What makes a successful edible? Or, better yet, how do you turn Grandma’s secret cannabis-infused recipe into a retail-ready crowd-pleaser? We set out this past year to study why consumers will walk into a dispensary and purchase one edible--in whatever form--over all others. The research data was ironically astounding and, simultaneously, not at all. Many edibles companies have forgotten time-tested rules regarding price, presentation, and more. We counted at least five main factors that affect any choice of medicated food--factors that ultimately govern an edible’s ability to become a “staple.”

Presentation

First glance should sell an edible. This can be difficult for a number of reasons. For one, food production is almost all hand-made in the early stages of a local industry, meaning a much greater chance of imperfect shelf presentation. The edible--and here, we mean baked good, soda, candy, literally anything edible--should not be broken, leaking in any way, exposed whatsoever to air, smudged, too gooey or too dry. Packaging should be as clean-cut as possible; colors work best both within the product and on the label, and earth-tones always move slower (i.e., Fruity Pebble bars will always outsell those made with plain Rice Krispies).

A “staple” edible should not have a short shelf life. It should not require refrigeration, stirring, shaking, or preparation. Many companies package their goods in opaque containers to preserve potency. This is only wise when the food’s image can be viewed on the label or in-store display. Otherwise, the consumer--and even the retailer serving them--must question what is inside. 

The funny thing is that most of the research in retail presentation has already been done. Gas stations sell certain snacks, and especially near the register, for good reason. Even the opaque packaging has been tested; a Boulder-based manufacturer learned why potato chips aren’t sold in clear bags. One look at the peppery, greasy mess coating the inside was enough to turn off potential customers from their kettle chips for good. Don’t try to recreate the snack wheel. Find the most popular non-medicated version of the edible and study, study, study.

Price

There is only so much a person will consider paying for any food, especially when the medicated version costs almost as much as their standard raw-cannabis purchase. This is why retail price must match the package size, apparent quality, and potency. A piece of gum can’t cost more than $3, a 30mg THC soda no more than $7, and so on. The only way around this is through marketing and hype. In Colorado, the first most successful edible was an inch-long tootsie roll known as the “Cheeba Chew.” Thanks to branding, advertising and multiple cannabis cup victories, Cheeba Chew is now a household name, and no one questions the price for such a tiny piece of candy.

An important warning on price: if an edible costs too much to produce, it will be impossible to sell. While some patients are wooed by coconut or truffle oils, or other more exotic and hard-to-find ingredients, very few will pay extra for them. One such edibles company learned that lesson the hard way when they unveiled gourmet sesame brittle and peppermint chocolate cups. People don’t buy these snacks in general, much less at top dollar, and so the company had to scale back. They instead discovered a “sweet spot” by producing Peanut Butter and Jelly Chocolate Cups (an improvement on Reese’s) and sold one per package instead of two, at half the price. 

Potency

Customers must be convinced that eating cannabis is superior, or at least comparable, to smoking. Cannabinoid content is more linked to price than any other factor: it is what gives the product value. Potency, therefore, must be explicitly portrayed on the label, and typically in terms of milligrams THC (as well as CBD, CBN, etc.). The key in creating a staple, however, is proving this potency time and time again; when Cheeba Chew, known for their consistency, released the Deca Dose (once retailing as high as $20 for a mere 1-inch tootsie roll) the candy flew off the shelves. 

When manufacturers don’t actually know whether they are activating the THC in each batch, they end up putting duds on the store shelf (common in new markets). This colossal faux pas can result in patients shrugging off edibles or even their neighborhood dispensary. Then again, potency can be difficult as a selling point, since everything from metabolism to dosage frequency can affect an edibles’ unique physical effects, person to person. Some may be incapacitated by the whole product, some may not feel it at all. 

Rarely--but often enough--a patient may complain about an edible being “too strong.” In these cases, it is best to urge careful dosage (it helps to print the actual measurements on the package, such as THC levels on a soda bottle’s label). Remind your customers that edibles’ effects can take hours to kick in and may last the entire day. In the end, however, each patient must be personally willing to exert self-control and not eat the entire item if they do not want to feel maximum effects. 

Palate

Customers who routinely buy a specific niche item from their grocer will probably want to try its medicated equivalent; lovers of key lime pie may jump when they see it at the dispensary. But if and when they taste overpowering cannabis or think their “favorite” recipe has been meddled with, they may stick with an entirely different food, one that they can’t compare “perfection” to. It’s not an easy thing to predict, but much easier if the budtender or dispensary operator has had the opportunity to sample and determine the tastiest goods.

This is because--as any rocket scientist will tell you--consumers purchase foods they think will taste good. Sometimes they simply need “frosting on the cake.” When patients see dried blueberries or toasted coconut covering Mountain High Suckers, they grab them in fistfulls, over the naked versions of their competitors. Patients will almost always go for gummies, succulent lemon pastries, or peanut butter cookies with Hershey Kisses in the middle (anything that disappears first from the holiday platter of goodies will disappear first from your shelves). Surveying your customers to determine their dietary “guilty pleasures” will help ensure an irresistible menu that doesn’t bother with unnecessary, unsellable frills.

Practicality

Most of all, a staple edible must be one that can be consumed day in and day out, or at least in rotation with a small handful of other staples. Whereas a person may not mind tossing a few offbeat culinary bits into their routine for medicinal purposes, they will not change their diet. You can’t expect to routinely sell salsa, cornbread, or even ice cream, for example, because a patient doesn’t always carry chips to dip salsa. A patient is not always around a microwave to warm up their one bite of medicated corn bread. They can’t access the ice cream in their freezer when they’re sitting in the library or on a bus. 

Patients will, however, buy small items they can take anywhere and eat without a mess. They will enjoy resealable packages or pre-measured dosage. Finally, they will not want to be conspicuous; it is far less questionable to pull out a succulent M&M’s cookie for lunch, than, say, a whole box of unseasonal peanut brittle. Sure, practicality is less important when customers are feeling celebratory or impulsive, but in general, luxury and gourmet items will never be staples and should generally not be ordered, or manufactured, in bulk. 

The final, unofficial rule governing edibles? Go with your gut. If the practicality, price, potency, presentation and palate are up to par--or, if one such factor over-compensates for the lack of another--then ask whether you would habitually purchase and use the edible over raw cannabis and its derivatives? If you find yourself convinced, chances are that your customers will follow en suite.