MJBizMag November-December 2022 - 89

MJBizCon Official Show Guide
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and I've seen dozens of startups with
good technology, good innovation,
good products hit the wall and fail
because they lacked the business
discipline to figure out how to scale
with limited cash ... and I was not
going to do that.
See Kim Sanchez Rael
speak at:
Water and Oil Don't Mix:
You sell ingredients to companies that
produce cannabis-infused ingestible
products. Did you ever consider
launching your own infused product
brand?
We have actually done that. We did it
initially at the request of a licensing
partner who didn't have an edibles
program. So, we do have a line of
Azuca-branded products that we
will license.
We have really stuck to the concept
that we're fundamentally a chef-ready
ingredient.
For example, we have a great
simple syrup that's fast acting that
we will license to partners that
uses our formulations. And then,
essentially anybody can have a
cannabis beverage titrated at any
dose that they want because you
have this really great-tasting, fastacting
simple syrup.
Can you just give an example of
something you weren't sure would
stick and it became one of your core
offerings?
I think the big one is really our core,
most fundamental innovation, which
is this product called Activator, which
we license.
We figured out a way to take
something we could initially only do
with our hands at an artisan scale,
and we figured out how to ... put it in a
bottle at scale.
We can train a new kitchen
staff at an edibles manufacturer
in two or three hours how to do
our formulations in a way that is
essentially idiot-proof. It's the same
every time. It's very scalable. It's 100%
repeatable.
The Latest in Cannabis Food
and Beverage Innovation
Thursday, November 17
11:00 am-11:45 am
Las Vegas
Convention Center
Now, our partners can use these
building blocks to make great products.
That's the fundamental win for us:
getting to that point of scalability and
repeatability in a way that empowers
our customers. We don't have to be in
our customer's kitchen.
We put all the scalability in our
manufacturing partners' hands, and
they are completely empowered and
completely trained, and we take all
the guesswork out.
You just returned from Colorado,
where you did some secret shopping.
How did that go?
One of my favorite things to do in
adult-use states is to go around from
dispensary to dispensary and present
myself as new to cannabis, interested
in the edibles space and listen to
what the budtenders say about the
industry.
What are their favorite products?
What are customers really liking?
And I learn a lot about trends in
the industry and what people are
looking for.
It helps me think about how to
really intersect with and meet
those upcoming customer tastes
and interests.
What are your goals are for this
company, and how do you see it
fitting into the changing landscape
of cannabis?
We're going to stay focused on
innovation and the scalability of
innovation.
One of the things that I say almost
every day is that traditional edibles
are dead, kind of like dial-up internet
is dead.
The death of dial-up internet took
about 13 years. I think traditional
edibles are going to die in about two
to three years. Consumers just won't
put up with yesterday's slow-onset
gummy or cookie. That category is
going to die.
Products that are fast-acting and
predictable are going to take over.
And so, I see the sophistication of
the cannabis consumer continuing to
evolve and demand more innovation.
This interview was edited for length
and clarity.
➤ Visit mjbizcon.com to get tickets
to hear Kim Sanchez Rael and other
industry experts speak at MJBizCon,
held November 15-18 in Las Vegas.
mjbizdaily.com | November-December 2022 87
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MJBizMag November-December 2022

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