Marijuana Business Magazine November-December 2019

Partnership PIONEERS Isodiol and Asian-American Trade Associations Channel CASE STUDY 86 Marijuana Business Magazine | November-December 2019 increasing production and hammering out a bigger distribution plan. Isodiol had to create a whole new suite of products for the convenience-store sector. KEEPING IT GOING Nearly all convenience-store products sell for less than $20. Consumers buying nutritional sup- plements and pharmaceutical products in a gas station often look for single-serve products, such as a dose of cold medicine. Isodiol settled on a suite of low-dose CBD products just for convenience stores: • A fast-acting topical patch. • A cream. • Four varieties of single-serve concentrated beverages, somewhat like energy shots. • Roll-on topical serums. “We’ve changed packaging. We’ve changed milligrams. We’ve changed certain things within (the products) to hit those price points,” Nihart said. Isodiol hopes some retailers carry its legacy RapidCBD formulations, branded as a “professional series.” NEXT STEPS Cannabis companies are used to patiently explain- ing their products and how they work to people with little familiarity with cannabis, from bankers making a loan, to new customers in a dispensary. But when looking for distribution partnerships, Nihart said, another challenge is countering the educational efforts made by your competitors. Hemp legalization may have opened huge opportunities for mainstream retail partnerships, but it also means your cannabis company may not be the first to seek a particular partnership. “That’s a lot of the challenge. It’s very difficult to educate (convenience stores) because every person walking in representing a different brand has a dif- ferent story” about the right formulations of CBD and why their products are superior, he noted. Before the 2018 Farm Bill was passed, CBD was available only in a small number of specialty stores such as dispensaries and recreational marijuana stores. Now, CBD products can be found in a broad variety of outlets with significant retail footprints. Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, National Association of Convenience Stores, Pharmacy Times, Progressive Grocer, Marijuana Business Daily Copyright 2019 Hemp Industry Daily , a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. All rights reserved.