Strategy September 16, 2019
Trend Alert: Cannabis Swag’s Expansion
Limited edition merch for a cannabis history pop-up museum is another sign of the opportunity promo pros have in the legal marijuana market.
Weedmaps is hyping its new pop-up museum, which is focused on the history of marijuana, with a limited edition branded merchandise collection.
The line from Weedmaps, a tech company that allows users to review and discuss cannabis strains and find local dispensaries for adult-use and/or medical-use marijuana, includes T-shirts, tank tops, dad hats, totes, water bottles, ashtrays, sweatshirts, pins, joggers, stickers, a “coaches jacket” and an air freshener.
Classic dad hat.
The Hippie Tee for the Weedmaps Museum of Weed.
The swag is available online and at Weedmaps Museum of Weed, a pop-up in Los Angeles that aims to take visitors through the various locations and time periods where cannabis has been consumed, celebrating “victories” and shedding “light on the most damning moments throughout the last century.”
While the line has some of the stereotypical “stoner” iconography – like the “hippie” shirt above and a tie-dye tee – it’s primarily dominated by an on-trend streetwear look that fashion-forward Millennials and Gen Zers are likely to favor.
Museum of Weed Joggers.
Museum of Weed Coaches Jacket.
Poly blend crewneck pullover.
Museum of Weed Block Tee.
There are also some historical references, as with the “Devil’s Harvest” T-shirt (below) that pokes fun at the 20th Century propaganda film Reefer Madness, which helped embed a highly negative perception of cannabis into America’s collective consciousness for generations.
Devils’ Harvest T-shirt.
From a promotional products perspective, the Weedmaps collection is potentially interesting for a variety of reasons. First, the styles are a clue to what other brands in the cannabis industry might be looking for – notably, more chill streetwear than flower-child hippie, though still with an element of the latter. Secondly, it’s worth noticing that this line comes not from a company engaged in the growing or distribution of cannabis, but one that essentially provides a cannabis industry forum. As the legal marijuana industry grows, more of these types of service providers and so-called “middlemen” are likely to enter the space. All of them could potentially be clients for promo distributors.
As another example, Merry Jane, a cannabis news and culture website, launched a holiday collection late last year that featured apparel basics and lifestyle goods.
As encouragingly, cannabis brands are increasingly investing in branded merchandise to market themselves. Faced with advertising restrictions from the government and social media platforms, cannabis companies see merchandise featuring their logos as a means to attract prospective customers’ attention without incurring regulatory wrath. LTRMN, an Oregon-headquartered cannabis distribution company, has got in on the merch push. So has Ignite, which sells CBD drops and vapes. The Ignite collection includes everything from beanies, baseball jerseys and bandannas, to sports bras and bikinis, to all the basics you’d expect like T-shirts, ball caps and hoodies.
Ignite Premium Collection Goat Skull Pocket Baseball Jersey.
The legal cannabis industry is seeing soaring sales – an upward trajectory likely to continue. In 2018, sales of medical and legal recreational cannabis tallied between $8.6 billion and $10 billion. By 2023, the industry could be generating $25 billion to $30.4 billion annually, according to Marijuana Business Daily. Furthermore, in 2019, the number of full-time workers supporting the cannabis industry either directly or indirectly is expected to jump from an estimated 130,000 to 160,000 workers last year to 175,000 to 215,000 this year. That’s a lot of employees to outfit with company wear and related hard goods like water bottles. Bottom line: The smoke signals are all there for weed to continue growing – and promo distributors should be prepared to capitalize.