A Window into Cannabis Brands with a Strong Foundation to Disrupt
With the legalization of cannabis, Canada has stepped onto the world stage and the nation-wide ‘green rush’ is well underway. With the budding industry entering legalization 2.0, cannabis players are gearing up for the legalization of edible, infused beverage, vape pen and topical products – expected to hit the consumer market by the end of 2019.
As a brand consultant, I’ve had the privilege of diving head first into the cannabis category, helping companies craft disruptive brands to gain market traction – with several brands soon to hit the shelves with the legalization of edibles and infused beverages.
Given the commodity nature of cannabis, winning in this category starts with a powerful brand.
During the lead up to 2018 legalization, DM Brand Consulting laid out the foundational imperatives for defining a cannabis brand to stand out in the market. These foundational imperatives, summarized below, but broken down in more detail here, are the fundamentals for forging stronger consumer connections and setting up cannabis brands to win in a commodity-driven and increasingly congested market.
Coming on one year of legislation, it’s an opportune time to revisit these foundational cannabis brand imperatives and take a pulse on the new market entrants’ brands to see how they measure up.
These foundational imperatives give cannabis brands a firm foundation to stake strong market ground and own a distinct place and voice in the market.
Keeping a strong pulse on emerging cannabis brands hitting the market since legalization, finding cannabis brands that are positioned to stand out from the convention-driven, self-focused, feature-driven, promise sea of sameness is challenging.
BUT THERE ARE A FEW CANNABIS BRANDS THAT MEASURE UP and lean on the foundational brand imperatives – taking on the category convention traps and carving out disruptive and ownable promises.
The following is a snapshot of culturally relevant lifestyle cannabis brands created to drive stronger consumer connection. These brands have taken their promise beyond their product and own the powerful consumer impact they have.
Not only do these brands have the potential to disrupt and help shake up social stigma attached to the category, these brands hold the power to spark more meaningful consumer connections – thus increasing the potential of attracting new consumers to the category.
With legalization 2.0 gearing up, the cannabis category will explode with new formats, new brands and new promises. The cultural mainstreaming of cannabis will continue to transition cannabis into a cultural norm, which means an ongoing reshaping and growth of the cannabis consumer market. It’s an exciting and critical time to keep a strong pulse on the cannabis brand explosion and consumption behaviour shifts in the category.
Stay tuned on DM Brand Consulting Brand Decode blog for future cannabis insight as the category continues to advance and morph.
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