Brand building is key to success in the cannabis marketplace

In both new and established industries, branding is a key way to differentiate one’s product in the marketplace. In the case of the cannabis industry, so many new brands are being introduced in the short period that it is easy to become confused.

LeafLink recently released its list of best-selling and fastest-growing brands on its platform. It can be considered a guide to the cannabis brands that are winning the branding game.

The LeafLink list

LeafLink is a “wholesale cannabis ordering platform and B2B marketplace that covers 12 US states.” There are over 700 brands included on the platform. They reach more than 2,500 retailers that place over $600 million in orders annually. This gives them a deep look at which brands are outperforming.

For 2018, it listed dosist as the best-selling cannabis brand, a clear sign that dosist is doing things right with its branding. But if one goes to the LeafLink List and clicks through to the listings for these brands, one finds very little to distinguish one brand from another. The listings are generic with only a small picture, a brief description and a list of available items. So brand building in the larger cannabis marketplace is what distinguishes these brands and draws retailers’ attention.

Branding dosist

Dosist is based in California and produces pre-filled dose pens designed to deliver exact doses through vaporization. Pens are available in two sizes with 50 or 200 doses in each. They are presented on dosist’s website with a group of formulas, THC and CBD combinations, that have specific effects and are clearly described.

Dosist’s listing on LeafLink is distinguished by a link to an award for “GQ’s best stuff of 2017.” On its website, which is well-designed with an elegant look, it notes at the top of each page that Time Magazine named it one of the “Top 25 Inventions of 2016.” Dosist’s website clearly describes its products and also includes links to a lab analysis page for each batch it releases and a page with links out to press coverage.

A website is a powerful tool for dosist’s branding. It presents clear information about the product, tools for finding out more about what one has purchased and linked to earned media that validates the company and product. While these are unlikely to be the only dosist’s branding efforts, to accomplish what is readily visible required the work of product designers, web designers, writers, and publicists. They clearly have a smart, well-integrated team behind their brand.

Building a branding team

There are multiple ways to build a strong branding team. One can post job ads on appropriate job boards and assemble the best that one can afford. One can go to a branding agency and negotiate a specific process. Or one can go to a white label firm and outsource aspects of the process as needed. The last option is perhaps the most flexible and efficient.

For example, White Label Liquid (OTCMKTS:WLAB) is a white label firm that offers CBD products from honey sticks to pet treats. It can simply manufacture one’s product based on a wide array of choices, add one’s designs to the labels and ship them to a preferred destination. That allows the company to work with a branding agency. Or they can handle the whole branding and marketing process as an element of outsourcing production from label design to public presentation.

The company can provide businesses with everything it needs to launch as early as two weeks. White Label Liquid’s developers and engineers are experts when it comes to developing a diverse lineup of products, and all they need is two weeks to complete CBD products with a distinct flavor, labels, and packaging.

Branding is key

However one approaches the branding process, it should be understood that it is key to success in the cannabis marketplace. Working with experienced service providers is the best way to assure that one is off to a strong start. With a solid brand process in place, a business can then proceed with confidence to build that brand.

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