Cannabis: 2022 Year in Review and 2023 Predictions - Branding Bud Live Episode 8
THE SUMMARY
A countdown of the top 10 most memorable moments of 2022, and top 10 predictions for 2023. David and Adriana reveal the events that shaped the cannabis industry in 2022 including the partnership between Major League Baseball and Charlotte's Web, research that proves "the nose knows", class action lawsuits brought against pre-rolls brands for potency inflation, the Brock Ollie "Superbowl" ad, and Puff Daddy buying Cresco Labs.
THE CO-HOSTS
David Paleschuck, Adriana Hemans
THE FULL TRANSCRIPT
David Paleschuck
Welcome to Branding Bud Live, the livestream that’s 100% THC and 0% WTF. Every week we speak with business people about the business of cannabis. I’m David Paleschuck, founder of Branding Bud Consulting Group and author of, “Branding Bud: The Commercialization of Cannabis”, the first book on cannabis branding. I’m joined by my co-host Adriana Hemans, a marketing executive with over 8 years in the cannabis business and we’re here to talk cannabis branding. Hi Adriana!
Adriana Hemans
Hi David. Thank you for that intro. I’m so excited to co-host the show with you. We’re bringing amazing guests from across the cannabis ecosystem to share their perspectives. What makes our show unique is that we focus on building a community - and we encourage audience participation. It’s not just about us talking, it’s about all of us building something together. So feel free to drop your questions and/or opinions in the chat, and in a minute, we’ll share them too. David, do you know why else today's a special day? Not only the last show of 2022. It's also the first day of legal cannabis sales in New York State.
David Paleschuck
Yes, it is. We have lots of friends waiting on Broadway right now wrapped around the corner of Eighth Street until very cool. Pretty exciting. Guess what?
Adriana Hemans
What?
David Paleschuck
Today is the first episode we don’t have a guest! We’re going to kick it back and forth between us – and the audience – as we summarize 2022 and make some fun predictions for 2023. Ready?
Adriana Hemans
You know I am! So the first thing we'll do is run through our top 10 moments of 2022. Let’s start with number 10.
# 10: Lawsuit Filed For Mislabeling THC Levels
This one I definitely wanted to talk about on Branding Bud Live because it really will have a big impact on a ripple effect we'll see in 2023. If you're not familiar with this is, a class action lawsuit that was actually brought by consumers against a couple of different brands in California, one of them being Jeter, which is a pre roll company. What was alleged is that they were deliberately inflating the amount of THC in their products. Tests showed there was about a 15% difference on the preroll package instead of 46%. And on the actual products, when they tested it, it was about 26%. I should also note is that there's different margin of errors that are allowed with THC content in different states. So in California, the margin of error is 13%. You can only have 13%, more or 13% Less THC than what you claim on your package. In other states, like Arizona, there's a 20% margin of error. So that leads people to be a little bit confused, right? Because they're like, Well, I thought that was allowed. Well, it is but only in some states. And the lawsuit that was, you know, brought forward is saying that they had a financial incentive to over inflate the percentage of THC, which kind of makes sense. I mean, their tagline is, “It'll get you to Mars faster than Elon Musk.” So if it doesn't have a lot of THC, then they're not really living up to their brand promise. And I think that this will be definitely something that we'll see more of in 2023. What are your thoughts on this one, David?
David Paleschuck
I believe a couple of things will happen, I think, you know, companies will focus more on you know, those, those margins and be more specific. And on top of that, I think terpenes and other cannabinoids will start to become more important, you know, and hopefully balance out what people are actually looking at. You know, it's still at the end of the day, you know, inflating anything, or lying about anything in a product is not a good thing. But I think THC will take a different type of role moving forward.
David Paleschuck
Absolutely. Should we jump on to the next one?
Adriana Hemans
Let's do it.
David Paleschuck
#9: The Safe Banking Act Did Not Pass In 2022
Number nine, the Safe Banking Act did not pass in 2022. There are many aspects to the SAFE Banking Act. Cash on hand at a dispensary or adult use store has clearly created unsafe environments and a number of robberies including budtender deaths. This is clearly dangerous, and just doesn't make sense. It's just not safe. To make the industry safer for consumers, employees, and the general public, we need to do something about this in 2023.
Adriana Hemans
Totally, yeah, let's get it together. We're taxing these businesses, let them run their businesses in a safe way. I mean, it just makes sense.
David Paleschuck
That's right. We can’t have people go into work every day, not feeling safe.
Adriana Hemans
#8: The Nose Knows
This is one of my favorite ones. So this is something that we've talked about previously on the show. This is something that we hear a lot of experts in cannabis talking about, how do consumers find the best strain for them, right. And there's a lot of competing ideas out there. People now tend to make purchases based on THC content. There's been numerous studies with consumers about how they select cannabis. And including ones that I participated in, in my former life as a market research person. And it overwhelmingly people cite quality as the as their, what they look for when they're picking out a product in the store. But there has never really been a consensus of what quality actually means. So some researchers got together from Austin, and also from Oregon, The Legacy Research Institute and the credo science. Okay, so they did a study with 267 participants, they gave them a bunch of samples. They had them smell the samples and rate the desirability based on the smell, and then they had them consume, smoke it and then rate How their experience was based on the overall experience, and then also on their on the mood elevation. And what they found is that there was no correlation between the THC content and the overall experience. But there was a very strong correlation between the desirability of the smell. And then in the experience, there was also not a strong consensus among the people who were smelling it about what was a very what was an appealing smell, the ones that everyone agreed were appealing, there was more of a correlation. There was some, you know, interpersonal differences. But the ones that people said were bad, we're sort of all over the place. But for an individual, if it smells good to you, that's the one you should select. And looking at THC is not the best indicator. Thoughts on that?
David Paleschuck
Yeah, absolutely. You know, when I first came into the industry 12 or 13 years ago, I was speaking with the owner of dispensary, and one of the words that she brought up to me was “organoleptic”, and I've never forgotten that word. And so organoleptic means “acting on, we're involving the use of the sense organs.” And so and then, you know, from that point on, I was very aware of, if I was going to make a purchase, it was always you know, about not only the look the field, but essentially the smell, and the smell is always the leading indicator for me of what the effect will be. And so I think this is huge. It's just unfortunate that, you know, like aromatherapy, very much like aromatherapy. And if we can even trace back to terpenes, where, you know, there's higher levels of certain types of terpenes lean a little, for example, which is like lavender or is in lavender is more relaxing, that type of thing, other things with paintings and limonene, which are more invigorating. You know, it's clear that those things, take us where we want to go or do the same things that aromatherapy does. So it's unfortunate that we're not able to really smell our way into our purchases or through our purchases. It's important.
Adriana Hemans
Some places allow it, some don't. I think mostly in California, they don't they used to have like little jars that had openings, but now I'm seeing that less and less, but we'll have to look into what the actual lies and come back and talk about it. organoleptic I love that word.
David Paleschuck
And just to just to loop back to the Safe Banking Act super quickly, Steve, I love what you did, because we only have about a minute, a minute and a half to talk about each one of our topics and then go into the prediction. So thank you for doing that. And I just want to call out it's important that as we go through these and go through these really fast, that we're not taking anything away from the importance of each one of these items.
Adriana Hemans
Let's do it. Number seven.
David Paleschuck
#7: Maryland & Missouri Legalize Adult Use Cannabis.
Well, one of the things that I think is so great. And one of the things that I've seen being from New York now in Washington, I've seen basically the West Coast, you know, covered between Washington, Oregon and California. And now I'm starting to see that happen on the east coast. So yay, from Maryland for filling in the dots for me as I color my map and bridging the gap, the empty gap, the divide between the coasts, so things are happening. I think more things will happen in the future. But we're excited to see both of the seats that start with m coming on board, turning that map green. Absolutely.
Adriana Hemans
#6: Puffy Buys Cresco and Columbia Care
Here we go. Puffy bought Cresco labs in Columbia care for 185 million. Puffy is now the proud owner of let me see nine stores and three production facilities. He was widely interviewed after the purchase, reporters were asking him, why did you decide to make this move and he cited social equity reasons, which I think is great. He is now so Cresco is now the largest black owned Cannabis Company, which we have to do a round of applause for that. Amazing. So this is great news. Peace, love it love to see that and one of my highlights from 2022!
David Paleschuck
I agree. Although I do think Puffy needs to rap like Berner has done to promote his brand where there's rapping and brand building converging. Like “My Adidas” back in the day. I call it “brapping” (brand rapping). I'm thinking Puffy needs something like, “Put ya hands in da air, and go smoke some Columbia Care.”
Adriana Hemans
I think we should pitch him.
David Paleschuck
Absolutely. New tracks for Cresco and Columbia Care. Absolutely.
# 5: Biden Signs Science Cannabis Research Bill
Next one Biden science cannabis research bill. And I know there's lots of probably eye rolling going on with this one. But at a time when the world is in such chaos, and we are we have wars going on, and we've got coming out of pandemics and we've got all these other things going on. The fact that the cannabis research bill could even make it to the President's desk says a lot. I thought nothing would happen this year, quite frankly, just because of all the other things that are going on in the world. So I'm at least excited to see the research Bill research leads to, you know, research and testing leads to regulation leads to normalization leads to all the things that we need to get to so. So this was important for me to see take place at a time when quite frankly, you know, I thought it wouldn't be given any attention. What are your thoughts?
Adriana Hemans
Yeah, I totally agree. I think that we saw a couple major pieces of legislation. Did it go far enough? Probably not. Is it still a positive thing that should be celebrated? Yes. And the other example, of course, is the indication that people would be pardoned for non-violent cannabis related offenses, which, I mean, people were sort of critical of that, because they said most of those prosecutions happened at the state level, not the federal level. So it wouldn't have a huge impact. But still, even a hollow gesture is still a gesture, right?
David Paleschuck
Indeed, yeah. It's a step in the right direction. And especially when, when it comes from a president right, you know, regardless of who it is, there's, there's intention. There's, there's a tension with it. Yeah. So that's important. All right. Enough of President Biden, shall we move to the next? Next slide?
Adriana Hemans
Yeah, let's do it.
#4: The First Death Related To Delta-8
So I really feel like this news story really sort of changed the narrative around how we talk about the dangers of cannabis consumption. There was a woman whose four year old son in Virginia died from eating edibles. So disclaimer, was the mother negligent? Yes. Was Poison Control negligent? Also? Yes. Did the kid have a pre-existing condition? Yes. Was the media attempting to demonize cannabis also? Yes. But I think that this is important to talk about because before this, there was sort of this perception that like, Okay, you remember the 911 call the guy who's like, dialing 911. He's talking about how he can't breath, and time has stopped because he's really high took too many edibles. And that was passed around, like for comedy, right? It was something that people looked at. And they were like, Oh, this is hilarious, because everybody knows that this guy was just freaking out. And cannabis isn't really harmful. I think that that narrative is starting to change in the media, and undeservedly, so, but something to definitely keep an eye on and something that shifted and 2022 What are your thoughts given?
David Paleschuck
I agree, I think, you know, there were lots of things in this scenario, but, you know, it's always the perfect storm, isn't it, but nonetheless, people will use it to their advantage, and to, to whatever they're seeking to, you know, to have done so those that are anti cannabis will use it to their advantage. But we also not, we need not to play this down, we need to understand, you know, that this is terrible. First of all, you know, and beyond that, you know, we need to manage our products, and we need to have quality control. And we need to make sure that, you know, all the warning signs, and all the labels and child resistant packaging is in place. But it's important. And you know, I've heard a lot of people on, I don't know how to how to explain this better on the flower side of things, or the natural side of things sort of talked about this as it's a delta p issue. But it's not it's really a cannabinoid or cannabis issue, and we just need to be mindful. We can't do anything further.
Adriana Hemans
Well, let's move on to something more fun to talk about, shall we?
David Paleschuck
#3: MLB Partners With Charlotte’s Web CBD
What's more American than baseball apple pie, and now Charlotte's Web, CBD. You know, the MLB and Charlotte's Web have created an exclusive partnership. When you think about the people, you know, the history of baseball and the people that supported the fans, and how open they may or may not be to cannabis and cannabinoids, it's really interesting to see that. In fact, there's a great study which talks about Leeds and their fans and how open their fans are to cannabis. I think it's, it's just interesting to see that I think there's also the NBA, and actually the NFL rate higher than the MLB in terms of fans and their interests. But here, we've got a great partnership. And I think what's most important is that, that it's with MLB, right? It's, it's with baseball. With baseball, it's everything American and everything American comes back to the way I look at Avid, which is the normalization of candidates. I think we're just moving closer. We've got a long way to go. But we're moving closer. And I think this is a perfect example.
Adriana Hemans
Yeah, there's definitely a perception of baseball being really wholesome. Not sure if that is accurate or not. But there is the perception. Normalization is part of this story, for sure. Yeah. Cool. All right. Let's do number two.
#2: Leafly’s Brock Ollie Commercial Gets Pulled Superbowl Line Up
Yeah. Yay. Okay, I love Brock Ali, this is such a fun, such a fun, ad. So the word Super Bowl here is in parentheses, which, because it never aired on the Super Bowl. Weedmaps tried to get it in they were soundly rejected from the Super Bowl. But the video went viral. A lot of people saw it. And what I love about it is not only the commercial itself, which is hilarious. If you haven't seen it, it's rock Ali. It's like a day in the life of Brock Ali, who is the broccoli emoji. And people use the broccoli emoji to be low key about talking about weed when they're texting people. And he keeps getting mistaken for weed. And it's hilarious. And the other reason why I think this is important to share for the 2022 year in review is that I feel like this was the moment when the general audience in the United States started laughing along with the cannabis industry like, yes, it is ridiculous that this is censored. Yes. It's ridiculous that we can't advertise on television, especially when you consider the other products that are being advertised on the Super Bowl, beer, fast food, things that are definitely not healthy for us. And I think that this, this will be one of the moments when we look back and say, Oh, consumer perceptions are really starting to change. We're really starting to catch up with what people inside the industry have already known for years and years.
David Paleschuck
Agreed. And, you know, you said something, which is, you know, laughing with, versus laughing at, you know, and I hate to say it, you still even see it across mainstream TV, you know, the late night shows, if somebody's making a reference to cannabis, it's always it's always a stoner reference, there's always that, you know, old school sort of punch line, we need to change that. I think this was a great ad. And I think it was really a shift in laughing ad versus laughing with. That's important. Mm hmm.
Should we go to the last slide for the Year In Review?
Adriana Hemans
Yes, please!
David Paleschuck
#1: California Protects Its Employees Right To Consume While Not Working
So number one, was California protects its employees, or employees, right. So this is about is cannabis consumption, while not on the job, but being tested for cannabis. I have a number of friends that have over the years lost their jobs because they were surprised tested for cannabis. And, after working for companies for 10 years and in good standing. So this is really important, and near and dear to my heart to see the state is actually taking a look at this taking a look at it seriously, and making rules and regulations around it to protect people during their private time in terms of what they consume. And as long as it's not affecting their job, and as long as people aren't showing up stoned on the job and obviously messing up what they're doing, then, it's really none of the employer’s business. I think this was a really great and important move. I hope more states I know more states moving in that direction.
Adriana Hemans
Thank you, California!
David Paleschuck
We should get a move on because we've got another 10 to go through for our predictions of 2023!
Adriana Hemans
Yes, yeah. 10 more, another countdown back to back countdowns! All right, 2023 predictions.
#10: Consumers Will Focus Less On THC
Inflation of Potency being one and the research study the nose, nose, being the other one, consumers is my prediction, consumers will focus less on THC in 2023. The science doesn't support it. It's up to us as people who are in the industry to educate consumers that THC content is not an indicator of a quality product. And it's not an indicator that they're going to enjoy the product. So let's talk about terpenes. Let's talk about the pleasing aroma and how to select a product that will work for you. That is not just getting as much THC in your blood as possible, because that doesn't work.
David Paleschuck
Yep, absolutely. terpenes other cannabinoids, and THC. But it's not all about the focus on THC. So Yep, absolutely. And Steve, you're right, we all need to educate, you know, and talk through what it's all about. It's not just about THC?
#09: Forced “Lean & Mean” Business Processes
Well, you know, I think one of the things is we, as we spoke a little bit earlier about the economy and the recession and falling prices and, you know, tightening margins. I think, you know, one of the predictions here, it's pretty obvious is that, you know, the, the industry is going to be forced into lean and mean business processes. So, as things tighten up, the, the companies in the industry will have to do that as well, I think it's just, it's pretty obvious, but it's important to call it out. And typically, even though it's a tough thing, going through these phases, like we do, even in our personal lives, right, you know, it's important, you go through and you sort of learned, you figure out where you can cut the fat and you become better people, better businesses, and in total, a better industry. That's what will happen next year, for years to come after 2023.
Adriana Hemans
Yeah, I agree with you on this one, too, David, I think like we're sort of seeing a market correction. In 2022, retail sales really jumped up in 2020. And that was probably an anomaly because of where we were in, you know, in our lockdown in our crisis, and also with just where we were in terms of being accepting of consumption. So that's starting to level off again. And I think that it'll sort of like, be a more even retail sales going forward. I think that cultivators are still in the danger zone, because there's more competition, not only from more people producing but also from the illicit market. And with that, you have to think about what would be attractive to investors, if you're looking to expand your business or if you're looking to get acquired, they're going to want to know that even if you have thin margins, you're operating in a really streamlined way. So that could be like software that could be more efficient lighting. A lot of people who know me know that I can't I recently had a career change in 2022 going from market research to now doing cannabis tech doing compliant software. And the reason for that is I'm just passionate about solving problems. And I see sort of like discrepancies and lack of information is one of the biggest problems so I think that we'll start to see people relying more on tools and anything that can help them cut down overhead in 2023.
David Paleschuck
Yes!
Adriana Hemans
THC will always be a dominant criteria understood that has that it has nothing to do with where you go, but it fuels the right that's true. It is an ingredient that is definitely impacts the experience. so greatly.
David Paleschuck
#08: Customer Experience Will Become More Important Than Ever
Absolutely. And I like what Elena said, too, is, you know, not necessarily change but expand the narrative. Yeah, absolutely. Let's, here we are, the customer experience will become more important than ever. I believe this to be the case. I mean, as we start to see, let's just look at CPG. Right now, you know, the brands, it's more than just the promise, it's more than just the package, it's more than just the purchase, you know, now, it's really truly the experience, whether that's an online experience or an in store experience, that's kind of where we've come to be. I think in the cannabis space, what's really interesting is, in some of the states, where you have vertical integration, you have not only the brands, but then you have those same brand owners owning the dispensaries. So when you think about it, you know, that experience of a consumer even starts as they're driving by the dispensary for the first time. And they're like, Hey, what's that? That could be, and if done, right, and if done within certain rules and regulations, I mean, that's no different from the golden arches, as you drive by it, and you see that you see it, or an IHOP, if you remember, the old IHOP architecture, you know, from back in the day, you recognize the building, you know, what's inside, it's speaking to you before you even get there. So I think, with vertical integration in some states, and, and the ability to offer up that experience, even prior to getting into the store, I think it's pretty, pretty interesting, you know, to sort of understand brands or understand what's taking place in the building before you even get there. And so that experience starts earlier. And I think it's, it's, it's something that will become more and more important.
Adriana Hemans
Yep. And Christine agrees with you, too. She says there has never been such a shift in how businesses focus on branding and customer experience.
David Paleschuck
Yes, we do. Well, as we're looking for that, or thinking about that, let's jump to the next slide, which is important.
Adriana Hemans
#07: Our Industry, One Made Up Of Marginalized People, Will Continue To Marginalize Each Other
So our industry, one made up of marginalized people will continue to marginalize each other. That's pretty tough. And let me read that, again. Our industry, one made up of marginalized people will continue to marginalize each other. And I bring that up. Because this year, I've noticed, so many of us sort of pointing fingers at each other within the industry, whether it was at the different shows, I won't bring up specifics, but what I think we need to do is work with each other in 2023. You know, I know we come from all different places, but we're all going through that same struggle, which is for the love of the plan. And so in so many ways, we have so much more, you know, so much more similar than we do different. And so we really need to do that. So my promise to everybody in 2023 is that, you know, I'm going to stop bickering and sort of, you know, pointing fingers too. And I would ask that everybody does that, that we, we've come together in 2023. As, as whatever community we are, and as however we look at ourselves, to come together and ask for acceptance of each other. So I just think that's really important. Maybe that should have been our number, our number one or mind, I was just thinking that I was just thinking that totally true. And thank you, Jeff, for your comment. This is a huge problem in the cannabis industry, Legacy market legal market. We're all in it together. Like let's get it together.
David Paleschuck
All right. What do we have next?
Adriana Hemans
#6: A Non-Combustible Product Will Overtake Flower In At Least One State.
Okay, number six, one, okay, this might be a little controversial or it might be a little aggressive. You tell me a non-combustible product will overtake flower in at least one state. I'm not saying permanently. I'm not saying that the whole entire year. edibles will outsell flour. I'm saying there'll be one month in one state that has legal sales where something other than flour will be the top seller. What do you all think? Do you agree with me disagree with me? The reason why I think this is true is because not everybody wants to smoke. People want to participate in the health benefits. And they don't necessarily want to take up a smoking habit or a vaping habit. And I am sort of biased because I'm one of those people I don't smoked cannabis, but I do consume edibles. I'm the like, stereotypical middle aged woman who's like not wanting to smoke weed and not really feeling like a part of that part of the industry. However, I do want to experience the benefits. And I do want to experience cannabis. So that's my entry point. And I think a lot of other people are the same way, and that they will start to catch up with flour. Agree with me?
David Paleschuck
I loved how you caveated everything - For one month, in one state, somewhere. You are indeed hedging your bets. But I think I think it makes sense. Again, normalization of people, you know, people smoking less than consuming different form factors for different reasons. So sure, I agree with this. I buy into this. Next slide?
#5: Mike Tyson Will Return For His Third And Final Round.
They three time’s a charm! He's coming back with his “Holy Eats” version of his “Mike Bites” edibles for the holiday season. I predict he's going to come around one more time in 2023 with a line of edibles called “Ringside Eats” (ala Ringside Seats), and a cannabis infused fruit drink called “Sucker Punch”. And in his final and last exit from the industry, I predict he's going to create a chain of crochet stores in called “Bob & Weave”. Ding, ding, ding … Saved by the bell!
Adriana Hemans
Okay, yeah. So number four prediction.
#4: The SAFE Banking Act Will Pass in 2023
Also, maybe a little aggressive, safe banking will pass in 2023. And here's why I think it's going to happen. Yes, the Republicans have gained control of the House. So that might make it a little bit more difficult. But I do want to point out that when it passed in 2021 100% of Democrats voted for it, of course, and 51% of Republicans voted for it. So I think that there's still a chance even in our current political climate, I think it'll pass I think that we'll be able to have freedom from you know, being the banking industry will have freedom from practices, which basically come down on them for working with cannabis businesses. And I will be excited to see that go away.
David Paleschuck
Yeah, absolutely. We'll be talking about the safe Banking Act for quite some time. So remember, always, always be safe.
#3: 2023 Will Be The Year Of Partnerships
That said, number three is 2023 will be the year of partnerships. And I think, you know, Angela Pih said it last year, if you remember, she said it's going to be more about coopetition rather than competition. But I think strategic partnerships are really going to play out this year. Again, I think that feeds back into where are the efficiencies? Where are the economies of scale, where it can, you know, one company and another company be the one plus one equals three? I think that's really important. I think examples of this that we're starting to see are GTI (Green Thumb Industries) and Circle K. You know, that's one example. Leafly and Uber in Canada, in terms of delivery and sort of adding scale and reach. I think strategic partnerships, probably more than ever, with the industry with what's going on in the industry and the economy, I think strategic partnerships are going to play a bigger and broader role in 2023.
Adriana Hemans
Yeah, agree. And also, there's a brand benefit to working with a strategic partnership versus if you know that you can partner with someone, if you need to expand into another state, and you know that you can partner with someone that already has brand recognition. Why fight an uphill battle to try to get your brand recognized when you can do something with someone that already has a little equity in that state? So yeah, a lot of reasons why this is helpful.
David Paleschuck
Absolutely. What's number two?
Adriana Hemans
#2: Colleges & Universities Will Teach Cannabis Curriculums.
Number two is near and dear to my heart. My mother is a college professor at a college in upstate New York Potsdam University. She has a friend who teaches a cannabis business class that I've spoken to the students at and it is overwhelming how excited they are to learn about the cannabis industry. I think that so enrollment is down at colleges and universities across the US with the exception of ivy league schools that are just so competent, you know, competitive that they'll always sort of attract a lot of people coming in. But enrollment is down, and colleges are asking themselves, like how can we be attractive to students? I think young people are really starting to question the value of a college education. There's even you know, politicians out here saying College is a scam, right? So there are the age of like, feeling like, Oh, you have to go to school in order to be successful, I think is on the decline. And I think colleges that are smart will start to think about ways to counteract that trend and that perception and one of those ways is by offering courses in cannabis cultivation programs, business programs, design programs, embracing a new industry, particularly one that has that like cool factor that young people will be drawn to is a smart move. And I think we'll see it happening more and more in 2023.
David Paleschuck
I agree. I agree. You know, it's funny. I took a four day course in Oakland at Oaksterdam University 12 years ago. And that was my introduction, you know, or one of my introductions into the into the industry. And now I'm actually teaching a marketing business and marketing course at LIM College in New York, which is the first accredited college I don't want to say real college but a college you know, that accredited college that has a course as well curriculum. And just to call out Rowan University. Also has a course as well. Thank you. Yep. And Brett Puffenbarger is a lecturer there and a teacher there and great friend, and he's doing great things as well, at Rowan University. So there are many accredited schools coming on board. Which, you know, again, will normalize cannabis and cannabis education. It's been amazing to see the open house and LIM College and to see college kids come with their parents. Everyone is nervous; and everyone is is thinking, “Is this really going to be an educational course? Will they come out with a diploma? Will they come out with an opportunity for a career?” Those are the things that are really important, especially as we seek to build an industry.
Adriana Hemans
Another example, CSU at Fort Collins. That list is just going to keep growing. online colleges, too, will offer a lot of these courses. And I think we learned in 2020 that all colleges are online colleges now. There's really no, you know, separation.
David Paleschuck
Yeah, absolutely. Um, there's online real world colleges. I mean, Oaksterdam University has a great program, too. So it's, it's very cool, what's going on now. And I think it's only going to increase and, and, you know, I know California, you know, the state of California has, if not curriculum, they certainly have cannabis clubs at most of the university colleges and universities as well. So it's, it's getting there. We're getting there. And 2023 We'll, we'll push forward as well. Let's go to our last slide.
#1: Brand Differentiation Will Become More Important Than Ever.
There's really two things that drive industry and drive investment. And that's technology and innovation. And brands. If you have a powerhouse brand that, that can lead technology innovation say, like an Apple, it's going to be an absolute leader, an absolute winner in our space. You know, those brands that can differentiate themselves, through quality product first, because that's most important, packaging, product and/or experience, those are the brands that are going to stand out. And we see that already, the quality products that can come through and how they can connect with communities, specific communities, specific targeted customers. That's what it's all about. I think as we move forward, brands are either going to have to be innovative. On one level or another, maybe it's technology, maybe it's not, maybe it's more human and organic, either way, they'll have to be innovative in their brand will have to, you know, speak through. And I think that's going to be the most important thing. Because as we go through the economy, as we go through the tightening and the shrinking as we go through all the things that we're about to go through, we've been going through, but we're about to go through in 2023, these things will affect us so it's going to be more important than ever to differentiate one's brand. And we'll see, who leads with it.
Adriana Hemans
It's definitely challenging, right. If you're building a brand in cannabis, we know already, you have so many unique challenges specific to being in the cannabis industry. There are restrictions on how and where you can advertise, there are restrictions on packaging, and also generally fighting against stigma. So people who are working to build a brand have an uphill battle, and it's more important than ever, so not being unsuccessful at creating a brand around your product is not an option.
David Paleschuck
Wow. And that brings us to the end of another show. In fact, the last show of 2022. We made it! We’ll be back next Thursday, January 5th as we talk about “The Future Of Cannabis Consumption Lounges” with Maha Haq. Find out more about Branding Bud Live on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@brandingbudlive), and more about our cannabis consulting services at (https://www.brandingbud.com).
Adriana Hemans
Once again, don’t forget to check out David’s book, “Branding Bud, The Commercialization of Cannabis”, the bestselling book in two (2) categories (“Branding & Logo Design” and “Green Business”) on Amazon. You can find out more and purchase the book here:
https://www.amazon.com/Branding-Bud-Commercialization-David-Paleschuck/dp/1936807513
If you missed any of our episodes on LinkedIn, you could find them on our Branding Bud Live YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@brandingbudlive). Find out more about our consulting services at (https://www.brandingbud.com). Thanks, everybody. Have a great rest of your day. Bye!
David Paleschuck
If you miss us in the meantime, you can re-watch today’s episode, or any of our previous episodes, on our LinkedIn page, Branding Bud Live, or on our YouTube channel. There are links in the chat, so give us a follow. Bye! Happy New Year!
Adriana Hemans
Bye! Happy New Year!