Executive Briefing

Rose and the art of the elevated cannabis brand

Founder Nathan Cozzolino on creating a better edible, building a sustainable business, and the truth about the legal weed market.

Rose Delights
Courtesy Rose

Now two years in to California’s legal marijuana era, some clear trends have emerged: The market hasn’t grown as fast as many thought it would, early big-name players like retailer Med Men and delivery platform Eaze appear to be in serious trouble, and the brands in dispensaries still mostly seem tacky, amateurish, and a little intimidating.

So it was a treat to discover Rose, an edibles brand based in San Francisco and Los Angeles, which looks and behaves in an entirely different manner. While many brands still employ stoner tropes or other clichés, Rose feels like something new and current — creative and elevated, but approachable.

“The idea and the motivation,” Rose CEO Nathan Cozzolino explains, “was: Everything sucks. How to make something that doesn’t?”

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Dan Frommer

Hi, I’m Dan Frommer and this is The New Consumer, a publication about how and why people spend their time and money.

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