ISA and Vertosa Announce Speaker Lineup for Live Event on Nov. 4: The Evolution of an Industry: Tales and Trends from Cannabis Industry Veterans

David Paleschuck, best-selling author of Branding Bud, will moderate the event featuring two speakers fresh off the stage at MJBizCon 2021

ISA and Vertosa announced today the speaker lineup for their upcoming webinar, The Evolution of an Industry: Tales and Trends from Cannabis Industry Veterans. In 2020, in-person conferences came to a halt. Last week the cannabis industry gathered in Las Vegas for the most-anticipated event of 2021. With 35,000 attendees, 1,300 exhibitors, and 130 speakers from around the world gathering to learn the latest about the cannabis industry, it was the place to be for industry executives and business leaders. This webinar will reveal shared learnings from this event, featuring two dynamic speakers fresh off the Las Vegas stage. Speakers will share their thoughts about the evolution of the cannabis industry as a whole, focusing on what has changed over the course of the pandemic era. Austin and Lisa will share the focus of their speaking engagements from MJBizCon and explore the themes and buzz from the event.

David Paleschuck, best-selling author of Branding Bud: The Commercialization of Cannabis, will moderate the live event starting at 1 pm PST on November 4, 2021. Austin Stevenson, CIO at Vertosa, Lisa Buffo, Founder & CEO of the Cannabis Marketing Association, and Adriana Hemans, VP of Demand at ISA, will provide context as industry veterans who have witnessed the transformation first-hand. This engagement is the fourth in a series of webinar events stemming from a strategic partnership between ISA and Vertosa.

“Our panel brings together a diverse group of veteran industry leaders, each with their own unique perspective and in-depth knowledge of the cannabis industry. Join us to gain an insider’s look at the strategies for building successful brands in a disruptive market.” said Adriana Hemans, VP of Demand at ISA. 

The event is free and open to the public. Attendees can register here.

Meet the Speakers

ISA and Vertosa Announce Upcoming Live Event Exploring Branding and Marketing for Cannabis-infused Beverages

The virtual event taking place on July 27th will include the best-selling author of Branding Bud along with business leaders from WUNDER and Pabst Labs

ISA and Vertosa announced today the speaker lineup for their upcoming webinar: “Category Creators: Marketing and Branding for Cannabis Beverages.” Alexi Chialtas, CEO of WUNDER, David Paleschuck, Author of Branding Bud: The Commercialization of Cannabis and Mark Faicol, Brand Manager at Pabst Labs, will join the live event starting at 1 pm PST on July 27, 2021. This engagement is the third in a series of webinar events stemming from a strategic partnership between ISA and Vertosa.
The infused beverage market is expanding rapidly, driven by consumer curiosity and innovative product development. With new cannabis beverages launching almost every day, brands must constantly create and maintain excitement around their product. ISA and Vertosa developed this content specifically to bring to light new marketing strategies, concepts and approaches. The panel of experts will explore the question of what consumers are really looking for and how marketers can speak directly to their needs. Additionally, ISA will be releasing new data and insights showcasing the enormous potential of the infused beverage market.
“Our panel brings together a diverse group of powerful industry leaders, each with their own unique perspective and in-depth knowledge of both the cannabis beverages market, and the cannabis industry as a whole,” said Jacqueline Rosales, President of ISA. Jacqueline will moderate the event and lead the conversation about marketing and branding for cannabis beverages. The event is free and open to the public. 

ISA Announces Speaker Lineup for April 29 Edibles Webinar

Industry experts from Undefined Inc, Wana Brands and dreamt will discuss the future of infused edibles

ISA and Vertosa announced today the speaker lineup for their upcoming webinar “Form, Function & Flavor: Edibles for 2021 and Beyond.” Dorian Morris, Founder and CEO of Undefined Inc., Mike Hennesy, Vice President of Innovation at Wana Brands and Carolina Vazquez Mitchell, MS, Chief Science Officer at dreamt will join the live event starting at 2 pm PST on April 29, 2021. This engagement is the second in a series of webinar events stemming from a strategic partnership between ISA and Vertosa, announced in November 2020.

“Our speaker lineup brings together a diverse group of powerful industry leaders, each with their own unique perspective and in-depth knowledge of both the edibles market, and the cannabis industry as a whole,” said Jacqueline Rosales, President of ISA. Jacqueline will moderate the event and lead the conversation about product development in the edibles market and how the products of the future will fit into consumers’ lives. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees can register here.

In 2021, we’ve seen an explosion in new edibles products that address specific needs – sleep, anxiety, creativity, energy, diet support and immune support. Innovative brands are embracing new delivery forms, flavors and functions to meet consumers’ evolving interests.

“With stress at an all-time high, accessibly priced, plant-based solutions are even more important now,” said Dorian Morris, Undefined Beauty Founder and CEO. Morris was recently featured in the Target Takeoff Beauty cohort, in which she discussed her new collection, focused on adaptogenic mushrooms for stressed skin.

MEET THE SPEAKERS
Dorian Morris

Founder and CEO of Undefined Inc. A true champion of inclusivity within wellness, Dorian Morris is a beauty junkie with deep expertise across categories from cosmetics to haircare to skincare to food/wellness. She is the Founder/CEO of Undefined Inc which includes Undefined Beauty, a clean, conscious, inclusive lifestyle brand focused on democratizing wellness and destigmatizing plant magic.

Adriana Hemans

Vice President of Demand at ISA, where she heads up the Cannabis Research Division. She helps cannabis brands build more customer-centric businesses through data and insights. Adriana’s work has been published in numerous industry publications including mg Magazine, Marijuana Venture, and The Cannigma. She has been invited to speak onstage at cannabis events across the country, including NECANN (Northeast Cannabis Business Conference) and the NCIA’s Annual Cannabis Business Conference.

Austin Stevenson

Chief Innovation Officer at cannabis and hemp infusion technology company Vertosa. Austin plays an integral role in the business development of Vertosa, facilitating partnerships with leading brands to produce top quality cannabinoid-infused beverages, topicals, edibles and more. Prior to joining Vertosa, Austin leveraged his bio-tech experience building the regulatory Hemp/CBD testing program for Eurofins – a world leader in food, environment, and product testing services – where he worked with CVS and Walgreens to test and verify the quality of their retail CBD topicals. Austin and the Vertosa team are also committed to community action and industry leadership. He serves as a Member on the City of Oakland’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission, for which he supports the licensing of equity partners and works to break down financial barriers to entering the industry by championing grant funding. He is also an Advisory Board Member on EAZE’s Momentum Program, a business accelerator designed to support and empower underrepresented founders in the licensed cannabis industry, as well as a founding board member of the Cannabis Beverage Association.

Mike Hennesy

Vice President of Innovation at Wana Brands where he oversees their research and development program, new product design, educational training content and growing partnerships with new cannabis technologies. Hennesy led the team in creating Wana’s new Quick line of gummies and tinctures that use innovative encapsulation techniques to increase the bioavailability of cannabinoids that bypass liver metabolism and take effect quickly. He developed Wana’s online interactive training program for budtenders and employees that covers the science of the endocannabinoid system and directed the development of Wana’s vape line, including the line’s unique proprietary terpene blends.

Carolina Vazquez Mitchell, MS

Founder and Chief Science Officer at dreamt. A gifted academic with deep experience in the developing regulatory standards of the cannabis industry. Carolina’s areas of specialty include organic chemistry and biochemistry research, laboratory testing and laboratory practices, quality assurance, and R&D for cannabis products, pharmaceuticals, foods, and beverages. She has more than 10 years’ experience with organic synthesis and extractions and has extracted DNA, RNA, proteins, terpenes, and other pharmacologically active molecules. Carolina is a nationally recognized cannabis scientist, and has been a featured expert in Rolling Stone, HelloGiggles, mg and Forbes, and was named one of Dope Magazine’s “Outstanding Women in Cannabis.”

ABOUT VERTOSA

Vertosa creates industry-leading active ingredients for infused product makers. Their catalog of patented and patent-pending nano-emulsions are carefully designed  for the specific needs of each customer, with pre-suspended aqueous solutions that create incredibly homogeneous and stable products while maximizing bioavailability, clarity, and taste. Vertosa works closely with their lab partners and clients of all sizes throughout the manufacturing process to achieve target potency and successfully bring consistent, reliable, quality infused products to market.  Learn more about Vertosa at vertosa.com.

ABOUT WANA BRANDS

Wana Brands is the No. 1 edibles brand in North America. Wana leads the industry in quality, consistency and potency, providing a range of different options that enable customers to create the specific cannabis experience they want. Wana products offer diverse product forms, four different CBD/THC ratios as well as a variety of different dosages, onset times and duration of effects. The portfolio is designed so products can be used singly or in combination to address specific health, wellness, and recreational needs. Wana products are available in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Arizona, Oregon, and Oklahoma dispensaries, with Massachusetts among the states imminently coming online. Wana Brands is available internationally in Canada. For more information or to subscribe to Wana’s e-newsletter, visit www.wanabrands.com.

ABOUT UNDEFINED INC

Undefined is clean, conscious, inclusive plant magic. We live at the intersection of wellness meets adaptogens (like beautiful CBD) meets purpose-driven conscious capitalism. My mission is to “undefine” and democratize beauty and destigmatize plant-based solutions through an unapologetic, uncompromising, unfiltered approach. Wellness shouldn’t be illusive or exclusive—let’s democratize it.

Undefined Inc partners with BIPOC founded, female-led, LGBTQ+ suppliers from their manufacturing partners to their creative team.

ABOUT DREAMT

dreamt is an award-winning sleep aid made with cannabis. The science-backed formula is a precise blend of THC, CBD, and other sleep-inducing compounds, such as melatonin, valerian root, and L-theanine. This unique formula was created by dreamt’s founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Carolina Vazquez Mitchell, to treat her insomnia during her chemistry PhD at USC.

dreamt is a female and minority-owned social equity business based in Los Angeles.

ISA Group Launches First Ever Cannabis Consumer Research Panel

The Green Time is a cannabis-focused research community, providing feedback to a multitude of cannabis brands

SoapBoxSample, a member of The ISA Group, announced today the launch of their new cannabis-focused research panel – The Green Time. The first of its kind, The Green Time is composed of both cannabis consumers and industry professionals. The community was created to gather open and honest feedback about cannabis products, brands and services. The goal is to fuel brands with data and insights, helping cannabis companies develop a strategic advantage through the deep understanding of their customers and future customers. The U.S. cannabis market is expected to top $40 billion annually by 2025, according to projections published by Forbes magazine.

“We believe in empowering the cannabis community through research. The brands of tomorrow rely on feedback from consumers to improve their products, services and marketing,” said Jacqueline Rosales, President of the ISA Group. “We believe that the new era of cannabis will be driven by data and shaped by the people who use it and love it.”

The Green Time was developed to meet a specific need within the market – quick and targeted access to cannabis consumers. The ISA Group is committed to constantly updating its products and services to meet the evolving needs of the industry. Brands can target consumers based on their preferred delivery form, frequency of consumption, method of obtaining, monthly spend, and other lifestyle considerations. All members of the Green Time are subject to a rigorous screening process, including identity authentication checks and age confirmation (21+) through Imperium’s Veritas and Relevant ID services. In addition, SoapBoxSample applies its own in-house security processes to ensure the highest-quality participants in all research studies.

The ISA Group is committed to moving the cannabis industry forward. Their cannabis research has been featured in Mg Magazine, Marijuana Venture and The Cannigma. Their ongoing research explores a variety of topics, including different types of cannabis gifters (Traditional, Shared-experience, Altruistic) and the effect of COVID-19 on cannabis consumers. In March 2020, a significant portion of cannabis consumers began turning to cannabis products for wellness and emotional health reasons. Among those who reported consuming more cannabis since the COVID-19 outbreak, 60% said they were doing so to relieve stress, 57% to ease anxiety and 34% were consuming to combat cabin fever.

In November of 2020, The ISA Group announced their strategic partnership with Vertosa, a leading hemp and cannabis technology company based in Oakland, CA that provides customized emulsion systems for infused beverages, edibles, cosmetics, and more. The partnership combines ISA’s research on the unique attitudes and experiences of cannabis customers with Vertosa’s experience in bringing cannabis-infused products to the market. They recently partnered on a cannabis webinar titled, “From Concept to Conception,” which featured two female Co-Founders in the cannabis beverage space. During this webinar, the ISA Group shared insights about cannabis beverage consumers and described the biggest hurdles for cannabis beverage makers.

Consumers interested in becoming a member of The Green Time, can find out if they qualify here: www.TheGreenTime.com.

About SoapBoxSample and ISA Group

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know.

We believe that the new era of cannabis will be driven by data. Brands that deeply understand their customers have a strategic advantage. We connect cannabis brands with the people who matter most – their customers (and future customers). We provide guidance on the best ways to engage your target audience, and how to ask the questions that will support your business objectives. Clients leverage our expertise to develop new products, test marketing and advertising, understand opportunities in emerging markets (such as newly legal states), create detailed profiles of their customers, and stay on top of developing trends.

To learn more, visit www.isacorp.com/specialty/cannabis-research, where you can sign up for our weekly CANNAfact Friday newsletter. Get in touch: hello@isacorp.com.