Baking & Snack - May 2019 - 48

FRINGE BAKING

In Colorado, baked goods
must be marked directly
with a symbol identifying
them as containing THC.
This regulation proved difficult for some producers
to accommodate.
Love's Oven

confections is also pushing bakers to step up their products. "Consumers are changing their preferences a bit,"
Ms. Moore observed. "While we do see a solid market
for baked goods, the refresh on our baked product line is
going to keep us relevant."
This touches on two trends Ms. Moore and Ms.
Finesilver see in the Colorado market: premium baked
goods and better-for-you baked goods. To meet the first
trend, Love's Oven recently launched enrobed sweet
goods, first with a chocolate-covered turtle brownie and
chocolate-covered shortbread cookie. Enrobing helps
address another challenge facing cannabis bakers as they
serve more dispensaries.
"Enrobing these products in chocolate not only
makes them very delicious, but it also helps us extend
the shelf life," Ms. Moore explained. "We don't use any
preservatives in our products, and shelf life is becoming
more important as the market evolves."
As consumers get used to introductory cannabisinfused cookies and brownies, they'll start looking for
lifestyle products that can give them the high they seek
but also some kind of benefit such as protein bars or
high-cannabidiol (CBD) products. This category could
also follow other food industry trends in organic, clean
label or locally sourced ingredients. "People are going to
realize these products are all sugar-based and relatively
unhealthy, and they will start seeking healthier ways to
consume edible forms of cannabis," Mr. Ravelson said.
Also, consumers' priorities around the cannabis itself
will evolve. At the moment, especially in newer markets,
Mr. Ravelson sees initial concerns about the product's
THC potency, but consumers will eventually move onto
the more nuanced aspects of the raw cannabis flower
such as its flavor profile. "I don't think very many people
walk through a liquor store looking at the proof of alcohol, and that's how the cannabis industry is right now,"
he said. "People don't go into a liquor store and buy
Everclear for $10 even though it's the most potent thing
out there. The market will be shifting away from being
all about potency to more about quality."

Regulations lead to innovation
Even in the most established markets, regulations are
constantly changing. New regulations can either spell
disaster for a bakery, or they can spur new innovation.
One regulation regarding caps on THC per serving has
created an entirely new product line that bakers can use
to reach a new consumer group and help people enjoy
products responsibly.
A major difference between medicinal cannabis and
recreational cannabis is potency. "For the medicinal
market, it's hard to limit how potent a product can be
because a patient with aggressive cancer is going to

48 Baking & Snack May 2019 / www.bakingandsnack.com

An evolving consumer base
As the cannabis industry matures, the
edibles offered also mature and diversify.
Part of this is to keep interest and buzz going as consumers become more inundated
with edibles; they look for something more
than a basic brownie or cookies. It also
could have something to do with market
penetration. The more cannabis normalizes
in a state, the more diverse the consumer
base becomes.
It is true that young men between the
ages of 25 and 35 make up the majority of
cannabis users, but the gap is closing as
the market changes. For example, Sweet
Grass Kitchens' fastest-growing consumer
demographic is seniors. The benefits of
cannabis for easing the effects of aging
are no secret, and edibles provide this
population with a vehicle to receive these
benefits that is more palatable to them than
smoking.
"Baked goods are a more familiar product
for seniors versus the newer candies and
gummies," said Jesse Burns, marketing
director, Sweet Grass Kitchen. "Everyone
knows what the pot brownie is, and that is
the route to edibles for most folks."
Peggy Moore, CEO and partner, Love's
Oven, characterized the bakery's target
consumer as being older and skewing more
female than male. They are also interested
in natural and clean label baked goods, and
because of that, the bakery doesn't use any
artificial preservatives. "Our target consumer isn't primarily interested in smoking,"
she said. "They are more interested in the
edible and not putting anything 'bad' into
their body."

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