11 Brand High-Lights From September-Edition Of Cannabis Tradeshow Hall Of Flowers

We recently journeyed back to Santa Rosa, CA for Hall Of Flowers, the country’s leading, brand-focused cannabis tradeshow to see how the wild-west of weed has continued to transform.  

This year, nearly 350 brands were in attendance, up from 250 the previous show, further proof that legal cannabis is very much alive and well. Loads of packaging and paraphernalia were on display, from literal mother’s little helpers and get-away-weed to chef-crafted cannabis and interstellar experiences.

With another long, strange trip in the books, here are our 11 favorite brands from this summer’s show.

Botanist

Starting as a dispensary that has now grown into a multi-state operation, Botanist shared it’s self-made Herbalist Series tinctures at Hall of Flowers within its very own booth constructed as a literal green-house. The brand leans into the name in its visual expression, which harkens back to traditional herbalist and apothecary labeling conventions. 

Paradiso

Welcome to paradise with get-away-weed and vacation kush. Paradiso provides an escape, one leaf at a time. With a vibrant, expressive personality, their booth and package design had attendees stopping in their tracks and pulling out their lighters.

Highland Pantry

“Mama’s little helper” is probably one of the best cannabis taglines out there. Highland Pantry is leading the way for female Boomers to experience cannabis with ease, and it likely helps that the packaging looks like some forgotten artifact from their kitchen pantry conveniently forgotten about decades ago (plus, bonus points for their branding looking like something straight off of 70s dinner party). 

Their low dose mints (3:1 CBD to THC) provide the canna-curious a simple, discreet entry point into an often intimidating category. Just tell your folks or grandparents that it's the CBD nonsense they've heard so much about, but with an honest kick.

Country Cannabis

Saddle up partner, this here’s some cannabis with a little hair on its chest. With an Instagram that feels straight out of a crossover between La Mans and True Grit (which would be a movie we’d all love to see), Country Cannabis curates an aesthetic that wouldn’t be afraid to go fisty-cuffs at the slightest notice. Yeehaw.

Leune

And the award for brand most likely to appear in a Wes Anderson movie goes to...

Simple, straightforward, clean. Leune is creating vape pens, pre-rolls and cartridges that look just as at home in a suit jacket pocket as they do by a well-manicured campfire. In their words, through “high aesthetics and uncompromising quality,” they're aiming to elevate the conversation on cannabis.  

Sackville 

One part cannabis, one part high-fashion (see what we did there?), Sackville’s look and feel is inspired by the brand’s two bad-ass female founders who cut their teeth working with companies like Vivienne Westwood and OVO. They’re out to make cannabis as commonplace as cosmetics, resulting in a beautifully sparse yet charged look, emblazoned with a messy but striking signature ala Paul Smith & Stussy.

Kiskanu 

With products at the salon of Flagship Saks Fifth Ave, Kiskanu lives at the intersection of beauty and cannabis. Their CBD skincare products are elegantly minimal and speak to the story of purity at the core of the brand. Look for it in the jewelry case, cause it’s looking like an absolute gem. 

Dosist

Dosist consistently sits at the top of best-in-class cannabis brands, and for a good reason. Unlike a lot of players in the space, Dosist feels, well, like a brand. If the key to a successful brand expression is to simplify and amplify, Dosist is a clear winner. They stick to their simple, minimalistic look that places the experience of control in the consumer's hands.

Serra 

With locations in Portland and LA, Serra is a textbook example of a dispensary that has made a seamless transition into creating their products. Their smoke-ware and edibles blur the line between art and indulgence, taking old phrases and making them new with the tagline “Quality Drugs.” The branding on its gumdrops line is both colorful, surreal and recessive, and its chocolate line collaboration with woodblock it mast-brothers meets apple. 

Sundae School Cannabis

Originally starting as a high-end Cannabis-focused streetwear company, Sundae School has crossed over into selling East Asian design inspired multi-pack pre-rolled joints (or bullets as they call them). With names such as “Eureka, Kickback, and Nightcap” to distinguish between Sativa, Hybrid and Indica, respectively, they’re exploring new ways to let consumers intuit product experiences. 

Pluto

Pluto officially debuted at this year's show, and its pulpy, paperback vibe gave us all the otherworldly, sci-fi feels. 

Pluto doesn't present itself as a cannabis brand, but rather as an alternate reality, another world reachable only by mind travel. While the packaged products are limited, for now, the brand touchpoints are supremely B-Outerspace movie and well-worth a scroll through their Instagram page.