Stay in your lane BDS, this report is full of sh*t.

Yes, flower is a commodity. So are tobacco, cocoa, coffee, vodka, and water. A well-managed brand can absolutely differentiate.

BDS is a fine data and research resource. Their latest report, however, had some pretty crappy brand advice. Their commercial insights on getting into the cannabis space are fine, but obvious — basically do your research before launching a business, folks. Their brand and design conclusions were downright misleading, though. Our biggest point of contention; you can absolutely build a brand around flower.

A lot happens between planting a seed and a consumer purchasing the final product — even if it’s just flower. All the input variables and processes are opportunities to ladder functional benefits into strong & emotional brand stories and personalities. Not all the variables are apt or helpful on their own, but each input is a hook to help create the reasons to believe your brand story.

There are a lot of hidden secrets from the tobacco space that can give cannabis brands the confidence to invest in their flower brand. Tobacco is an even more persnickety plant to grow, with even less that can be done to process it into a final product (especially that a tobacco brand would openly talk about). None-the-less, the influence of branding was crucial to keep the industry intact. From a purely production perspective, tobacco blends are required to balance seasonal yields with the expected taste and strength of a particular brand — Marlboro Reds vs Camel Lights, for instance. Sprinkle in some regulations that are on par with cannabis and it would be easy to conclude that tobacco is in a worse position. Yet strong brands prevail.

Coffee and cocoa are in a similar space as tobacco with the added benefit of multiple formats and the ability to process and bring in added differentiations that cannabis can learn from. Vodka is built on the idea of purity of alcohol.

And then there is water. Because water brands have proven you can premiumize a commodity across multiple dimensions — provenance, social good, added benefits, design, vitality — we’ve made our point.

Flower brands, anyone who says you can’t build a brand around your product doesn’t understand branding and has no imagination.