MJBizMag August 2022 - 43

DO: Look outside cannabis
In a crowded retail environment, you don't want to resemble your
competitors. Look beyond the cannabis industry when creating a logo.
Prince takes her team shopping at Whole Foods Market grocery
stores and large drug stores to get inspiration from branding and
labels outside the cannabis industry.
Torabi goes to REI stores for inspiration.
" Imitation is the highest form of fl attery, " Torabi said. " Just
because somebody has done something doesn't mean that you can't
do it better. Pick and choose what you're gravitating toward, why you
like someone's brand, why you like their label, why you like their
logo, and go from there. "
DON'T: Focus on one state
You likely have big ambitions
for your cannabis brand. Don't
hamstring growth by creating
a logo or tagline that can't be
used in different states and
countries.
Kennebeck said it's no
accident that the cannabis
brand owned by Willie Nelson
has a text-only logo. It gives
the company maximum fl exibility when entering new markets.
" You want brand consistency out in the world, " she said. " Be
mindful that there are a lot of regulations, and they vary from state
to state. So, if your message is, 'Smoke weed,' that's not going to work
everywhere. "
DO: Get help (when it's cheap)
Startup founders don't have to choose between designing a logo
themselves or hiring a professional.
Torabi recommends using free or " free-ish " websites that
specialize in logo creation. She especially likes Tailor Brands.
" If you're scrappy, and you're just starting out, use the tools that
are free and cost-effective for you to start getting your brand in front
of your target customer, " she said.
DON'T: Start in color
Logo colors are essential elements in a
brand. Think of Coca-Cola red or FedEx
purple and orange.
It can seem counterintuitive to start a
logo in black and white. But that's what
Colorado brand strategist Holly Prohs
recommends for logo development.
" I always present logos in black and
white fi rst, " said Prohs, who is also
chief operating offi cer at Lucid Mood, a
Colorado company that manufactures
vapes of THC and CBD blends.
Cookies Never Stops
Seeking New Recipes
Cookies hit a major milestone on June 25, when
it opened its 50th store, Cookies Napa. The
outlet's façade was painted in Cookies' familiar
blue hue, and the interior featured a spacious
retail fl oor and walls dotted with branded fl ower
strains in colorful satchels.
That event followed the opening of Cookies' CBD
store in Vienna, Austria, which also sells Cookiesbranded
clothing. In all, Cookies is in 10 states
and fi ve countries, and the company has 70-plus
proprietary cultivars and roughly 2,000 products.
FOUNDATION OF A BRAND
Cookies' branding story started in 2010, when
co-founders Berner and Jai Chang tried a new
marijuana fl ower strain and observed it tasted
like Thin Mint cookies, which gave rise to the
company's name.
But it wasn't until Berner worked as a budtender
in San Francisco that he realized there were no
standout cannabis brands at the time, which
presented a major opportunity.
" I knew that the one who came to the game
with a brand, a logo, a color, an identity, would
be the most successful, " the California-based
rapper told MJBizMagazine via email. That
eureka moment evolved into the logo and
colorful packaging familiar to many cannabis
consumers today.
MAKING COOKIES
Cookies' designers and creative team are all inhouse,
said Berner, adding that he is " involved in
every decision and approves every piece of art,
names and packaging for all of our products. "
Berner also realized that, for Cookies to stay
successful, it would have to continue rolling out
new products to keep the brand at the front of
consumers' minds. So he created a clothing line
to serve as a " walking billboard. "
" I focus on what consumers want right now, " he
said. " It is important to continue to put out new
products or else things get stale. We always want
to keep our customers excited and wanting more. "
- Omar Sacirbey
mjbizdaily.com | August 2022 43
http://www.mjbizdaily.com
MJBizMag

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag
