The founding father of Queen Mary, a Black female-owned model primarily based in Los Angeles, was shocked by the reactions of the attendees, which she mentioned represented a variety of demographics, together with many child boomers and senior residents.
“We could’ve had a bunch of lookie-loos, but we had real customers, and tons of people said it was the only reason they came to the fair,” mentioned Tiana Woodruff, founder and CEO of Queen Mary. “I couldn’t keep product in stock—I had to go to L.A. twice and clear out all my inventory.”
Consumers had been snapping up Queen Mary’s fast-acting gummies and subsequently “flooding my DMs,” Woodruff mentioned, probably resulting in expanded distribution for the three-year-old model into Northern California.
“I thought I’d sell maybe 300 units, but I ended up selling 800 to 1,000 units—more than I could’ve fathomed,” Woodruff added. “And most of the customers had never walked into a dispensary.”
Electrical vitality
Lizzie Spier, chief advertising officer of craft vape maker Halara, reported the same reception from fairgoers. Her rising model—primarily based in Santa Rosa and a gold award winner within the truthful’s competitors—sells in about 200 dispensaries across the state however has a restricted advertising finances.
“The opportunity to interact with thousands of people—that’s such a challenging lift for a company of our size,” Spier mentioned. “It’s exposure we never would’ve gotten on our own, talking to people we’d never cross paths with ordinarily.”
The gang included navy veterans, former cops, lapsed customers and canna-curious people, she mentioned, which may deliver a brand new wave of shoppers into the authorized market. It additionally gave the on-site model sponsors the possibility to dispel myths and misconceptions about hashish and, in Halara’s case, give attention to its twin passions of training and sustainability.
Whereas the complete return on funding of the truthful is hard to quantify, “There’s no better form of marketing than word of mouth,” Spier mentioned. “It just underscores the value in being integrated into the community and getting out and meeting people at crossover events. Because this went so well, it will open more doors for all of us—the energy was electric.”
