Cocktail Whisperer
Brandon Wiegand is the regional general manager of The+Source in Las Vegaswhich is known widely as the best legal cannabis dispensary in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Warren Bobrow=WB: Where are you from?
Brandon Wiegand=BW: I am proud to be born and raised in Las Vegas!
Warren Bobrow: Where are you from? Why cannabis? Did you go to business school? Who is your mentor?
Peter Miller: I am from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I spend my time now between our corporate headquarters there and visiting everywhere that the SLANG network operates, meeting with the team, our partners, and the greater group of stakeholders in our supply chain and business. Cannabis grabbed my attention seven years ago, when Colorado had a ballot initiative to legalize adult use cannabis. It piqued my interest because of the potential that the new market represented and how the cannabis space could have such a great impact. Soon after, I discovered that Canada was exploring a commercial medical cannabis market to handle what had become a pretty large gray market that the government wanted to disintermediate.
Warren Bobrow=WB: How do you set up a successful brand in the cannabis space?
Sam Arellan0=SA: How you approach building your brand should not be qualified by the space you operate within. As in any industry, start by understanding the audience you wish to engage with. You should know them as well, if not better than they know themselves. The most successful brands regardless of industry are predictive – they know what we want before we do. They revolutionize and modernize the way we think, act and shop. Successful brands become prisms by which paradigms shift and new ones get created. In cannabis, Canndescent operates like this. How does this differ from mainstream brands? It doesn’t. Good brands regardless of industry are like good conversations. That is to say they are reciprocal, meaningful and mutually beneficial.
Warren Bobrow=WB: Please tell me about Stillwater Brands? Why cannabis? Tell me about your professional path to cannabis?
Coree Schmitz=CS: Stillwater Brands is a company that believes in the power of cannabinoids in functional doses. We create fast-acting, consistent products that consumers can trust. Our flagship product, Ripple, has grown to become one of the best-selling brands in Colorado.
The cannabis-infused beverage market is growing at an accelerated rate. Over the next four years, non-alcoholic cannabis-infused beverages (which includes beers, wines, and spirits) is projected to grow by $155 million. With an annual CAGR of 19%, much of this growth is being fueled by major investments from players in the alcohol industry.
Warren Bobrow- WB: Please tell me about Trailblazers. How did it start? What is your overarching mission?
Trailblazers=T: Trailblazers is a curated community of cannabis business and cultural leaders who work to advance the industry, unified by a shared ethos and vision of the future. We believe cannabis is on the precipice of transforming the human experience. Whether it’s disrupting the $50 billion pain management industry, addressing the injustices faced by millions of people who have been wrongly incarcerated, or bringing hope to those who suffer from anxiety, depression, and other ailments, the federal legalization of cannabis has the ability to touch everyone’s life in a meaningful way. It’s not a question of if this impact will occur but how, and whether the cannabis industry will put profit before purpose and blaze a new trail with conscious capitalism in mind.
Warren Bobrow=WB: Why Cannabis? Would you please tell me why you found this path? What had you been doing?
Krysti Rede=KR: The decision for me was less about cannabis. At the forefront I was excited about an opportunity to work in a nascent rapidly growing industry, within a young startup that has an opportunity to positively influence the market, and significantly elevate product and consumer experiences. Many of the opportunities in cannabis are patterns that have played out in other commerce and retail verticals. As more experienced professionals from established verticals move into cannabis, this will elevate the standard of excellence for all involved.
Warren Bobrow=WB: Where are you from originally, reason why I ask is because hardly anyone is actually from Los Angeles, right? What do you do now? Tell me a little bit about your path to where you are now?
Warren Bobrow=WB: Tell me about yourself? What does the plant offer you? What are you working on right now?
Cal Marshall=CM: My name is Cal Marshall, on social media @CalCaliente, and I am a proud military veteran based in Las Vegas. I’m a patent-holding entrepreneur who started a social media content agency called Burger Media. We create culturally relevant narrative content that enables brands across different industries to connect with modern consumers. Right now I’m balancing multiple niche clients while working on a documentary series that takes a deep dive into the cannabis industry and sheds light on various aspects of the business and culture. Legal cannabis is an emerging industry with endless opportunity to identify stories that educate and entertain, and I’m positioning myself at the forefront.