Jay And Silent Bob Are Entering The Cannabis Industry
CFN Media Group (“CFN Media”), the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the North American cannabis industry, announces publication of an article covering the multiyear cannabis product licensing, development, and marketing agreement between Chemesis International Inc. (CSE: CSI) (OTC: CADMF) and the team of Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes. The two actors are better known as Jay and Silent Bob from slacker film classics such as Clerks, Mallrats, and Chasing Amy. The initial brand is called Jay and Silent Bob’s Private Stash. Chemesis is a legal cannabis company with vertically-integrated operations and established brands in California and Puerto Rico. The company has plans to expand beyond those markets throughout the United States and into Latin America.
One thing that may serve to differentiate companies in the ever-expanding legal cannabis market is branding. Consumers identify with brands, and creating brand loyalty is job #1 for consumer products companies. It’s no different with legal cannabis as the industry continues to emerge from its black market roots. One tried and true marketing strategy is to utilize industry-appropriate celebrities (and their active social media followers) to create a unique brand identity.
Cultural Credibility and Social Media Following
The Jay and Silent Bob characters were created by Kevin Smith, who also directed the movies that made them famous. Since the run of movie success died out a bit in the early 2000s, Smith especially has branched out into the world of social media, podcasts, and even television. Throughout all of his endeavors, cannabis has been a constant theme. Smith and Mewes launched their continuing Jay and Silent Bob Get Old podcast in 2010, and Smith is involved with a number of other diverse podcasts. Smith recently developed a TV pilot called Hollyweed (focused on the lives of two LA-area dispensary owners), has been directing a number of television episodes for a variety of series, and will be releasing a Jay and Silent Bob Reboot movie in 2019. Between the two, they have over 12 million social media followers. They have set up a new Instagram page that highlights the Jay and Silent Bob’s Private Stash brand.
In short, Kevin Smith ‘conquered’ Hollywood from the outside with his immensely successful string of movies. Instead of selling out, he has maintained cultural viability by embracing his outsider status, utilizing emerging content platforms to continue his unique contributions to the ongoing cultural conversation around cannabis culture. Chemesis offers an opportunity to broaden his reach into consumer cannabis products.
“Kevin Smith is many things to many people,” said Edgar Montero, CEO of Chemesis. “To us, he is one of the most prolific content creators of our generation and the foremost authority on all things comedy, comics, and superfandom. His fans respect him because he views the world with a critical eye for excellence and authenticity, but he also is able to sit back and enjoy the moment. What better way to enjoy the moment than with our products, and what better critics to assure their quality than Kevin and Jay.”
Chemesis’ Infrastructure
Chemesis offers a fully-licensed and integrated infrastructure in California that should serve as an ideal platform for the intended Q1 2019 product launch. In partnership with Smith and Mewes, Chemesis plans to introduce and market a full line of products including flower, oils, extracts, pre-rolls, and edibles.
The company owns 80% of SAP Global and its fully licensed production facility in the Coachella Valley of Southern California. The factory has the capacity to turn out 200 pounds of cannabis oil each day, with complementary packaging and manufacturing abilities as well. Chemesis fully owns and distributes the associated California Sap line of products, including award-winning CO2 extracts, the innovative Gramqul packaging system for oil, and a line of vaporizers.
Chemesis also owns 100% of Desert Zen Fulfillment, another Coachella Valley operation that boasts manufacturing, packaging, and distribution capabilities. Desert Zen has an extensive California distribution network, giving Chemesis fully licensed control over the product life cycle from formulation through distribution.
Looking Ahead
The marriage between Chemesis and Smith/Mewes has the potential to leverage the best of both entities to create a consumer product powerhouse. California is the place to build a consumer brand, and Chemesis is already set up there with the nuts-and-bolts infrastructure in place combined with existing brands in the market. The addition of products branded and promoted by pop culture icons could be a heady mix as the cannabis industry continues to expand beyond its black market roots into a more widespread and accepted place in American culture.
(via weednews.co)
