The Parent Company Melds Weed and Gaming With FaZe Rain Collab

Cannabis and celebrities go together like blunts and snacks, with movie stars, rappers, rockers, TV hosts and other famous faces crowding into the space. Being alive isn’t even required: Garcia Hand Picked, which dropped more than two decades after Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia died, has done brisk business over the past few years. But professional gamers—massively influential in their own right—have been largely missing from the green rush in any official way. That could be changing: The Parent Company, perhaps best known for its in-house megastar Jay-Z, has partnered with FaZe Rain, a co-founder of esports and media powerhouse FaZe Clan, on a new brand called RCVRY that may kick open the door to more such collaborations. For the San Francisco-based vertically-integrated company, inquiries from pop culture figures are nothing new. “We get a lot of inbound traffic from people who want to do deals with us,” Troy Datcher, chairman and CEO of The Parent Company, told Adweek. “My first question is always, ‘Why?’” Often the celebrity interest can be boiled down to “a money grab,” with Datcher politely declining to get involved. But the new relationship with FaZe Rain (real name Nordan Shat) comes after the gamer and YouTube star said he turned to cannabis to rehab and recover from nerve damage and other health issues. He has since become a vocal proponent and advocate who wants to help advance "mainstream acceptance" of the plant, he said in a statement. Authentic connection Shat, who has more than 11 million social followers, becomes one of the first esports mover-shakers to take the leap into legal cannabis. His alliance with The Parent Company debuted recently with a meet-and-greet at Calma dispensary in Los Angeles, where fans camped out starting at 4 a.m. for a chance to buy an eighth of his Rainz Runtz strain, shake his hand and grab a selfie. The afternoon event was intended to be a showcase for the limited-edition product, using a sneaker-drop model, and serve as “a proof of concept,” Datcher said. Response was strong enough—a line of fans wrapped around the store and down the street for hours—that TPC will expand Rainz Runtz to dispensaries across California, including San Jose, Pasadena, Bellflower and West LA, among other areas. "We surpassed our goal for the day,” Datcher said, noting that "we are in talks with the RCVRY team to continue the partnership.” FaZe Rain (left) and a friend. Baby steps Esports has been a boon for brand partnerships, with FaZe Clan specifically working with Burger King, Totino's, Ghost energy drinks, DoorDash, Nissan and many others. But because of the sizable community of young gamers—including tweens and teenagers—cannabis brands have mostly steered clear. Hector Rodriguez, known professionally as H3CZ, was the first prominent gamer to launch his own weed and hemp brand, called Pine Park, last fall. And as an early indicator of the interest from the audience, his tweet announcing the product, available in California and Oklahoma, went viral. In a thought-leader piece this summer in High Times, Rodriguez wrote about the natural connection between the two worlds, saying there has “always been a vibrant cannabis culture behind the scenes of gaming.” “Esports and cannabis cultures were both born on the edges of society and we’re still battling stigmas despite growing into multi-billion dollar global industries,” he said. Canna gamers Research has pegged the global games market at north of $160 billion, according to Finances Online, while the Entertainment Software Association says that the U.S. gaming population stands at 216 million people, down slightly from a pandemic high. The average age of players is 33, per the ESA’s recent report, and there are now more gamers 45 and up than those under 18. A Brightfield Group study from February 2021 found that 54% of consumers mix cannabis and gaming, while there are scant products developed and earmarked for this audience. For The Parent Company, gaming may be fertile ground going forward given the avenues it may open as the cannabis industry continues to grapple with major marketing restrictions. Datcher emphasized age-gating and other safeguards the company will take to make sure the brand is targeting only over-21 consumers. “We’ve been having some very interesting conversations with a very influential gaming league about a potential partnership and ways for us to talk to this audience together," Datcher said. "There's so much upside." US Cannabis Sales Predicted to Reach $42 Billion by 2026 Despite Lagging Legacy Markets

Cannabis

The Parent Company Melds Cannabis and Gaming Worlds With FaZe Rain Collaboration

The deal, with its limited-edition weed strain, shows the growing clout of canna gamers

T.L. Stanley

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T.L. Stanley