The Green Rush

The melding of the beauty and wellness industries has been subtly happening over the last couple of years. Brands have begun Breaking Taboos, incorporating Sustainability and opening up about Mental Health. It is safe to say the wellness and beauty worlds are definitely evolving to reflect individual values and authentic voices.

In September 2017 we predicted the The Cannabis Opportunity, and now take a moment to reflect on this burgeoning trend. Dubbed ‘The Green Rush’, the industry is set to reach $20.2 billion by the end of 2021, and cannabis is now legalised in many states.

While you may initially be thinking of a dingy dark room with the curtains closed when you think of cannabis, the industry is breaking into a luxury staple, with brick and mortar stores using innovation and tech to create loyalty and change public opinion surrounding the drug.

Creating a luxury market for cannabis starts with branding that oozes a unique identity. There’s the floral and feminine Venna, the colourful yet minimal Seven Point, and the sultry and sophisticated Daddy Grey Beard. Whether or not you partake, you can’t deny how downright gorgeous this packaging is, selling a sense of luxury lifestyle and changing the stigma around smoking it.

Health food companies are using strong, durable stand up pouches for products like granola and tea. Leaders in the cannabis industry are taking a cue from this successful strategy, and are using similar, flexible child secure exit bags for their cannabis packaging to speak to their health-minded consumers.

Brands that are creating a buzz are dipping into some of our favourite retail trends, selling a sense of distinct luxury. Barney’s Beverly Hills Flagship will be the first department store to launch a 300-square-foot section, ‘The High Life’, devoted to cannabis lifestyle and wellness.

An exclusive partnership with Beboe will focus on experiential and educational touchpoints to cater to ‘Customers who have made cannabis part of their lifestyle and [be] at the forefront of on shifts in culture and lifestyle’ Daniella Vitale, Chief Executive Officer & President, Barneys New York told Elle.com.

Beauty and wellness brands creating personalised routines for consumers are influencing the cannabis market. Tracking a customer’s favourite blends and educating consumers about the different effects, helps cannabis brand MedMen keep customers coming back for more.

Reacting to the culture and changing laws is also key. Rules differ from city to city and state to state, but in Long Beach, stores can’t have cannabis on the main floor, and all of the product is handled by budtenders, whereas in San Diego customers can just take what they want, pay and leave. In Vegas, NuWu dispensary caters to a large tourist market, so each store should be reactive to its unique identity.

Bill McCool of Dieline sums up consumer attitudes perfectly, ‘The dispensary I had visited the week prior was dark as a dungeon, and they did not have a wide variety of brands…. Whereas in Show Grow, you feel like you’re going into the Apple store for weed. It’s no wonder Show Grow has a high customer retention rate of 50%’.

• Brands should be looking to reflect trends adorned by the wellness and beauty industries. Whether it’s educating consumers, personalisation or reflecting local culture, these are a sure way to connect the consumer to the brand and product.
• A considered approach should be taken when addressing packaging and position in the market. Presenting it as an elevated lifestyle must have is key to entering the luxury world.

• The Cannabis Opportunity
• Brands Drop the Taboo
• The New Nurture Economy