Takes on High Times' Top Brands of 2023, Pt 1: Dee Thai

Fruity scooby snacks seem to score

Quick preface:

We love High Times for their decades of dedication and comprehensive coverage. They’re legendary.

Unfortunately, High Times didn’t lay out criteria for their top brands list. Regardless, their approach seems mostly product-focused, and there’s no doubt they see everything coming through the pipeline via PR pitches alone. The point is that their list is as valid as any editorial roundup, if not more so.

Here, we’ll share their commentary in a series of posts, adding the BrandDOPE POV and additional research along the way.

Dee Thai

High Times: “These solventless rosin edibles break the mold of traditional gummy flavors through the incorporation of tropical fruits. Created by Natura and available in California, Dee Thai is the brainchild of Josh Schmidt, Natura’s vice president of business development. Schmidt grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and loved eating Asian candy and collecting baseball cards as a child. Two of Natura’s brands, Dee Thai and Sluggers (pre-rolls designed to look like the flashy Upper Deck baseball card packs), invoke a nostalgia factor in respect to Schmidt’s youth.

Originally envisioned as a CBD edible, after saying “CBD” so many times it clicked for Schmidt that “dee” in Thai means “good.” Dee Thai incorporates his longtime connections with Thailand, and started with six flavors: mangosteen, guava, lychee, pineapple, mango, and jackfruit.

“Exotic is everything in cannabis and marketing and these were like the most exotic fruits,” Schmidt says.

A few of the gummy flavors represent partnerships with other brands such as Your Highness and West Coast Alchemy. The papaya gummy crafted with Kalya Extracts rosin that we taste tested was true to the musky taste of papaya and resulted in a potent stone. Dee Thai has also expanded to offer hash-infused joints and blunts as well as vape pens.

This year the brand was on hand at the Outside Lands and BottleRock music festivals. In terms of brand recognition Dee Thai also capitalizes on the weed world’s expanding interest in Thailand, which sprouted an overnight industry after the government removed cannabis flowers from its list of prohibited narcotics in June 2022.”

(Original post here.)

[Website: homepage video]

[Website: product pages]

[POS]

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BrandDOPE POV

Dee Thai has a clear hook/relevant, niche territories: Asian snacks/candy (a very hot trend), and the emerging Thai cannabis scene. And bringing fun, appealing flavors to the category — or any category for that matter — is almost always a lay-up as far as attention is concerned.

Their packaging pays off their premise nicely; it’s EXACTLY like the bodega snacks it references. POS looks a little chintzy, though not intentionally (which could have been clever if executed well). 

The website is rough around the edges but supports the premise nicely. Like that they don’t unnecessarily complexify. Their origin story could use additional shaping though. Perhaps creating a deeper relationship with Thailand (CSR, etc.)… Also, the homepage above-the-fold brand video is not really the best UX practice.

A lot of energy goes into Dee Thai’s IG, where they apply best practices with the product, contesting, influencers, etc. That said, the results are middling. A more curated aesthetic could perhaps help a bit, as could expanding on the Thailand connection. Regardless, social is tough given category restrictions.

Smart use of collabs (Your Highness, West Coast Alchemy) to expand reach and credibility. This is a brand that’s primed for product and lifestyle partnership craziness. They should press that button hard.

Having a fun, niche product makes for easy PR pickup, and the brand wisely takes advantage here.

Dee Thai is particularly well-suited for newbies/cannacurious, so they’re smart to jump on awareness-generating sponsorships in relevant, adjacent cultural spaces. This tactic should get pushed further too, if possible.

Do you have additional thoughts on this brand? Have you seen more of their marketing? Can you help connect the dots? Please share your knowledge, takes, questions, and/or examples so we can build on this post.

Shoutout to Kaelan Donadio and Wesley Donahoe at The 9th Block for contributing to this post. They know their cannabis marketing cold.

https://the9thblock.com/

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BrandDOPE is a running collection, analysis, and dialogue around cannabis brands and cannabis marketing.

Analysis is based on findings from publicly available desk research.

BrandDOPE is led by Todd Lowe, a veteran brand strategist and digital marketer. Todd is a Senior Advisor at Tuatara Capital, one of the cannabis industry's leading private investment managers -- currently overseeing over $390 million in cannabis-focused assets. Tuatara’s portfolio companies include Kiva Brands, Willie’s Reserve/Remedy, Green Dot Labs, Hana, GreenFlower, Demetrix, and many more.

BrandDOPE’s opinions are its own and do not reflect the perspectives of Tuatara Capital, or any of its portfolio companies.