Marley Natural is reinventing the cannabis industry from
something informal and clandestine to professional and sleek. The brand
is more than a cannabis distributor. It is developing a wide range of
products derived from the plant — including lip balm, body lotion, hand
cream, serum and edibles, to name a few — along with all the
paraphernalia one could ever need.
The new-age dealer: At its official launch at the end
of the year, Marley Natural will start selling roughly three to five
strains of smokeable cannabis, along with innovative new products
derived from cannabis. They will distribute these to dispensaries in
states where recreational cannabis is legal.
Some of these new products will feature infusions of CBD, THC or
both, the psychoactive compounds that produce a high, while others will
not include psychoactive ingredients. There will be a range of options
from THC-infused cream for an epidermal high, to innocuous hemp seed
oil, which will only leave the consumer feeling moisturized (and not
high).
One of the things that makes Marley Natural different is its
accessories. Not only is the company selling cannabis in different
forms to be consumed, but it's also selling the products people use to
consume them, putting them in the unique position of potentially
controlling both distribution and means of consumption.
"We'll be offering an accessories
collection. Not just things like vaporizers, pipes and storage
containers, but ceremonial and lifestyle accessories, too," Tahira
Rehmatullah, general manager of Marley Natural, told Mic. This is one of the crucial ways the company is building its brand, setting itself apart in the process.
"They'll have a modern and sleek look
very much in line with the DNA of Marley Natural. The attraction will be
in the design itself: We look at them as pieces of art versus just a
pipe, for example. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of these
products out there, which are a little shady," Rehmatullah said. Marley
Natural intends on destigmatizing cannabis in the process. "We want to
make products that you would feel very comfortable having on your
bedside table," Rehmatullah said.
While Marley Natural's accessories and smokeable cannabis
will be rolled out at the time of their official launch, they will
initially be more cautious and restrictive about how they sell their
newer products, specifically the CBD- and THC-infused creams, oils and
edibles. The law regarding the sale of these types of products is more
opaque than that of cannabis in its pure form, Rehmatullah said. For
legal reasons, only accessories and products that won't produce a high
will be sold on their website; the rest will be distributed to be sold
in brick-and-mortar stores.
Ahead of the game: Privateer Holdings were one of the
first firms to really understand the cannabis market, and in
preparation for Marley Natural, the founders started the legal and
business legwork five years ago.
"I think one of our competitive advantages is that Privateer
set up to really understand this market and this space. We met with
lawyers and activists and political campaigners and patients and growers
and really built a network of people to fully understand the
marketplace," Zack Hutson, public relations director at Privateer
Holdings, told Mic.
Cannabis is recreationally legal in Washington, Alaska, Colorado and Washington D.C., with medicinal cannabis legalized
in 20 more states. The laws vary by state, both in how it can be grown
and how it can be sold, making it potentially difficult to ensure a
cannabis company is always operating within the confines of the law.
"It has taken awhile to figure out but I feel like we have a
good sense of how this can work and how we can build a national brand
by working with local growers in different states and in different
countries, but still assuring they meet our quality standards and brand
standards," Hutson said.
Privateer Holdings invested considerable resources into
understanding this legal landscape in order to dominate the market and
make the best decisions possible for the company.
"We really have the benefit of being the movers in the
industry, who really took the time to learn the nuances of all the
markets," Rehmatullah said. "We've traveled the world, understanding how
different governments function, how they're looking at this, what the
forward looking opportunity is, and we continue to do that."
Marley Natural is constantly in dialogue
with their growers, the country's policymakers and lobbyists, allowing
itself to evolve with the laws. But Hutson and Rehmatullah also said
everyone in the industry is confident the end of prohibition is
imminent. Marley Natural also has the unusual advantage of pioneering a
market which everyone knows there's a demand for.
"There's no risk these products won't
resonate with the market place. We believe cannabis is a mainstream
product consumed by mainstream people," Hutson said.
A family affair: Marley's children are playing a
hands-on role in the development of this brand. "The family has been
great to work with and involved in a number of levels. They're thinking
about design and really how to position the brand because they want to
preserve the life and spirit of their father," Rehmatullah said.
The Marley family has met with Privateer employees in
Jamaica on a number of occasions as they develop the company. Jamaican
ministers are also involved in the project, in order to integrate the
country into the company, through ethos and in the actual production of
Marley Natural accessories.
"My dad would be so happy to see people understanding the
healing power of the herb, he's smiling right now at what's really
happening," Marley's daughter, Cedella, told Caribbean Life News after her company was announced.
America must brace itself for a change. What was once the
business of college students furtively showing up at one's doorstep with
a backpack full of pot, is soon to be dominated by a sleek,
international brand to be found in mainstream stores. Whether consumers
choose to get high with THC serum and Perrier or a fancy,
Marley-approved vaporizer, the world of weed is about to be shaken up
like never before.
