Hi there, and welcome to The Dealers Diary - my musings on the cannabis industry, California, and building Halara.

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In today’s entry: Hall of Flowers Recap | "I Understand What This Is" | Blue Dream × Viagra Boys | The $1,000 Mystery Strain

So this buyer walks up to our booth at Hall of Flowers, looks around, and just goes: "I understand what this is."

We've never heard that before. Not with the old packaging. Not once. And honestly, I wasn't sure we'd hear it now either. You never know if the vision in your head is going to land the same way when strangers see it for the first time.

Here's what we had going on. Big blown-up versions of the new packaging as posters on the wall, which is what was catching people's eyes from across the floor. The dab bar, which was pulling people in and keeping them there. And then this little LA fruit stand cart (one of those tabletop toy carts you see on street corners) piled high with all the new packaging until it was overflowing.

About a hundred dad hats stacked up, custom stitched, heavy on the feel. Nick's limited edition magic card stickers. The whole booth was going off.

People would see the posters, walk over, hit the dab bar, and then start picking up the packaging. SoCal folks immediately got it.

Budtenders pulled Nick aside. People who'd never heard of us stopped to look, then came back with their friends. I loved how initially people told us "we've never heard of you but this looks great," then we'd show them the old packaging and they had their minds blown. "Oh we have seen you, but I had no idea this is what was in this box. This looks way better."

We had more new stores placing orders today than we've ever had at a single event. Five words told us more than any focus group ever could.

We're here for another day, come find us at B404!

Onwards and upwards,
-Malcolm

Packaging is becoming a sales tool. Washington stores noticed last month. HOF buyers noticed this week. When budtenders compliment the look before they try the product, that's not vanity. That's a closer that works while you're not in the room.

The bodega model is coming. Dustin from Embarc (near and dear to our hearts) gave a talk at HOF about moving to a self-serve model. Instead of everything behind the counter, shoppers browse products themselves. He framed it as an efficiency play for running multiple stores, but here's what it really means: if your packaging can't sell itself off a shelf without a budtender explaining it, you're going to get left behind.

This is exactly why we invested in the rebrand when we did.

New York keeps coming up. Met a few people at the event with connections out East which was music to my ears. Nothing to announce yet, but when we have something real, you'll hear it here first.

This week: Blue Dream Cartridge (paired with post-punk, recommended by a magazine)

So this guy Jake walks up to our booth. He runs Hiii Magazine, they do this series where they pair cannabis strains with vinyl records. Think wine pairings, but for weed and music. It's a lovely concept honestly.

Here's the thing. Jake only pairs flower with records. Never a cartridge. But he told us our Blue Dream cart was the first one that stuck with him. He hit it at a Blue Dream Festival event we did in LA about a year and a half ago, and it just… stayed.

He paired it with viagr aboys, the 2025 album from Viagra Boys. Swedish post-punk. I was not expecting this. To be honest, not normally my cup of tea but the Viagra Boys bring this chaotic irreverent energy that somehow makes the whole thing click. It just puts you in a lovely mood. Part of me was skeptical (post-punk and Blue Dream?) but the other part couldn't stop grinning.

What I appreciate most is that Jake highlighted the cleanliness. The quality-first thing Nick is so adamant about. Not everyone in this industry notices that, but the people who do, they remember. And that's the whole point.

If you've had the Blue Dream (and most of you probably have), throw on viagr aboys and tell me I'm wrong.

Tracks from the album to start with:

We're not going to say much about this one yet.

All-in-one. 94% TAC. 2,000 units only. Launching April. And the first person to guess the strain wins $1,000. Real money, not a gift card.

More details in the coming weeks. For now, just look at that packaging and start guessing.

HOF edition: Were any of you Dealers at Hall of Flowers this week? If you stopped by booth B404, send me a pic. Best one gets featured next issue — and if you're wearing the hat, bonus points.

Hit reply with the photo.

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Halara · Emerald Triangle, CA

What I'm listening to this week (thanks to Jake):