Elevate Your Cannabis Brand: Strategies for Market Dominance

10:13  – 13:26: Ryan Hunter, CRO of Spherex, shares pricing strategies for cannabis products, particularly in light of rising costs across various sectors. Ryan explains that his strategy focuses on avoiding the “middle of the pack” by positioning products in the lower or upper end of price tiers. This approach helps navigate the highly price-sensitive market for vapor cartridges and other cannabis products, where they try to be at the lower end of the price tier. He also mentions introducing a value offering in 2022 to address shrinking consumer spending power due to inflation.

Ryan further discusses challenges within the Colorado market, including regulatory changes and the impact of unauthorized distillate from CBD on market prices. This situation underscores the complex interplay between regulatory environments, market dynamics, and pricing strategies in the cannabis industry.

19:26 – 22:42: Jake Litke, CEO of MediaJel, and Ryan Hunter, CRO of Spherex, discuss their strategies for raising consumer awareness and product demand so retailers agree to carry their brand. Ryan shares examples of successful tactics used at Spherex and Willie’s, describing various live events, such as skate parties, bowling alleys, and participation in larger cannabis-themed events, that engage consumers. He highlights a specific strategy in a yearly event, a mile-high 420 celebration in Civic Center Park produced by one of their retail partners, Jars Cannabis. Ryan highlights that getting tactical enhances consumer engagement and drives sales.

Jake appreciates the creativity of these methods and shares an example from California, where a brand held an event at Woody Harrelson’s dispensary. They made a hash hole with a pound of flower and 28 grams of rosin inside, and it generated significant social media buzz through a unique consumption event.

39:58 – 43:12: Ryan Hunter discusses their approach to the Fighter Brand strategy, which is a lower-priced brand created by a company to compete with a specific competitor’s product or capture a price-sensitive market segment. The strategy aims to prevent competitors from gaining market share without diluting the premium brand’s image and pricing.

He underscores the deliberate quality differentiation between the two brands, X Vapes and Spherex. Spherex products stand out for their heightened potency and flavor, which they attribute to their higher distillate and terpene content. On the other hand, X Vapes is positioned as a value tier, offering slightly lower potency and flavor, but still providing high-quality hardware with a low failure rate.

Hunter explains that the strategy keeps their brands distinct, so consumers are not informed that the same company produces both brands. Finally, he notes that the marketing programs for each brand are entirely separate, with distinct shopper personas and activation strategies to ensure they do not overlap in the marketplace.