Parent Company of It’s All About Choices
The cannabis industry is continually evolving. New innovations are popping up all the time, designed to meet the needs of any type of consumer from canna-curious to everyday smokers. One company breaking the mold for new and old cannabis users alike is It’s All About Choices. A unique line of edibles and mix-in powders that recently made its debut at the famed Hall of Flowers event, It’s All About Choices utilizes cutting-edge water-soluble technology that is fast-acting and effective. From chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa to garlic mashed potatoes and onion soup, the brand has a dizzying amount of flavors meant to appeal to literally anyone.
In this first iteration of Cannabis Community College’s Emerging Brands series, we speak with Hadas Cohen, COO of Powder Nation (parent company of It’s All About Choices), to learn more about the company, its fascinating development, and what it’s like to build a brand in the nascent marijuana industry.
How did you get into the cannabis space?
I started out my career working in the corporate space in retail and merchandising. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the work I was doing, I was eager for the next step and ready to take on a new challenge. I saw an amazing opportunity with It’s All About Choices and was not only excited to step into a new industry but have the potential to truly make an impact.
The cannabis industry has been growing in California for a few years but is still very much an emerging market and has so much opportunity to truly help people. I’m excited to be a part of introducing innovation to the edibles category and expanding industry possibilities while reducing the stigma associated with consumption. It’s great to see it more widely adopted by many customers new to cannabis, especially knowing how beneficial it can be to helping people.
How did It’s All About Choices come to be?
We saw an opportunity gap in the market for us to introduce a new, innovative brand in the edibles category. As a new consumer in the industry, I didn’t find that many brands catered to my preferences. I want to enjoy a variety of products and flavors and rely on each experience to be consistent in addition to being able to control my dosing by consuming small amounts.
In the beginning, we brought on Casey Shea, an esteemed pastry chef, as our VP of Product Development, and worked with the Capsoil R&D team to really understand the best way forward in creating our own, game-changing brand. We sat in a circle and shot around ideas of foods that we consume on a regular basis and enjoy. The goal was to give consumers an exciting chance to incorporate cannabis into their everyday lives with their favorite snacks. With that in mind, the concept behind It’s All About Choices really made sense to us.
We wanted to create the ability for people to choose the way they consume cannabis, whether it’s sold in a popsicle, or spice for your morning oatmeal, or maybe sauce for your sushi—we just want to make a product line that has it all and caters to everyone. It’s All About Choices presents an opportunity to shop your favorites within the same brand and know you’re getting a delicious, flavor-forward, and consistently dosed experience. That’s really the distinguishing factor.
For the brand’s launch earlier this month at the Hall of Flowers event, we introduced 100 product SKUs! Our approach is a bit unconventional, coming in with a large product selection, but that’s precisely what makes It’s All About Choices distinct from the rest.
Why is the market craving a product like this?
The market opportunity for It’s All About Choices is really in the diversity in the variety and also the need for consistent dosing. We’ve all had instances of going to the store and not really knowing what your experience will be with each product. Sometimes you have a good high, and sometimes you have a not-so-good high.
The technology in It’s All About Choices is as advanced as it is precise, you’re truly getting pharma-grade dosing. The consumer’s experience with our products is consistent every time – consistent strength along with a reliable time-to-high. Due to the water solubility of the product, time-to-high is also much quicker than the industry standard.
For me personally, the most exciting aspect of our brand is the pharma-grade micro-dosing. I don’t need a lot of milligrams for an effect and right now, with everything available in the market, I need to buy 100-milligram packs at a time. Sometimes I don’t want that much and just want enough for one experience; in the same way that I’d go out and grab a cocktail, I want the same ease and convenience to be able to grab a single-serve cannabis drink mix.
It’s All About Choices allows me to integrate cannabis in my preferred way, whether that’s casually or with a variety of snacks.
What are some of the unknown challenges to event planning people may not understand?
There are so many unknown factors when you are planning a regular event, but producing a cannabis event is even tougher. With federal regulation, it’s hard to have the same tools that are readily available to any other event producers.
Ticketing and marketing are limited as social platforms are regularly banning companies for promoting anything cannabis-related. And if you want to produce an event that allows consumption, you will have another set of issues. Starting with the limited amount of venues to choose from, and then dealing with any local regulations and permits required in that municipality.
One day, cannabis will be treated like alcohol and you can enjoy any event with your choice of a beer or joint.
What are some of the biggest challenges in launching a cannabis brand? What are the biggest rewards (aside from profit)?
Cannabis is a fast-developing industry, there is constant change – literally on a daily level. The rules and regulations are constantly evolving based on laws and trends in the market. It’s a major challenge, but also part of what’s exciting about Choices. Our technology is easily adoptable making the list of potential products endless; we hope Choices will be a staple in this category for years to come. As regulations and label requirements change, we are always in compliance while setting new standards for consistency and dosage precision.
The cannabis community has been the most rewarding aspect for me. There’s such a united group of like-minded, supportive, and hard-working people. The industry is really communal, people are constantly helping each other. We’re all leaning on one another and learning from each other; there’s a genuine interest in wanting to see everyone win in this space.
What advice do you have for newcomers to the space?
Use your resources! Tap into the amazing community around you. There are people in this industry that have been around since the beginning—utilize their knowledge and their expertise as much as possible.
Come into this industry with an open mind, don’t look at yourself as competition, instead see yourself as an addition to the market—people are truly excited about expanding the market and are just as eager to help newcomers.
…and remember, it’s all about choices!