways to innovate, whether expanding our medical product portfolio or breathing new life into the infused gummy. When developing products, I aim to create a moment in time. When someone tries a Coda Signature Coffee & Doughnuts chocolate bar, I want them to feel that perfect relaxing moment of a morning coffee break. When someone tastes a Coconut & Lime Fruit Note, I want them to get an immediate beachy, tropical vibe. We infuse our creations with emotion and excitement as much as we infuse them with cannabis.

Has the company raised any capital (yes or no)?: Last year we raised $24.4 million in a  Series A funding round.

Any plans on raising capital in the future? Yes, we are looking to expand our operations to other markets in North America.

Most important company 5-year goal: As consumer tastes change and the culinary world evolves, Coda Signature will be pushing those trends forward in the cannabis world. For instance, we’re seeing demand for more wellness-conscious products, which is why we developed vegan, gluten-free Fruit Notes gummies—more to come there.

We’ll also be prioritizing market expansion. In five years, our hope is that customers across the nation will continue to find their moments of indulgence. Everyone who wants a quality cannabis consumption experience should be able to access it, and with each new market and product offering, we get closer to that goal.