Are you looking to market towards more women in the cannabis industry? Are you trying to better understand who makes up this growing community? As more women start businesses in cannabis, we often have the opportunity to listen to the WHY, and why they chose to launch their business. We wish we could list all the amazing topics we have discovered listening to these stories that women share on why their life path has led them to cannabis, but we wanted to share 5 examples of why some women have launched their own cannabis companies. Having a better understanding of what led these women to start up their own business can help you develop your own marketing strategy to reach them.
5 Character Traits Of Emerging Women In The Cannabis Industry
1. No, I will not “Rosé All Day,” thank you very much.
Women and new mother’s in particular, are constantly bombarded with the message that we need to drink to survive the daily grind of work, parenting, you name it, and we DESERVE that glass or bottle of Rose. Heck, there are onesies for babies out there with sayings like “Mommy’s Drinking Buddy” or “Mom and I prefer to drink right out of the bottle.” The big alcohol companies have their eyes set and locked on women, and we are hearing more and more women say no. No, we do not need to drink to survive the day; we are strong enough to tackle whatever comes our way without the need of drinking a mimosa with breakfast, a wine spritzer at lunch or a bottle of wine in the evening.
So what are these women sipping now that they are not feeling the “Rose All Day” trap? They are starting up their own Cannabis-Infused beverage lines full of beneficial ingredients that leave you feeling fulfilled and not famished like alcohol tends to leave you feeling. We are seeing women launching brands in this new beverage industry, whether it is CBD infused spritzers or THC infused juices. These women are realizing if their dream drink isn’t on the shelf, they will launch their own line and put it there themselves.
2. Autoimmune Disease leaving us feeling blah
Did you know that around 78% of all people with an autoimmune disease are women? We have heard the stories of our clients talking about the symptoms they experience, suffering from an autoimmune disease, and how traditional medication didn’t help, leaving them to feel hopeless. For some of these women, however, they decided to launch their own line of Cannabis/CBD products to help provide relief from symptoms such as joint pain from Rheumatoid Arthritis and the powerful anti-inflammatory qualities that cannabis products have on the body. These women tell us that they are tired of relying on pain relievers and want their life back, leading them to launch amazing cannabis products to help others with autoimmune diseases.
3. Edibles, it’s where its at
Edibles such as gummies or cannabis-infused chocolates are really climbing up the ladder of popularity with women in cannabis, and we are seeing more and more mothers opening up about their preference to taking edibles over smoking a joint. Why is that? Well, as a parent who uses cannabis, we hear that they do not want their kids to see them smoke. We also have heard mothers talk about how even though it is legal, smoking a joint still makes them anxious at the thought of DHHS being alerted and their children taken away from them. Edibles make consumption less obvious and easier to consume discreetly. Not to mention they are delicious to much! We have clients who are launching some amazing edible brands that include THC infused honey for your tea or refreshing THC infused lemonade to sip while enjoying a hot summer day. These women want to launch their own line that reflects their own values that shine through in their products.
4. Is it hot in here, or is it me?
As yet another hot flash takes its toll, leaving you sweating from head to toe, you are left wondering….is this menopause? Did you know that THC can lower your body temperature? And that reduces insomnia due to menopause as well? Realizing the full potential of cannabis and the beneficial relief it can have on menopause symptoms has some women seeking to launch their own line of products to help other women, just like themselves, find relief from this transition in their life. We have some clients launching new beverage products with THC-infused tea to sip and enjoy in the evening. These teas are also infused with beneficial herbs such as Black Cohosh and Valerian root. Both herbs are great for relaxing and reducing hot flashes. Some of our clients are launching THC-infused seltzers that are perfect when you need a quick refresh. Hearing their common stories about how they felt desperate to find some relief, and when it wasn’t available, they decided to launch their own line to help other women. It really makes us feel lucky to have these incredible women as our clients!
5. Truth or D.A.R.E.
Just like many of the other women we have chatted with, we too are children of the D.A.R.E era where we were taught all about drugs. We were told they were bad. That weed was a gateway drug to some downward spiral where your brain ended up as an egg being cracked in a frying pan metaphor. Women from this era were often warned of the horrible side effects of cannabis use and were quick to judge others who consumed, yet for some reason or another, their lives led them down the path to try cannabis. They quickly realized they had been gypped out of years of enjoyment with the false assumptions that they were taught year after year in middle school. These women are excited to share their experience with other women like a good ol’ book club. We are hearing about more women launching their own weed clubs, introducing other women to the world of cannabis and women who would have otherwise avoided the plant altogether in fear that their life would head into a Dazed and Confused dream world.
With so much potential out there and entrepreneur spirit, we are excited to see what more women come up with for new products and new businesses in the cannabis field and love the comradery that the cannabis community shares.
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Works Cited
Clopton, J. (2020, October 19). More Women Trying Pot to Manage Menopause. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/menopause/news/20201019/more-women-trying-pot-to-manage-menopause.
Fairweather, D. L., Frisancho-Kiss, S., & Rose, N. R. (2008, September). Sex differences in autoimmune disease from a pathological perspective. The American journal of pathology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2527069/.
Published January 11, 2021 | B. (2021, January 11). Edibles outperform cannabis industry growth in 2020 on COVID sales surge. MJBizDaily. https://mjbizdaily.com/edibles-outperform-cannabis-industry-growth-in-2020-on-covid-spurred-sales-surge/.
Author
Andrea Beaulieu is the founder and creative director at Studio Linear, a female-owned, boutique, cannabis design company that works with clients in the cannabis industry, creating their branding, package design, marketing, and custom web design. Andrea lives lakeside in the beautiful state of Maine with her family in a renovated RV, living the remote dream!
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