California State Fair pairs cannabis consumption with retail

California cannabis is getting its day in the sun.

Over the past few weeks, marijuana retailer Embarc has organized dozens of award-winning cannabis brands to sell their products at the California State Fair in Sacramento, marking a new feature at the 170-year-old annual event and a new chapter for the industry as a whole.

The landmark development, which encompasses more than 30,000 square feet at the Cal Expo fairgrounds, has attracted hundreds of daily consumers, novices and the cannabis curious to the July 12-28 event, according to organizers and vendors.

“This is a history-making endeavor,” said Dustin Moore, co-founder of Embarc, a Northern California-based marijuana retailer and cannabis events operator that spent years organizing the showcase, which required approvals from numerous local and state government agencies.

Cannabis features include Embarc’s pop-up store, more than 100 brand activations, an exhibit hall, a historic timeline of the plant, its chemistry as well as key cannabis developments and players in California, among others.

“This is an opportunity for all of us to come together in such a positive moment,” Moore added.

“This is something that we all need right now; it lifts us all up.”

The fair also partnered with cannabis product-review app Budist on another new feature: a 100-point marijuana product-evaluation scale similar to the one Robert Parker pioneered in The Wine Advocate.

Gold-medal winners – selected through a mix of empirical lab-testing results and judging panels – will qualify to compete for nine coveted Golden Bear Awards, a distinction previously reserved for outstanding California wines, cheeses, olive oil and craft beer.

“This is such a historic moment for our industry, in particular, and why we’re so proud of Budist’s involvement,” Budist co-founder Jocelyn Sheltraw told MJBizDaily.

“To be on a stage, with California supporting this as the first state-sanctioned cannabis competition, it starts to take us out of our box and this insular community that we’re in.”

The first day of sales at Embarc’s pop-up store at the state fair drew more than 500 customers, Moore said.

Steady foot traffic and demand led Los Angeles-based cannabis company Queen Mary to sell out its inventory of fast-acting rosin gummies.

Within the first four days of retail at the fair, the social equity brand sold more than 400 units, prompting CEO Tiana Woodruff to drive back to L.A. for more inventory.

“We went down to the warehouse and basically cleared it out,” she told MJBizDaily in phone interview.

“We’ve got about 1,000 units to get through the rest of the fair,” Woodruff said of the event, which runs through Sunday.

Queen Mary, which was established in 2021, sells its products at about 25 California stores and recently expanded to Colorado.

The company just partnered with Salinas, California-based Lowell Farms for manufacturing and distribution, and the partnership is expected to increase product availability to about 100 retailers throughout the state by year’s end.

“For a small brand like myself to be now manufactured, distributed and going through their company is a big game changer for us here in California,” Woodruff said.

Some shoppers are spending more than $300 on cannabis products at the fair, according to Moore.

THC-infused beverages, which typically account for about 1% of marijuana sales at stores, are accounting for more than 10% of total cannabis sales at the fair.

“Beverages, edibles and wellness products are just flying off the shelves here, and it’s really cool to see,” Moore said.

“Individual brands are having some incredible success here – so much so that this is helping them to get into other stores.”

Added exposure and the ability to connect with potential new customers pushed cannabis vape brand Halara to take on a larger role at the fair.

The Northern California-based company uses compostable packaging but wanted to do more to offset the carbon footprint of its all-in-one device.

As the event’s official vape-recycling partner, the company set up numerous recycling containers throughout the designated cannabis area.

“Sustainability is a focus of our brand, especially as a vape business,” said Lizzie Spier, Halara’s chief marketing officer.

Earlier this month, MJBizDaily reported on a new California law that went into effect July 1, mandating that THC oil, vape pens and batteries be disposed of at hazardous waste-collection facilities or other approved businesses.

Halara also used the opportunity to educate fairgoers about the brand, its sustainable practices and product offerings, as more consumers have health concerns in light of the recent pesticide scandal that has rattled confidence in California’s regulated market.

“The state fair presents an excellent opportunity to bring our values and our practice to real life,” Spier said.

“People have a lot of questions about vapes right now, and they want assurance that products are quality, that there’s consideration for their health.”

For Ramon Garcia, the fair provided an outlet to showcase California’s crop of legacy cultivators and other small marijuana operators.

Garcia co-founded the Equity Trade Network, an Oakland-based industry group that supports social equity licensees and applicants, and he also is a second-generation cultivator at Sanctuary Farms, which grows outdoor flower in Mendocino County, part of California’s famed Emerald Triangle.

Both groups are part of Embarc’s initiative to showcase legacy and social equity brands at the fair – and sell their products to consumers.

Garcia celebrates the significance of participating in Sacramento’s first state-sanctioned cannabis retail and consumption event.

But he also recognizes that more needs to be done to push mainstream acceptance and access nearly eight years after voters legalized the state’s adult-use marijuana market.

“It’s very poignant and impactful, but it shows how we’ve been hamstrung to reach consumers and create sales space,” he said in a phone interview from the fairgrounds.

“These smaller businesses definitely are being out-resourced, out-capitalized, and so it’s vitally important for them to have this kind of opportunity – especially on a stage like this.”

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Garcia said he’s met many visitors who are first-time state fair attendees who traveled there specifically for cannabis.

A majority of the customers are in their 40s and represent a key target market, according to Garcia.

“We’re talking about people coming back to the plant, and most of them in areas that don’t have ready access,” he said.

“They’re really excited about this opportunity, and it allows us to have that direct interaction with consumers that creates demand and also honors the history and the culture of those people who sacrificed so we can compete in a way that that people respond to.

“People want some value. They want to know they’re getting a good product and investing into a business that is also part of their community.”

Chris Casacchia can be reached at chris.casacchia@mjbizdaily.com.