Marketing Cannabis — A Day with Sherbinskis and Young Dolph

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The American cannabis industry is poised to reach over $20 billion USD by 2021. But with each industry comes its own sectors, whether it be finance, marketing, infrastructure and equipment. How far along is each of these parts of the puzzle? How do you market a product that's not illegal per se, but also not recreationally legal (yet)? We spent a day alongside Sherbinskis, a California-based flower company as they planned a low-key marketing affair with rapper Young Dolph.
Despite the influx of funding and interest across the board, this experience was a clear indication that parts of the industry are advancing at different rates. Until things stabilize, it really is a green-colored Wild Wild West.
Script by Eugene Kan
Narration by Alex Maeland
Audio by Elphick Wo
Photos by Alex Maeland and Eugene Kan

The American cannabis industry is poised to reach over $20 billion USD by 2021. But with each industry comes its own sectors, whether it be finance, marketing, infrastructure and equipment. How far along is each of these parts of the puzzle? How do you market a product that's not illegal per se, but also not recreationally legal (yet)? We spent a day alongside Sherbinskis, a California-based flower company as they planned a low-key marketing affair with rapper Young Dolph.
Despite the influx of funding and interest across the board, this experience was a clear indication that parts of the industry are advancing at different rates. Until things stabilize, it really is a green-colored Wild Wild West.
Script by Eugene Kan
Narration by Alex Maeland
Audio by Elphick Wo
Photos by Alex Maeland and Eugene Kan

Posted — May 17, 2017
Business

A shot of the Sherbinskis home office in West Hollywood.

Some of the latest packaging from Sherbinskis as part of their upcoming product push.

Doing it for the ‘gram.

I got a good relationship with Hoodrich Keem who smokes heavily with Migos [...]. When a new strain comes out like 'Gelato,' they want to get it from the source [...].

— Cookie Monster of the Sherbinskis marketing and street team

The to-do list on a whiteboard is never far from the action.

Cookie Monster getting ready to roll a joint.

Even Snoop used to call me 17 years ago to come up from NorCal to bring that bag to SoCal [...]. There's a lot of history there.

— Mario Sherbinski, Founder of Sherbinskis

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Snoop is licensing his name on all these products [...]. In the next four or five years he's going to have made more money [...] than he ever did in his music career.

— Will Htun, Business Development

Sherbinskis use a special machine that vibrates their flower into 100 separate cones before twisting the tips to complete them.

A pan at the bottom catches the remnants.

I just fuck with the taste. Man, I've been smoking 'OG' for so long [...]. I just wanted something different. And this 'Gelato' shit came through and it was just different. I fuck with this shit.

— Young Dolph

A Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce fresh off a car wash parked outside Young Dolph’s spot.

Young Dolph sparking up.

The obligatory Sherb and Young Dolph photo to complete the evening.

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