What’s hotter than the sizzling summer weather? These California edibles brands are killing it with social and earned media. Some of these California-only brands, like Satori, are entirely focused on edibles, while others, like Heavy Hitters, carry a wide range of products. This data was collected during the month of June, so gives us an up-to-date look at trending California edibles brands.
First a word on the terminology. When we say “hottest,” we’re not talking sales numbers. The Pioneer Intelligence heat index measures consumer engagement across three pillars–social media, earned media, and website activity.
So how are these brands so successful when engaging with consumers? We reached out to a few of the top ten for answers. In the case of Satori, a CannaCraft brand, it comes down to successfully publicizing an update to their product and encouraging consumers to get creative with Satori chocolate.
“Satori has added fast-acting effects as a benefit, and we’ve focused on presenting the chocolate as an ingredient that can be used to make homemade desserts,” says Satori brand manager Elise McDonough. “This positioning has differentiated us in the marketplace and resulted in new fans and followers.”
Other brands have gained traction by changing their approach to social media. When asked if they’ve been doing anything different when it comes to consumer engagement, Punch co-owner Michael Martinez echoes brand leaders from our last top ten saying, “We’ve really tried to change our approach from being a catalog Instagram to an interactive account.” Although Instagram is important for the brand, he says he assigns equal importance to all three pillars: “It’s an ecosystem so if you lack in one the other areas aren’t as powerful.”
Kikoko marketing manager Nicole Klein agrees that all three pillars are crucial, adding, “Given the heavy restrictions we deal with in the cannabis industry, we know that there’s only so much business and traction we can generate on social. However, we love utilizing social channels to educate and support Kikoko’s customers, showcase our brand, and also have some fun.”
Pioneer Intelligence leverages data to benchmark marketing performance of consumer-facing cannabis brands. Built by a group of experienced and passionate marketers and data scientists, Pioneer helps industry stakeholders better understand how communications strategies resonate with audiences. In early 2021, Pioneer launched its first products, a suite of marketing performance scorecards. These reports present actionable data across three focus areas: social media, earned media and web-related activities. More information can be found on the company’s website, https://pioneer.buzz.
Disclaimer: Pioneer currently has more than 550 brands in their active pool with another 250 brands in their pipeline. Pipeline brands require six months of data before being added to the active pool. Lists of both active and pipeline brands can be found at pioneer.buzz/brands. If you would like to request your brand be tracked by Pioneer, please email [email protected].
