Standard Wellness’ Post

🥇 Back from the holiday break with some client wins to celebrate. Because when we say "Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency® helps bold brands win," we mean it literally. Proud to see our strategic #ThoughtLeadership program pay off at the #Emjays - cannabis' most prestigious awards, given out by MJBiz and Farechild: CURRENT GRASSLANDS CLIENTS: • Zamnesia: Retail Cannabis Brand of the Year 🏆 • Royal Queen Seeds: Cultivation Company of the Year 🏆 GRASSLANDS ALUMNI FAMILY: • American Weed Co.: Flower Brand of the Year 🏆 • Boveda Inc.: Consumer Gear/Tech Product of the Year 🏆 • The Clear Brands: Extraction/Concentrate Brand of the Year 🏆 All bringing home hardware. All proving what's possible when #VisionMeetsStrategy. (And yes, Grasslands won #PRAgency of the Year. Again. But this post isn't about us.) Here's what most don't know: Award submissions aren't just paperwork. They're #StrategicStorytelling opportunities. They're third-party validation. They're market #PositioningTools. That's why #AwardSubmissions are such a significant part of our thought leadership program. Humbled to work with the cannabis industry's most #InnovativeBrands (including other best-in-class businesses that were nominated but didn't win, this year). Even more excited about what we'll accomplish together in 2025. More client wins coming next week. 🌿 Happy Friday, y'all. Props to Honeysuckle Media for this pic, which caught a brief moment of celebration between me and Paul van Hardeveld of Zamnesia at the Emjays afterparty. #GrasslandsClient #PR #PublicRelations #Marketing #MJBizCon #grasslandsaf

So excited to announce our latest offering!!! Full Cup Solutions Launches Visitor Audit + Assessment for Wineries The Comprehensive Program Offers Expert Analysis to Enhance Visitor Experiences and Drive Growth April 30, 2024, Paso Robles, CA—Full Cup Solutions, a full-service consulting firm specializing in business strategies for agriculture and beverage industry clients, announced today the launch of their “Visitor Audit + Assessment” program. Created by Full Cup Solutions Principal Amanda Wittstrom Higgins, the multi-phase audit and assessment evaluates all critical aspects of a winery’s hospitality and customer service, offering insights and practical solutions to enhance the customer experience, identify new opportunities, and improve operations.   Over the course of multifarious and strategic visits, anonymous reviewers—trained by Wittstrom Higgins and representing varied customer profiles, industry expertise and perspectives—evaluate the direct-to-consumer experience through a distinctive methodology that encompasses comprehensive data analysis, scoring systems and supplementary observations. Areas of focus includes digital communications, booking process, brand continuity, staff presentation, wine club acquisition and tasting experience, as well as customized areas of interest as indicated by clients. Upon thorough examination of the results, Wittstrom Higgins will personally engage with clients, delivering insightful recommendations for enhancing operational efficiency and driving long-term business growth.   “With its unique 150+ point evaluation of over a dozen critical categories, the Visitor Audit + Assessment provides a valuable perspective on the essential components that can make or break the visitor experience,” says Wittstrom Higgins. “By evaluating the entire customer experience from start to finish with the trained eyes of our experienced assessors, businesses will gain new insights on how to offer a more compelling—as well as profitable—visitor experience in this increasingly competitive market.”    Many wineries are looking for ways to attract and retain new and existing customers, differentiate themselves with engaging experiences and excellent customer service, and drive increased revenue within their establishment. The Visitor Audit + Assessment has been designed to offer the best, fastest, and most efficient way to critically analyze current operations, uncover new opportunities, and maximize impact.   For more information on the Visitor Audit + Assessment, go to https://lnkd.in/gkcVSQmT . Press inquiries can be directed to connect@fullcupsolutions.com. 

It's day 2 of our Kickstarter campaign, and we're already 1/3 funded! I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge how pivotal fellow female founders have been to Eat Senza's success. Without them, we wouldn't be at the point we're at today and I wouldn't be writing this post! Jumping from social media to food & beverage CPG has been...an experience! But one I'm proud to be doing. Here's to getting fully funded and helping more female founders in the future! 💫 Check it out: http://kck.st/3ZczAA7

Thunder Walker admires MadMan's methodical approach to building his brand, recognizing the challenges posed by the unique dynamics of each state in the cannabis industry. In their conversation, MadMan shares that he's traveled to about 20 states in total, including 15 states this year and 8 the previous year. He highlights the innovative strategy of acting as a satellite representative for brands on the road, showcasing their products at conventions like MJBizCon. This approach not only saves manpower but also delivers cost-effective solutions for brands. MadMan expresses excitement about continuing this journey, noting the success of being both behind the camera and on the road, with plans to do it all again in 2025.

I think drink brands need to focus on bartender advocacy programmes in 2025. Why? The Global Bartender Report 2024 from the CGA by NIQ was packed with brilliant insights but one stood out to me. 91% of bartenders said they recommended brands to guests every shift. If you needed further proof of the wisdom in in investing bartender advocacy programmes in the on-trade then this is it. And that’s not all. Our agency Wilde Toast provided the UK sample of over 150 on-trade bartenders who contributed their insights to this report and I can tell you something. This was a diverse sample of bartenders from top 50 bars through to multisite national chains - not just bartenders from the UKs best bars. So while many brands feel that focusing on the top 1% of bars and bartenders with their advocacy efforts will yield the best results, my advice is to remember the huge opportunities beyond this elite group. Look out for the next CGA Global Bartender Report later this year. - If you like this hit the newsletter link on my profile for more trends, articles and insights sent monthly ⬆️ Do you need support growing your drinks or hospitality brand? Wilde Toast are your strategy, brand activation, events & creative consultancy partner ⚡️ #advocacy #beveragemarketing #drinksindustry #drinksmarketing

Yesterday, at a cannabis event, I overheard a store owner sharing a great piece of wisdom with a budtender. The owner said, "When you get a sample, they win... but when we make a deal, we all win." They emphasized that the goal of attending these events isn’t to collect samples—it’s to build meaningful relationships and build partnerships with brands. Samples, they said, come after the partnership is made. This perspective really stuck with me. Too often, it feels like over 90% of budtenders attend events just to stock up on free samples. It was refreshing to see a retailer coaching their team to think beyond that—to focus on business, relationships, and creating mutual value. But it's really hard to have these conversations in a sea of budtenders crowding booths for free samples. A valuable lesson for all of us: focus on long-term wins, not just short-term perks.

I was recently interviewed by CEO Update and got to talk about all the good work we are doing at Consumer Brands Association. Having joined the association a little over a year ago, it was exciting to reflect on the incredible growth we’ve had – we recently announced nine new members including Nestlé, Kraft Heinz, Diageo and Kimberly-Clark – and the value we are delivering for the CPG industry. As I say in the piece, “some of the big, complicated things members are wrestling with are state-related: packaging, recycling and state regulatory initiatives around additives and chemicals. And then you have a whole range of federal issues. There’s really bad framing around inflation and the consumer products business. Politicians like to be pointing fingers at us and I think that’s not correct. So, part of it is being a voice for companies trying to drive facts into the discussion and tell the big story about the role of the industry in the economy.” And telling the industry’s impactful story is what I remain focused on.   Read more here:

Ever wondered what the difference between Spill the Beans, UK’s only event for Black/ethnic minority FMCG founders, and other foodie networking events? Our events are targeted at ethnic minority producers Before you soil your Calvins look at the facts →99.9% other events do not even have minorities on their panels….WILD →0.02% Black women get startup funding →7.1% ethnic minorities get funding We know from experience the struggles for food entrepreneurs especially minorities Get your products in front of Ocado Retail, Macknade , Sainsbury's’, Nisa Retail Waitrose & Partners? Secure your spot ➡ https://lnkd.in/ekcQVfPe 🎯 USE DISCOUNT CODE:STBMATES 🎤 Mike Williams Manon GALIZZI, MIFST Claire Roper, Patrick Wright, + many more 💰 Crowdcube 📸 Jeffrey Oyinlola, Natalie Rogers, Toyin Said 🥘 🥟 Dawn Burton & Natasha Orumbie 📌P.S.  PROMO CODE ends 31.12.24 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 👋I’m Colin- the food scene’s Kanya King, London-based food and drink Content Creator🧙 📚Helping foodie brands promote themselves via storytelling. 🎤Founder, Spill the Beans - UK's sole event for Black/ethnic minority food producers to meet supermarket buyers 💻Connecting foodie brands with their target audiences via social media 🗣 Wanna chat? 📲Connect with me, and we can talk about your projects😁

Thank you, Daniella A., for having me on the Plantas Pod! Our conversation flew as we talked about my Partake Foods journey to date—the highs and lows of starting a CPG business, fundraising, scaling a purpose-driven company, inclusive work culture, branding, customer service, and innovation. If you give it a listen, I hope there are some helpful takeaways! Listen Here: https://lnkd.in/gj8bPh5r

“I think having this type of program, specifically for women, is very helpful because if we support women in business the whole economy does better.” 👏 Check out the article below which shares how our government’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Strategy is helping women like Patty scale-up their business strategically, and introduce them to a supportive network of women who are helping them reach their goals.