Magnolia Bakery Makes First Foray Into Weed World With Edibles Collab

In a match made in stoner heaven, Magnolia Bakery and Green Thumb Industries are collaborating on cannabis-infused chocolate bars based on the famous pastry shop’s banana pudding and red velvet cake. The partnership continues the popular confectionery’s deep dive into categories outside its own sweet treats while marking its first-ever foray into the weed world. And for Illinois-based multi-state conglomerate Green Thumb, the relationship provides a high-profile platform to target cannafans and the cannacurious, feeding into the trend of weed companies linking with mainstream brands for broader exposure. “We’re always looking for new verticals to get into, and we’ve had plenty of feedback from customers who tell us our desserts are their munchies of choice,” Sara Gramling, head of partnerships and communications at Magnolia, told Adweek. “We’ve heard consumers talk about the cannabis space more and more, so we saw it as an opportunity to do something unique and interesting.” The cannabis industry has stepped up its links with mainstream brands like Magnolia Bakery for broader exposure. The products, based on two of Magnolia’s beloved signature dishes, are launching under the Incredibles edibles brand, breathing new life into any well-worn "get baked" joke. They are available in limited quantities beginning today in Illinois, Massachusetts and Nevada, getting a jump on Green Wednesday and other strong-selling holidays during fourth quarter. After an exclusive window at Green Thumb’s Rise dispensaries, the bars will roll out to other weed retailers in those states. DM and destigmatize The deal, more than a year in the making, started with a DM from Magnolia to Green Thumb, where execs are constantly searching for “ways to disrupt the space and help destigmatize cannabis,” per Eli Weiner, brand manager at Incredibles, a 13-year-old legacy brand in the space. “We know there’s a lot of crossover between their fans and ours and so much natural synergy between what our brands stand for,” Weiner said. “A partnership like this gives us access to consumers we’re not currently reaching—it’s an entrée into a larger addressable audience.” The Freak Brothers and Weedmaps Fire Up a Collaboration to Reach New Fans Magnolia has proven that it knows a thing or two about crave-worthy food fit for smoke sessions (or simply for adventurous and hearty appetites). The bakery worked with New York restaurant Jacob’s Pickles in summer 2022, and the resulting dish—fried chicken and pancakes stuffed with banana pudding, bacon, candied pecans and maple syrup—was a fan favorite. Its alliance with Green Thumb has spawned two products: the Swirled Famous Banana Pudding Bar made from “a swirl of creamy vanilla pudding, crunchy vanilla cookies and freeze-dried bananas,” and the Red Velvet Piece Ahhh Cake, flavored with dark chocolate and cream cheese. Each bar has 100 milligrams of THC—the red velvet product includes 100 milligrams of CBD—with a portion size of 10 pieces at 10 milligrams each. (Pro tip: Nibble judiciously). Collabs are us Using its alliances as a key marketing tool, Magnolia also recently partnered with Boy Smells for a banana-scented candle (it’s currently being restocked for seasonal gift giving), Monos for a luggage collection and Six Point Brewing for a banana pudding craft beer, among others. Magnolia Bakery Takes Flight With Monos for Limited Edition Luggage Collection In the meantime, co-promotions and co-branded products have also begun to pop up more frequently in the cannabis industry, especially around the biggest annual celebration on the weed calendar, April 20. Those matchups have included Weedmaps and Jack in the Box, edibles maker Kiva and Fatburger and Puffco and AriZona iced tea. Green Thumb’s Incredibles team, which brainstormed on flavor combinations with Magnolia, has found “a new mountaintop to share from, hopefully getting more consumers to join our category,” Weiner said, given Magnolia’s footprint that includes retail in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, a thriving delivery and ecommerce business and grocery distribution. The chocolate bars, debuting ahead of the pre-holiday rush, will get a promo boost in dispensaries and via influencers, email, social and digital marketing.