
The sale surge has been impacting Illinois' sales.
The sale surge has been impacting Illinois' sales.
As many as 18 states are poised to consider some level of cannabis legalization.
But SAFE doesn't appear to be enough for some Democratic leaders.
A majority of cannabis consumers report using it multiple times daily. Cannabis-consuming women under age 30 are even more likely to do so. This group is also likely to be using cannabis to treat mental health conditions.
Source: Brightfield Group, U.S. Cannabis Consumer Insights, Q4 2022
Typically, cartoon characters are forbidden territory for cannabis companies and branding, but the adult-oriented cult favorite Heavy Metal has managed to find a way.
Regulators fear that allowing cartoons to be used in cannabis marketing will attract children to the products. But Heavy Metal has always been clearly targeted to an adult audience, helping it pave the way to combine science fiction, entertainment, and art with cannabis through a partnership with a Massachusetts company.
The original Heavy Metal film came out in 1981 and was adapted from the Heavy Metal magazines which began publication in the 1970s. The magazine featured artwork from famous fantasy illustrators such as Frank Frazetta and H.R. Giger.
Like the magazine, the film features a great deal of graphic violence, sexuality, and nudity – and has long had to navigate content restrictions.
Tommy Corriale who owns the license for Heavy Metal, recently spoke with Green Market Report about the new venture.
“Heavy Metal is an adult-oriented brand. Across all of its verticals, it will continue to be that,” Corriale said. “The current management team that has just recently taken the reins is excited about building additional kinds of content and products in adult-oriented spaces. So cannabis was a natural fit, and Berkshire Roots actually approached us. James had the idea of heavy metal being a brand that would cut through for a number of reasons.”
Corriale is working with Massachusetts dispensary Berkshire Roots to launch Heavy Metal Cannabis on April 1. The product will be available in other stores with plans to expand into other legal states. Berkshire Roots CEO James Winokur also took time to talk with Green Market Report.
Winkour highlighted that even though the movie and the cannabis will be targeted at adults, there will still be steps taken to ensure that is the audience the content reaches.
“As a long-term licensee in Massachusetts, we know all the packaging rules or marketing rules,” Winokur said. “One of the things that we did when we were working with Heavy Metal is figure out that we can have this really great logo on the outside of the packaging, we can have very subtle imagery on the outside, and then play with what goes on on the inside of the packaging that only someone 21 plus is going to be opening.
“You know, this isn’t Snoopy or Mickey Mouse, and that’s what states are generally concerned about is having some image that looks like that,” he added.
Corriale can see opportunities for crossover between the cannabis products and storylines for the magazine, as well, with interactive experiences developing specific artwork, characters, and storylines that customers could access. For example, a QR code could be included within the packaging that could unlock special artwork.
For the Heavy Metal Cannabis brand, Berkshire Roots said it will introduce new flower strains the company hasn’t previously sold.
“I’ve seen a lot of different branding opportunities,” Winokur said. “The name can be interesting, the packaging could be interesting, but what’s inside that has to be really good.”
Berkshire Roots created five “collections” for the initial launch, collectively called the Cannaverse. Each collection will be associated with certain product types and draw from the library of stories and characters in the “Metalverse”:
Where the Metalverse meets the Cannaverse is definitely a different approach to cannabis marketing and could spark more 1970s and 1980s nostalgia in the industry.
The company made significant cost-cutting measures in 2022 to prevent worse results.
The valuations of smaller companies is nearly the same as for larger companies
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Using social listening to understand how consumers talk about cannabis online, Brightfield Group can identify the cannabis strains talked about most positively. Of posts about Blue Dream over the past six months, a majority – 53% – had a positive sentiment. Runtz, on the other hand, only saw 20% of conversations with positive sentiment.
Source: Brightfield Group, U.S. Cannabis Social Listening, January 2023
Reps. Blumenauer and Mace highlighted the similarities of their competing bills.
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