Wana Brands has been the cannabis industry’s leading producer of gummies even before gummies became the clear favorite among legal consumers.
But the company didn’t just roll out a gummy recipe with its launch in 2010, then wait for adult-use markets to open in 2014 and stroll down easy street as the top-selling brand. Far from it.
The story of Wana is one of never resting on your laurels.
For more than a decade, the company has been developing innovative new products, refining its production techniques, improving its ingredients and formulations and chasing the goal of delivering the best flavor and best experience possible.
“And that’s why we have a really high return from a loyalty perspective,” chief marketing officer Joe Hodas says. “We are pretty focused on how to create a great gummy, and we also look at the gummy as more of a delivery vehicle than just a piece of candy. We look at this as, ‘How do we get the end result that we want for the consumer through a vehicle that happens to be a gummy?’”
The Colorado-based company is now in 16 states, plus Canada and Puerto Rico. The company has made continual improvements, both big and small, to its THC and CBD gummies, ranging from healthier recipes (shifting from high fructose corn syrup to a tapioca syrup) to fan-favorite flavors (try the Passionfruit Pineapple or Bliss Berry).
Wana has also embraced minor cannabinoids to formulate the next generation of edibles. Products with CBG are rapidly becoming consumer favorites, such as the 1:1:1 ratio gummies in the Classic and Quick SKUs, as well as the custom cannabinoid blends in the Quick Calm, Fast Asleep and Stay Asleep lines.
“CBG has really emerged as a cannabinoid that’s delivering effects different from THC or CBD,” says Mike Hennesy, vice president of innovation at Wana. “What we’re finding is that CBG, even more than CBD, can help with some of the negative or less positive effects of THC — specifically talking about the anxiety that can be caused by too high doses of THC — and really boosting its ability to have a more social, fun high.”
So far, Hennesy says, the response from consumers about the company’s newest products has been stellar.
“Not only do they like the products, but they like the experience — it’s something new and different than products they were using,” he says. “It’s the idea of expanding the market and the effects that cannabis can provide. It’s a new niche, a new effect that consumers are interested in that we’re delivering with these cannabinoids.”