New Brunswick monopoly cannabis retailer holding flower competition

The only legal retailer of recreational cannabis in the province of New Brunswick is holding a competition to highlight local producers, engage customers and boost the credibility of the regulated market.

The Cannabis NB competition aims to find the best premium dry-flower products from eight Atlantic Canadian licensed producers.

The initiative, if successful, could steer more sales from illicit to regulated businesses.

Lara Wood, Cannabis NB’s vice president of operations, told MJBizDaily the competition has several business-oriented goals, such as:

  • Enticing legacy consumers to give the legal industry a chance.
  • Increasing the regulated industry’s credibility with potential customers.
  • Gathering feedback for the eight licensed producers taking part.

“In the legal cannabis industry in Canada, it is fairly clear that we cannot just follow traditional marketing strategies across the board – not just because of the regulatory restrictions, but because of the diverse nature of customers and the difference in customer segments,” Wood said via email.

A limited number of customers can purchase a Cannabis Cup box, allowing them to act as a judge in the competition. Each box has eight 3.5-gram packages of flower, one from each of the eight local producers.

The eight producers are:

  • Crystal Cure.
  • Msiku.
  • Namaste (a Hexo Corp. subsidiary).
  • Reef Organic Cannabis.
  • Figr.
  • Stewart Farms.
  • Organigram.
  • Ritual Green (part of Mernova Medicinal).

“The way we engage our customers and promote our products will vary by customer segment,” Wood added. “We need to offer ideas that resonate with different customers, and we hope this event will do that.”

Participants will have an opportunity to judge the products according to five categories.

Winners will be announced July 30.