In the world of cannabis, many thought CBD would be the next big thing in beauty and wellness. The ingredient, which doesn’t get you high, skyrocketed in popularity in 2019, prompting old and new beauty founders to hop on the cannabis train. For many, however, the market has proven much more volatile than expected. For example, in January, celebrity-backed CBD skin-care brand Happy Dance shuttered after only three years in business.
Thanks in part to the continued advocacy for the federal legalization of THC, however, cannabis has remained a growing sector. As the stigma around cannabis continues to fade, consumers are showing interest in edibles and other smoke-free, convenient ways of consumption.
With weed edibles becoming an increasingly competitive category, beauty industry veterans Olivia Sheehan and Rachel Richman are trying to break through the noise with a new take on the product.
Sheehan and Richman at currently employed at luxury retailer Violet Grey, in marketing and merchandising, respectively. Their beauty experience is partly what fueled their desire to explore what they identified as white space in the cannabis market. Though the co-founders both live in California, one of the 18 states where cannabis is legal, they had been unable to find regulated edibles that were both flavorful and void of processed ingredients. So in October, they launched sweedies, a brand focused on infused fruit snacks. They’re currently a team of two and the company is self-funded.
“Everyone’s had a bad edibles experience, but it is the preferred [cannabis consumption] method for most women and new cannabis users,” Sheehan said. “So we dreamed up sweedies to be a snackable product on par with the functional treats found in Erewhon or Whole Foods.”
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According to data from cannabis business intelligence platform New Frontier Data, in 2022, 17% of cannabis consumers said edibles were their most frequently used form of cannabis and 22% said it was their favorite form. In 2023, those numbers rose to 21% and 25%, respectively. And as more casual users have begun to enter the market, low-dose options have been on the rise. A report from market research company Facts and Factors predicts that the global cannabis edibles market will grow to $197.75 billion by 2030, with health and wellness trends expected to play a sizeable factor.
Seeing the growing demand for low-dose, regulated edibles is what led Sheehan and Richman to create their infused fruit snack brand. It’s a new cannabis category, the co-founders say.
Sweedies, which took its name from “sweets” and “weedy,” launched with one hero product: an infused fruit snack dubbed “mood rings.” Though, at face value, Sweedies appears to be just another edibles brand, the co-founders have integrated a wellness element that elevates the experience.
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Unlike other edibles, sweedies’ mood rings contain a moderate dose of five milligrams of cannabis (THC and CBD) per bag. It’s a dosage the co-founders say is a “sweet spot” for most people. The mood ring snacks also have Schisandra, a berry said to promote antiaging qualities. In addition, the gummies are formulated with vitamins B5, B6 and L-theanine, all of which help to “create a mood-enhancing effect that’s uplifting, light and mellow,” according to Sheehan. Sheehan and Richman have also developed the product to be fast-acting. Rather than the traditional one- to two-hour onset period, consumers will feel the effects of the mood rings in about 10-15 minutes, they said. Each unit contains eight packs of bags with 10 gummies each.
“It’s all designed to make you feel a bit more in control of the experience and to turn the classic bad weed brownie experience on its head,” said Sheehan.
To build the formulations, the co-founders tapped a former formulator from the supplements brand Moon Juice. The formulator chose to use allulose as the products’ base instead of sugar, which means they are also sugar-free and won’t spike your blood sugar levels.
The wellness-forward formulation and packaging are aimed at millennial and Gen-Z consumers. But Sheehan and Richman said that building a robust marketing and advertising plan has been challenging due to the ongoing larger legal restrictions. Currently, cannabis founders are prohibited from doing paid ads on any platforms, including Google and Facebook.
“We’ve done a ton on the ground [marketing] by being in stores, talking to customers and doing a good amount of gifting,” said Sheehan. “Email has been a great place to build relationships with customers, so we launched a newsletter.”
The duo is now working on Delta, a cannabis-free hemp-derived version of the mood rings that will give them more flexibility with marketing and building brand awareness.
“Hopefully [with Delta], we can secure a cool Gen-Z type of brand ambassador or have them become a celebrity investor or be [the face] of the brand,” Richman said. “[Those channels] will help drive sales of the Delta product and help us connect with the Gen-Z and millennial customer, as well.” The co-founders are also aiming to launch nationwide DTC sales with the launch of its Delta product.
As Sheehan and Richman continue to grow and scale the brand, they are setting ambitious first-year goals. Since sweedies’ launch, the company has experienced 30% month-over-month organic growth, the co-founders said.
“Our goal is around $800,000 in sales in the first year. We’re working hard on that,” said Sheehan.
Currently, sweedies is only available for purchase online via MedMen.com and GetSava.com and in select brick-and-mortar locations in California.
