by Krista Raymer and Leandra Reid, Vetrina Group

Fun. Business and fun. We know a lot of people who wished they could attend, so we thought we would put together a quick ‘round up’ following a really great event. 

What a feeling back on a plane, heading across the border for a conference.These past few years have definitely put a dent in our conference calendars, but the team at Hall of Flowers did an excellent job. COVID protocols ensured everyone attending had a negative test, and damn it felt good to be back out there again. 

Let’s start by giving HUGE kudos to the HOF team and hardworking participants of this conference. We know increasing communication between brands and retail is one of the keys to continue to drive the industry forwards. Hall of Flowers does just this. It puts retailers and vendors in one place to open lines of communication about business and product. 

Hall of Flowers did not disappoint. Physically and conceptually, we’ve got all the goods. 

Takeaway #1: US Packaging Still Rocks

Our green-eyed monster is showing and it has to do with the inundation of gorgeous packaging we saw over the entire conference. 

Packaging supports brands communication with the customer, and the retailer. You know all those wordy signs and collaterals found in Canadian stores? Much of those are eliminated when brands are able to communicate more visually.  

Packaging continues to play a major role in the consumer experience, often inspiring an unintended purchase. 

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Takeaway #2: Infused Products are Coming By Storm

We were pleasantly surprised to see the number of infused products coming down the line for those looking to add impact to their session. 

Particularly interesting, how approachable these products make it for customers to explore concentrates. Many of the current formats in Canada can be intimidating to customers who lack experience. Whereas infusing familiar products opens the door to customer purchasing evolutions. 

Products continue to evolve past classic gummies, bit into more lifestyle and flavour diverse products. This is just the beginning of cannabis products finally tipping over the edge of many concurrent mainstream industries, like food & beverage and health & beauty.

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Takeaway #3: Technology Advancements in Vaping

Smaller vaporizers, smarter technology, smart controlled devices. This category continues to grow in popularity even amongst the controversy. Like the pre-roll category, their ability to offer sheer convenience as noted in BofC’s article about pre-rolls here, vapes aren’t going away anytime soon.

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Takeaway #4: Low Dose THC Products are on the Rise

We welcome the focus on lower THC potency and dose products. These products allow consumers greater control of their experience. They allow those exploring cannabis for a first or second time to have a much more enjoyable experience. 

Seeing growers focus on this product trend opens up the door for those looking to microdose, explore wellness or an approachable alternative for a social event. 

As you know, developing products that have more approachable THC will in-turn welcome more trial from new customers and in-turn advance the movement to destigmatize the consumption of Cannabis. 

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Takeaway #5: Relationships Across Verticals Remain Critically Important

The show enables retailers to proactively plan their business and make strong vendor relationships to get the product sold together. 

In California or across the border here in Canada,  relationships between retailers and vendors remain critical. Not only do they enable you to bring incredible promotions that drive traffic and build basket size – it’ll give you that competitive advantage against the masses of new retailers opening up daily in our market. 

Above all else, the connections you create within your four walls, whether it be a grower/vendor/consumer/local BIA or whomever must be authentic to you and your brand. Your consumer and communities will know and show you (with their wallet) when you try to manufacture authenticity.

Hall of Flowers California definitely didn’t disappoint.

The next Hall of Flowers appearance will be at #mjbizcon in VegasOctober 20-22. 

We’re going to convince Business of Cannabis to let us do another Round-Up Series so you can be sure to hear from us soon. 

Have any questions?

We’d love to talk!