• by Les Luchter , September 20, 2024

California-based Stiiizy, a star of the fast-growing legal cannabis industry, has been popping up at West Coast music festivals this year, as well as defending itself against various accusations of wrong-doing -- ranging from allegedly defrauding customers as to THC amounts and including a pesticide in its cannabis, to allegedly supplying illegal stores in its home state and selling illegally across state lines.

For more on both the marketing and the controversies, Marketing Daily conducted an email interview with three of the brand’s top executives: James Kim, chief executive officer and co-founder; Tak Soto, president; and Victor Hernandez, national experience and activation lead.

This interview has been edited for clarity and space.

Marketing Daily: What can you tell us about the history of the brand?

James Kim: Stiiizy was founded in Los Angeles in 2017 and has grown to include more than 1,700 employees. Our physical locations include 36 retail stores, cultivation facilities, manufacturing facilities, and distribution facilities. The three “I’s in Stiiizy stand for “influence,” “inspire” and “innovate.”

MD: Do you operate outside of California?

Tak Soto:  Our products are currently available in California, Nevada, Michigan, Illinois and Arizona.

MD: What can you tell us about your success?

Kim: This year, we have opened four new Stiiizy stores and plan to open six more by theend of year for a total of 42. One in three vapes soldin California are Stiizy, which speaks to the reliability and trustworthiness of our brand,especially since California is number one in the world for cannabis.

MD: With your success has come criticism and multiple lawsuits.. Without getting into the cases themselves, how has the need to fight on these various fronts affected the company?

Soto: STiiiZY is one of the best-known companies in the cannabis industry. This also makes usan easy target, in some people’s minds, for lawsuits. We are proud of the progress wemade and the culture we’ve built around cannabis. Although legal matters are a fact oflife for major companies such as ours, we do not allow this to stray away from our corevalues to influence, inspire, and innovate.

MD: SF Gate also criticized your sponsorship deal with Outside Lands, your most recent music festival tie-in.  Has this kind of controversy affected your ability to move forward with participation at additional festivals?

Soto:  We’vehad success with at each of our activations – which have been metwith an overwhelmingly positive response from festival-goers. These activations havehelped grow Stiiizy’s audience and strengthen our relationship with existingconsumers. We’re looking forward to creating innovative immersive experiences toshowcase the brand IP to different audiences through music and culture.

MD: When did Stiiizy begin its association with music festivals?

Victor Hernandez:  We teamed up with Higher Love, Arizona’s first-ever EDM [electronic dance music] cannabis-sponsored music festival, in February 2023. One of the festival’s main goals was topromote responsible cannabis use and educate consumers on the benefits of cannabis.

MD:  How do music festivals help you reach new audiences beyond your regular customer base?

Kim: Over the past year, we have done extensive research on how to grow our brandpresence and reach new audiences beyond our regular consumer base. This inspired usto meet target audiences where they are. We partnered with EDC, Rolling Loud, and Outside Lands in 2024 tolaunch immersive on-site activations inan effort to expand our national footprint and awareness for our products.

MD:  What is that regular consumer base, and who are you hoping to expand to?

Kim: Our brand is California-rooted, staying true to the cannabis culture and lifestyle.  As we expand into new states, we never shy away from the fact that we originated in California. Our goal is to seamlessly blend into the local cultures, being authentic to the local consumer, making Stiizy part of their lifestyle.

MD:  Can you describe activations at the three 2024 festivals mentioned above?

Hernandez: Stiiizy made its inaugural appearance at EDC with a 30-foot cannabis grow replica, adorned with 180 lifelike plants and equipped with 24 grow lamps. The best part for our team was interacting with attendees who came from different countries and states where cannabis is yet to enter the legal market.

Stiiizy partnered with Outside Lands to launch a limited-edition co-branded product line, marking the first time a festival of this caliber has introduced such a collaboration. The product line, designed with the spirit of the festival in mind, includes unique strains and products.

At Rolling Loud, Stiiizy debuted a printed photo booth station and a "cultivation" photo op. We also dropped limited-edition products such as ‘40s-infused pre rolls with an exclusive strain, two exclusive flower eighth mylars bags, and a live resin liquid diamonds pod only sold at CA Stiiizy stores.