Raven flies high: What good cannabis product naming looks like
We’re always looking for new-to-us cannabis companies, in part to hone our sense for what’s out there and who is doing a good job with their naming and brand.
We recently came across Raven, a cannabis company based out of Olympia, Washington. We were taken by their visuals and overall look and feel.
We were also struck by their naming approach because it’s clear, helpful, and unlike any approach we’ve seen. Here’s what stuck out:
- They are direct about why they’re using more uncommon terms and classifications.
- Their naming architecture is clear where it needs to be.
- They respect established strain names and lineages.
1. They are direct about why they’re using more uncommon terms and classifications
On their site they have a page titled What we talk about when we talk about cannabis and one titled Hues of experience. They act as quick primers on how they’re different.
What we talk about when we talk about cannabis
Instead of falling into the indica, sativa, and hybrid trap, Raven breaks out strains by “cannabinoid chemotype.” They’re taking an opportunity to educate and clarify.
A chemotype is a distinguishable chemical profile. Think of it this way: how is it that two plants can look similar but are actually two different strains? The answer is their chemotype or chemical profile — the specific makeup of cannabinoids and terpenoids produced by each plant.
Hues of experience
Raven breaks out five categories for their strains based on significant differences in chemotype:
Type 01 are THC predominant
Type 02 are mixed CBD and THC ratio
Type 03 are CBD predominant
Type 04 are CBG predominant (rare)
Type 05 are cannabinoid null (very rare)
In talking with Nichole Graf, co-founder of Raven, it was clear that hue descriptions are not meant to be all encompassing. For example, “heady, strong, stoned” for Ember Type 01, are meant to be “a pool of words [people] are comfortable in” and then folks should dive into the specific strain descriptions to get a better sense for the types of experiences they might have.
“We need to be to be able to speak to one another in a way that’s more true to experience. Sativa and indica, as I’m sure you have heard at this point, are definitely true in reference to how the plants grow — we can talk about a plant’s sativa percentage and have that relate to how skinny its leaves are maybe and how long flowering it is and what kind of humidity content its growing conditions should require but that does not mean it is indicative of your experience. The more sativa does not mean the more energetic your experience is going to be.
— Nichole Graf, Raven Co-founder
2. Their naming architecture is clear where it needs to be
Functionally, they divide up strains into three commercially available types.
Type 01 are THC predominant
Type 02 are mixed CBD and THC ratio
Type 03 are CBD predominant
Pretty straightforward.
Types 01 and 02 are broken out into three and four hues, respectively, as a way to better map groups of strains to types of experiences. The hues map to fairly agreed upon, yet still subjective, feelings, effects, and strengths.
Type 01
Ember Type 01 — Heady, Strong, Stoned
Gold Type 01 — Bright, Light, Rare
Violet Type 01 — Body, Chill, Meditative
All three of these subtypes made sense to me. I’m familiar with at least one of these strains per subtype and I understand why they broke Type 01 up the way they did. Here’s my read:
Ember Type 01 — Heady, Strong, Stoned
Heady, strong, and stoned — as language — make sense here. These are heavy hitters that I’d describe as being racey, fast, powerful. Like a 9v battery on your tongue, but in a good way.
Gold Type 01 — Bright, Light, Rare
These strains are lighter and more functional relative to Red Type 01. You’re stoned but you can hold a conversation or complete tasks like navigation using a map or counting higher than 20. If Red Type 01 is the 9lb hammer these are precision drill bits. Again, I think the language is appropriate: Bright, Light, Rare.
Violet Type 01 — Body, Chill, Meditative
These strains are more commonly labelled as indica or indica-forward hybrids, but those terms are limiting. These flowers typically stimulate the whole body, giving you that pulsing, wave-like feeling. Couch lock is a term that’s used with the high these types of flowers produce, when really doing anything physical will feel good/different, albeit lying down wherever you happen to be — a lawn, a floor, a velour sofa — feels really fantastic.
Type 02
Leaf Type 02 — Root, Heart, Heal, Feel
Sun Type 02 — Bright, Euphoric, Go Do See Be
Pink Type 02 — Wonder, Inspire, Create, Debate
Marine Type 02 — Chill, Recover, Rest, Unwind
Here’s where I get a little lost because these experiential terms feel more ethereal and rare to me — in large part because I have limited experience with type two cannabis. All told, I think Raven is doing a good job of helping their audience navigate through a tough swath of strains that are hybridized specifically for CBD:THC ratios, something that feels newer and more foreign as these become more commercially available and promoted.
“What’s interesting is yeah we fall back on sativa and indica because for the last however many years pretty much everyone’s cannabis experience was a type one experience and they didn’t understand that there was even a potential for a type two or a type three experience.”
— Nichole Graf, Raven Co-founder
Type 03
Moon Type 03 — Heal, Easy, Balance
There’s only one hue and type here. All the strains are very CBD forward. According to Project CBD a type three That’s it. Nothing really to decode here.
By using this emerging typology that maps more directly to experience, Raven has created a clear and successful naming architecture because it helps people navigate their portfolio and select which product is right for them.
3. They respect established strain names and lineages
They sell well known strains such as Durban Poison and Maui Wowie — big names with expected characteristics and an audience familiar with such characteristics. We find it’s important to leave these names alone while caring for the phenotypes and characteristics that make these classics classic. Renaming them, as they have not done feels disingenuous. When they have developed something new they have their own style. And for once it isn’t dessert themed (Gelato, Cookies, Sherbert). They do, however, have a nice take on how they navigate certain strain names when creating new genetics (or not):
“I do think there is merit in homage to the history of a strain for sure, but also then keeping in mind whoever named those named them that for whatever reason they wanted to and it wasn’t necessarily authentic to an experience. If we ever bred a strain with AK-47 or Chernobyl I’m never going to fucking reference those names. I think they’re terrible and I think they should be outlawed. There’s a lot of misogynist, racist rhetoric that was used for a very long time in cannabis that I don’t want to repeat. In general we just kind of stay away from those strains for that reason, just the energy infused in propagating those is not something I really want to be a part of and there are a lot of other beautiful genetics in the world we can embrace.”
— Nichole Graf, Raven Co-founder
Their cultivar names:
• Frida
• Gilda
• Cosmic Charlie
• Star Gazer Myrtle
They’re honoring two amazing women: Frida Kahlo and Gilda Radner, and then creating two spacey, woo names that are in line with their visual identity and overall brand attitude.
“As we’re naming strains I want to make sure what I’m calling it rings true to why we’re calling it that. It’s all very form follows function but in a real woo woo way. We’ve got a strain called Cosmic Charlie which, what the fuck does Cosmic Charlie mean? Until you know it’s a tie dye sweatpants wearing komodo dragon and then you understand what it’s going to make you feel like.”
— Nichole Graf, Raven Co-founder
Ultimately, we see Raven’s naming architecture and approach as a good model for any cannabis brand selling and/or growing multiple strains.
They’ve treated their audience with respect by educating them, assuming — rightly so — that most people are bright and curious and want to know more about the products they’re consuming.
As they say on their site: “We believe in demystification of cannabis by insisting on clarity, truth, and fact-based rhetoric when we speak about our products. We believe in the power of the legal cannabis industry to set an example of how to exist as conscious, awake, and caring humans.”
We’d like to see more of this from brands of all sorts in all industries, cannabis especially.
