Marijuana Business Magazine May-June 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | May-June 2019 70 • Market regulations: You must know whether ingestible products are allowed and what potency rules exist. You also must know which product categories—candy or beverages, for example—are allowed, and you must understand packaging regulations that might require you to modify your packaging and labeling design. This may also require changes to standard operating procedures. • The number of ingestible brands in the market: Will you be first on the shelves or entering a crowded field? If you’re new to an existing market and you have to fight for shelf space, there’s a greater need for marketing to boost your brand and connect with budtenders and consumers. That comes at a much higher cost. If you’re first to market, it’s a lighter lift in terms of consumer education and marketing. 2. THOROUGHLY VET POTENTIAL PARTNERS It’s relatively easy for makers of traditional food products—granola bars or carbonated beverages, for example— to find new manufacturing partners. That isn’t the case for cannabis-infused product manufacturers, however, given that the industry is relatively new. “Expertise in (cannabis) manufactur- ing is still very much an asset,” Knoblich Palmer said. “It’s still quite rare and not as easy as you’d think to find a new man- ufacturing partner.” She said manufacturers should keep the following in mind when screening licensing partners: • It’s beneficial for partners to have experience in the manufacturing and distribution of traditional con- sumer packaged goods, particularly food and beverages. Experience in cannabis or other heavily regulated industries—beer and liquor or phar- maceuticals, for example—is a plus, too. Also consider whether potential partners have adequate manufactur- ing and inventory storage space. • Many markets require cannabis products to be tested for potency and contaminants, so it’s a good thing for partners to have an established relationship with a laboratory, preferably one nearby. If a laboratory is too far from a manufacturing facility, it creates an added difficulty in getting products to market in a timely manner. Maintain quality and consistency by requiring manufacturing partners to use your ingredients. Photo Courtesy of Kiva Confections Products