How Brands and Cannabis Are Thriving Together for 420

Tipsy Scoop serves up sweet treats like spiked mint chip and vanilla bean bourbon that deliver a light buzz similar to a dessert cocktail. But for years now, fans of the New York-based chain have been yearning for something that hits, well, a bit differently. Through a first-time collaboration with a cannabis brand, Tipsy Scoop is delivering something new: THC-laced ice cream floats to coincide with 420, the biggest holiday on the weed industry’s annual calendar. “We get a lot of requests and questions about THC-infused flavors,” Rachel Chitwood, vice president of marketing for the 21-and-older ice cream “barlour,” told ADWEEK. “We haven’t done that because we’re not sure of the legalities, but we can do a partnership with a THC brand, which wasn’t feasible until now.” Pharrell Williams' streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club aligns with Gotham dispensary for a capsule fashion collection. Tipsy Scoop’s alliance is with California-based Cann, known as a “social tonic” backed by Hollywood A-listers, and its hemp-derived drinks that are legal in all 50 states. The collab celebrates the well-known April date and taps into the mindful consumption/Cali sober trend, while extending weed’s reach further into mainstream culture. Promotions around 420 are table stakes in the cannabis space—it remains the biggest sales day of the year in the $30 billion legal industry. But the marketing efforts are increasingly reaching into Main Street USA with deals that co-mingle weed players with major hotels, food and beverage chains and streetwear makers. “These kinds of partnerships show that anyone can be involved in 420,” Jake Bullock, co-founder of Cann, told ADWEEK. “You don’t have to be a smoker or a dispensary to take part—it’s a cultural moment.” Such deals give cannabis brands new distribution and heightened exposure outside the dispensary channel, with the ultimate goal of breaking down stigma and targeting the cannacurious. The potent combo can be "transformative," according to Geraldine Hessler, vice president of marketing for Gotham dispensary. "It's not just about collaboration, it's about rewriting the narrative, destigmatizing perceptions and crafting a new era of elevated experiences where innovation thrives and boundaries blur." 2024's deals follow a newly evolving pattern that has seen mainstream brands like Jack in the Box, AriZona iced tea, Fatburger, sneaker designer Stan Birch and others linking with cannabis companies around 420 celebrations. Scoobie snacks This year’s partnerships include a king-sized “THC” offering inspired by Weedmaps at the fast-growing Ike’s Love & Sandwiches chain. The weed-free sammie is actually a munchie-killer made from turkey, honey and Cheetos. Separately, but also in the culinary space, there’s a Doobie Scoobie Snacks promo from New York's Doobie delivery service and Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream. (The THC-free ice cream has peanut butter swirl and graham crackers.) It's a king-sized, munchie-killer turkey, honey and Cheetos sammie—get it? Meanwhile, New York’s female-founded Gotham dispensary has gone the stylish and experiential routes with events and swag via combos with well-known brands. There will be a block party with a “secret menu” at Upside Pizza in Soho, and a morning-after brunch on Sunday with fashion-forward cannabis brand Flower by Edie Parker at The Standard Hotel East Village. (Among the activities: vape charm making and lighter bedazzling.) Gotham also linked with Pharrell Williams’ streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club for a 420-centric capsule collection. And in other cross-pollination, New York’s first legal dispensary Housing Works Cannabis Co partners for the month with Think Coffee for branded merchandise sales, specialty “Matcha With the Works” drinks in the coffee shop’s 11 locations, and Think sampling and products at the weed retailer. Portions of the proceeds go to parent organization Housing Works to further the nonprofit’s mission in supporting people affected by HIV/AIDS and homelessness. Fashionably high As part of its 420 efforts, Cann has aligned with Los Angeles restaurant Bravo Toast, a popular breakfast and lunch spot, for a weeklong co-branded cafe. Customers can choose to infuse any beverage with a Cann Roadie, a liquid mix-in, or buy Cann’s hemp-based products. And in another extension for its distribution, Cann is stocking Tombolo’s flagship men’s “escape wear” store in New York’s Nolita neighborhood with its Roadies and canned drinks. Cannabis Brand Breaks Ground With Sponsorship of Boston Concert Halls And the Tipsy Scoop partnership will have a long tail. Aside from the ice cream floats and Cann Roadies gift-with-purchase available all week, the "barlour” will now offer Cann drinks in its refrigerated cases on an ongoing basis. And about those floats: Three options mash up Cann flavors such as lemon lavender, grapefruit rosemary and blood orange cardamom into frozen treats with Tipsy’s booze-free sorbets and ice creams. (Only the Brooklyn location will marry the spiked drink, which contains only trace amounts of THC, with alcohol-laced ice cream.) The partnership made strategic sense to Tipsy, per Chitwood, because of demo and branding similarities and the rise of mindful consumption. Drinking a Cann x Tipsy Scoop adult beverage, in short, will not get you baked. “You just feel buzzy, giggly, more social, in a good mood,” Chitwood said. “It doesn’t make you feel impaired in any way—it’s a blaze.”

Cannabis

How Brands and Cannabis Companies Are Maximizing Their Joint Efforts for 420 Marketing

Ike's sandwich chain, Pharrell Williams' Billionaire Boys Club, Tipsy Scoop ice cream and others boost weed's march onto Main Street USA

T.L. Stanley

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T.L. Stanley