Clever Collabs & Marital Bliss?
Clever Collabs & Marital Bliss?
Plus: Lonely <3s Deadline (Today)
The Broccoli Report
Monday, October 24, 2022
Time to read: 4 minutes, 50 seconds. Contains 969 words.
Good morning!
Fall arrived so quickly that a very important date flew right past me: the Broccoli Report’s second birthday. 🥹
To our day-ones, diehards, and newly-arrived readers, thank you very much for being here. Your support and subscriptions pay me and the BR team (one editor!) for our work every week—we don’t work with advertisers or run sponsored posts. We appreciate you!
Two years in, we’ve got a thriving little community going here, and I’m eager to find new ways to connect BR readers so that we can all learn from each others’ earned wisdom and insights. To create this shared knowledge pool, I’m going to gather answers and experiences relating to specific questions or issues. So, let’s give it a try—I’m interested in getting intel on driving email subscriptions for the next email marketing dispatch. I’d love to hear from any brands that have experimented in this realm and are open to sharing their take for the greater good. Just head to this Google form and answer the four brief prompts to contribute, and if we feature your answer, we’ll be sure to link your business, unless you choose to remain anonymous. I’m excited to read your answers!
Before we get to the news, one last reminder: It's the last call for the “Holiday Help” edition of the Lonely Hearts Board. You’ve got till dinner time today, PST, to send your post to me at yoshikolauren@gmail.com with “Lonely Hearts” in the subject line. Your posts will run in this Friday’s newsletter, which is open to all BR readers and the public. We keep running this connections board because, after every round, I get overwhelming feedback: it works. So consider your needs for the coming months, and send me your post.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
A couple of creative local collaborations caught my eye last week: In Toronto, Ace Hotel teamed up with cannabis brand Superette, where a special lobby phone direct-dials Superette’s Spadina location. Guests can place a weed order for pick-up, just a nine-minute walk away. Meanwhile, in Portland, Oregon, cannabis brand Oregrown partnered with hype food cart Mid City Smashburgers on a mutually beneficial, word-of-mouth promo—mention the deal at Oregrown, and get a coupon for free deluxe fries with your next order; mention the deal at Mid City, and get a coupon for $5 off your next dispensary run.
You might recall how Minnesota accidentally, sort of legalized 5mg hemp-derived THC edibles and just rolled with it. While some local jurisdictions put regulations in place, Politico reports that so far, very little has been done to regulate this nascent, low-dose industry. Although 5mg is the max per product, there are no limits on how much adults can buy at once. The state also has yet to establish any licensing requirements, meaning there is absolutely zero oversight of manufacturing processes. So when it comes to quality control, it’s essentially the same thing as buying product from the neighborhood dealer.
Florida is maintaining its wildcard reputation with a head-turning announcement that medical cannabis will soon be available at select convenience stores. Through a partnership between Circle K—a Canadian-owned company—and cannabis giant Green Thumb Industries, medical cardholders can purchase real medical cannabis from adjacent dispensaries located at ten Circle K locations.
Signs continue to point to the wedding industry being a significant future channel for cannabis brands. Benzinga reported that a wedding planner saw her business grow “after introducing cannabis options to her wedding and other events clients.” It’s still a niche opportunity—and one unfortunately marred by sketchiness—but I don’t think it’s a bad idea for brands with products that could make sense at weddings or in gift bags to make their way into a wedding planner’s Rolodex.
For an audible breakdown of the state of California cannabis, this episode of Vox’s Today, Explained podcast features an interview with Paige St. John, the reporter behind much of LA Times’ impressive, in-depth coverage I’ve shared on the BR.
A new Maryland-based super political action committee (i.e., super PAC) was launched to advocate for restorative justice to families and communities harmed by the war on drugs. The Uplift Action Fund’s first priority is a Get Out The Vote campaign to support cannabis legalization during the general election; then, it intends to focus on implementing education and entrepreneurship programs for aspiring cannabis and cannabis-related operators and providing reentry services for Marylanders released from the criminal justice system.
The comment section of NYT cannabis stories is becoming one of my favorite temperature gauges of cannabis opinion. Even this fairly limited roundup of elaborately designed dispensaries has over 300 comments ranging from passionate opinions on legalization and law enforcement to detailed taxation breakdowns and debates on home grows.
The first of the year’s Christmas cannabis cuteness is here: CBD brand Molly J. released a gummy Advent Calendar for the holiday season featuring 24 gummies in 12 different flavors and two dose options: 25mg or 50mg CBD per piece.
One of my resolutions for the coming year is to use hemp wick more. This beeswax-coated twine burns slowly for a sesh and lets you save on lighter fluid. I’ve received some to try from brands over the years, but I’ve yet to incorporate it into my routine successfully—it’s cumbersome and gets messy quickly if not kept tidy. Part of the issue is that it’s typically sold like a wad of fishing line or wrapped around a chunk of cardboard. That’s why I’m stoked to see House of Puff’s new Astor Hemp Wick & Ashtray, which features a macaron-inspired ceramic disc for wrapping wick around in an ergonomic, easy shape.
Studio A-OK makes a convenient mini-bat keychain for the same purpose—if you’re intrigued, get one before they’re gone forever. 💔
In toking and trouble,
Lauren Yoshiko