Jeff Bull - The Secret Sauce Behind A Leading THC Beverage Brand

On this episode, we’re joined by Jeff Bull, the Chief Creative Officer at Uncle Arnie’s, one of the fastest-growing THC beverage brands in the country. Jeff is the creative mind behind the Arnieverse - the nostalgic, fun-first brand world that has helped propel Uncle Arnie’s from a California cult favorite to a nationwide force across both dispensaries and the booming hemp-derived beverage market.

With deep experience in brand identity, visual storytelling, and product strategy, Jeff has shaped everything from Arnie’s character system and packaging architecture to its flavor development, channel expansion, and launch playbooks.

Jeff breaks down how Uncle Arnie’s was born, why beverages have become the dominant on-ramp for new cannabis users, and how the brand balances playfulness with potency and compliance. He unpacks the creative and strategic evolution of Arnie’s as it scaled from dispensary shelves into mainstream retail, what the hemp market unlocked for the company, and how they approach new SKUs, flavor development, and launch assets.

We also dive into the role of budtenders, the fundraising journey, how creative leaders should think about entering the THC beverage space, and the trends Jeff sees shaping the next wave of cannabis and hemp innovation.

Use code Jeff33 to get 33% off anything at unclearnies.com

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Episode Highlights:

🍋 The origin story behind Uncle Arnie’s
🥤 Why THC beverages are exploding in popularity
🌿 The rise of hemp-derived THC and its impact on brand strategy
🎨 Building a distinctive, joyful visual identity
📦 Packaging that balances fun, clarity, and regulatory accuracy
🛒 How dispensary shoppers differ from mainstream hemp consumers
🧪 Flavor development and new product roadmapping
🚀 The creative playbook for new product launches
👥 The critical role of budtenders and frontline retail staff
💰 Lessons from fundraising and scaling a cannabis brand

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Table of Contents:

00:00 – Intro
00:57 – Uncle Arnie’s origin story
02:55 – Why THC beverages are all the rage right now
04:26 – Why beverages are the on-ramp for many
05:43 – Predicting the future
07:35 – Brand identity and brand evolution
10:32 – Visual identity and packaging design
16:02 – Dispensary channel consumers vs hemp market consumers
20:47 – Product strategy and roadmap
25:09 – New product launch assets and strategy
26:59 – The importance of budtenders and frontline retail teams
29:48 – Fundraising
31:49 – Recommendations for creative leaders coming into hemp bev
33:19 – Brand and trends Jeff is watching

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Links:

Uncle Arnie’s – https://unclearnies.com
Follow Jeff on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreybull/
Follow me on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg

For help with CPG production design - packaging and label design, product renders, POS assets, retail media assets, quick-turn sales and marketing assets and all the other work that bogs down creative teams - check out KitPrint.

Shout out to my friends over at Glimpse, the go-to partner for automating retail-related back-office operations and unlocking margin trapped in invalid fees and manual processes.

Are you in the market for a new flexible packaging partner? Check out HD Packaging. Third-generation, family-owned and built for the needs of category leaders like Newman’s Own and A Dozen Cousins. Faster launches, lower costs, and no artwork fees. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Shelf Help. Today we're speaking with Jeff Bull, Chief Creative Officer at Uncle Arnie's very fast-growing cannabis and hemp focused beverage brand. Jeff is definitely a man of many talents. In addition, heading up All Things Creative at Uncle Arnie's Jeff is also the co-founder, brand director of a multi-like multi-location premium donut shop brand around the Minneapolis area, as well as a co-founder of Overcorest, which is a vintage automotive rally and event production brand attracting cars really nationwide. A lot of cool stuff he's working on. Definitely excited to get into it. Most of this is going to be focused on Uncle Arnie's. So yeah, Jeff, first off, just for the listeners that aren't all that familiar with Uncle Arnie's, just give us kind of just a quick lay of the land in terms of origin story, why behind the brand, core products in the lineup. Can dive into a bit about the difference in terms of where you guys are playing in both, you know, the regular dispensary rec market and hem market. And then maybe you should throw out a few places that people can get their hands on and then uh we'll go from there.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Yeah, well, hey, thanks for having me. Um super excited to be here, Adam. I I think you know Uncle Arnie's has been a wild ride and we'll get into it. But as far as you know, the why behind the brand, um we've we're one of the original uh THC beverage brands. Uh we got into the the industry pretty early. There's a few that were definitely there before us, but um, we just saw this huge need um in the industry to to create a brand that first of all started as a high-dose brand and served that customer, um, but was a brand that really took ourselves seriously and and uh thought of ourselves from the get-go as a brand that could be CPG and do things well in in a market, you know, when we started out in legacy rec that was very not taking itself seriously. So yeah, so I think I think you know the the why behind the brand and and how we started really was uh as a high dose brand. And we started in California. Um, we're one of California's largest beverage brands, and we started there because California started as one of the battleground states for uh legacy brands and rec brands. I think a lot of the best brands in the country cut their teeth in California. Yeah. And so we started there and uh have been making their still make products and are still one of the top um THC recreational brands there. And then as as the the markets exploded, as it's grown, there's been all kinds of opportunities, obviously, in the hemp market. And so we've seen our brand not only grow on the recreational side, but then now into the hemp space, and we're just seeing all kinds of amazing things happen there.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

Yeah, it's definitely an exciting time for sure. So I'm just kind of curious from your take, um, and just in terms of where are we today and why do you why does it feel like from your perspective? It seems like a lot of brands are growing really quickly.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Yeah, I I think there's a lot of reasons that THC is a produ, you know, it's a cannabinoid that um gives you a lot of benefits that don't exist with other beverages. Whether it's, you know, there's it can be more healthy than alcohol, um, it reduces anxiety. There's there's things about the um THC product that just inherently offer a much, much different experience than caffeine or alcohol or or other things that you might find in a beverage. And so it's it's been one, amazing and exciting, but also um really, really, I think positive for you know our culture to to see this go mainstream. And the hemp, the hemp product, which is different than the recreational dispensary um THC product, the hemp is really given uh an avenue for the mainstream market in America to get exposure um to THC products and to uh enjoy it safely and responsibly, and it's well dosed. Um, and so it's it's been an extraordinary growth curve. I think we're we're still in the middle of the rocket ride right now, and there's, you know, obviously a lot of curve balls and changes, but for the most part, we're just seeing an entire culture get exposed to THC in a way that, you know, I I think was very different than how people might have been exposed to THC 20, 25 years ago.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Yep, totally. Yeah, I agree with that. A friend of mine, uh Tiffany Chin, who kind of runs everything cannabis for um for Snoop Dogg, and uh she was talking about how she thought beverages is something that humans have been doing since they were born. So she thought that beverages was kind of gonna be the on-ramp to really bring a lot of this stuff more mainstream.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Larny's, you know, that's the big bet that we made early on. Um very, very early in the space, and I think there's a lot of skepticism around beverage and edibles, um, especially on the recreational side. You just saw a lot of people really leaning into flour and and kind of more traditional ways to consume cannabis. And we we made the bet that listen, Americans love things in a can. They love they love beverages that are are branded and have a message and a story around it. And so we we made that bet. And I think as time has gone on, we've seen it come more and more into fruition where uh a brand, beverage in a can or a bottle or a shot, it's much easier to tell the story. It's much easier to educate consumers and bring them along for the ride, as opposed to, you know, maybe just here's flour or you know, here's a joint. Uh, I think, I think there's um an awesome opportunity with beverage to kind of introduce people in in a holistic way.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah. What do you feel like this THC beverage space looks like in five years from now, if you had to make a guess?

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Wow. If you know anybody who's like selling crystal balls, uh, I am a buyer, especially I think all of us at Uncle Arnie's would be. It's it's every day is a curveball in in in cannabis. Um, what both on the hemp and the recreational side, we've we've endured a lot of change and a lot of um uh you know, just with growth, just a massive amount of challenges. And so what I would say for sure is what you know, in the next five years, I think we're gonna see the proliferation of cannabis um and THC nationwide. Uh, I I do feel like, you know, whether we use the word legalization, um, I I like the word normalization. I just think that um I've seen so many people who would have never touched THC five years ago who are now semi-regular to regular consumers and they're very comfortable with it and they're telling their friends and family about it. And so I think the industry, if you want to call it that, is becoming normalized um within uh American homes. And I think that's that's exciting. Uh you know, people who pioneered kind of the legalization movement, I think it they wanted this, but I'm I'm so pleased and excited that it's actually happening. And I would say within five years, Adam, we see we continue to see this spread and really just become a normal part of our culture.

SPEAKER_01 7:18

Yeah. Yeah. That news that I think was, you know, Target is gonna start selling these products in there and like some of these big box retailers. That was like a very welcome surprise.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Yeah, and not only that they're gonna carry it, they're really excited about carrying it.

SPEAKER_01 7:31

Yeah.

unknown 7:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Yeah, totally. Well, cool. That's kind of good level setting and the kind of space overall. So let's just dive into Uncle Arney's brand identity, kind of packaging design, everything in that world, which you were really we're an remain-to-be kind of architect behind everything around this brand. So just thinking back the early days, what did that kind of brand identity process look like when you're building it out? And what were kind of the key variables that were top of mind for you when you were going through the process?

SPEAKER_00 7:57

Yeah, when the brand started, you know, we had several kind of tent poles that we leaned on. Uh, first of all, we wanted to be affordable. Uh that was that was something we've always strived to be, especially in the recreational space, um, to be able to give people an affordable introduction or or even if they were a regular user already, a way to consume it. Um, and then quality. Uh when when beverage, cannabis beverage was starting out in California. I mean, we would go into places where people were literally screwing on the tops of bottles, you know, after pouring in liquid and just not not done safely, not done. Um, and so we saw this vision of, you know, let's be experts, let's be affordable, um, let's be quality. And now that brand identity has kind of grown. Um, and I think we've we've continued to really flesh out, and as a brand, we've also grown um to really want to be a fun brand. I mean, we started as a high dose uh in the recreational market. We sold 100 milligrams of THC in an eight-ounce drink. That was our first drink, and uh we did it very inexpensively. Um, and so we we kind of put our stake in the ground as a high dose brand, but now we've we've grown far beyond that. And and really we've we've developed into a brand who really leans into having fun. Um and we believe that uh cannabis should be fun. Uh, we feel like it should be it should be tasty, it should be an enjoyable experience. Um, and so we we really have started to lean that way. And recently we've brought on a new CMO, Brian Mesheski. Um he was at Sweetwater Brewing. Uh he's just been transformative for us too, and just rethinking how where we're moving with this, but uh and and how we can be different than other cannabis brands. Um we've never since day one talked necessarily about you know trying to be the lowest calorie drink or the lowest sugar. We we really lean into you know Uncle Arnie's brings the party. Um we we are a fun brand, we're unapologetic about THC and about having fun. And we really want products that that encourage that. They taste good, they're a good time. Um, so as as time's gone on, our brand has evolved. And I think we've really reached a uh a point now where we feel very strong, you know, we feel very good about who we are and where we're going in the space and just being different from other THC brands.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

When you're building up this brand identity, how did you envision it would translate from a visual identity standpoint and packaging design standpoint?

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Yeah. I spent time in action sports uh when I was younger and grew up on the West Coast and uh have always loved the artwork of Jimbo Phillips and you know, Santa Cruz skateboards and and this kind of 80s, 90s um surf skate snow aesthetic with with uh with art. And so when we when we started exploring, you know, what Uncle Arnie's could be the brand, um, we really wanted to be able to have an avatar or a character who could one help educate, um, who could be an avatar for education, uh, could also be the guide for the brand, the brand who, you know, we're not necessarily the most important thing. Um, the customer is our our consumers are the people we want to put the attention on. But having a guide or an avatar like Uncle Arnie himself to be able to come alongside a consumer, educate them, help them make decisions. He's also all about having fun. He's always brewing something, something special, you know, uh in the back of his bus that you don't know what's next. Um, so the brand is really couched in that idea that we're we're not here to be the hero, but we are here to facilitate a really good time. And so we created this avatar, Uncle Arnie. Um, and you know, he's not a real person. He's not somebody who uh who actually exists in real life, but he's kind of an amalgamation of like a lot of different influences and people. Um I think you know, early on when we were starting, we talked a lot about everyone's got that uncle. Um, everyone's got that person in their family who's kind of the odd duck, but they're also super interesting. And so at Thanksgiving, you sneak off with them, they've always got something fun to show you or something they're you know, something interesting. And so we we wanted to like embody that that, you know, friendly, exciting, kind of anti-mainstream element into our brand. And that's what that's why we created a mascot in Uncle Arnie. So it's both the name of the brand, but it's also uh it's also this way that we're able to connect with our customers in, you know, in a different, in a different kind of way than other brands do.

SPEAKER_01 12:54

Were there any like decision points or things that were uh more contentious that you guys like had a had a fair amount of debate internally that ended up getting to where you the brand is today? Or was everyone like totally pretty aligned with with every component?

SPEAKER_00 13:08

I think any good team has good debate. Like and we have we Uncle Arnie's has a team of just absolute all-stars. Um the the management team has, I think, always strived to have really healthy debate. And that's created a brand that's super agile, um, that is very much has a mind, even even today has a startup mindset, even with 60 plus people on our team now and whatnot, the the mindset is very agile, very open to new ideas, very open to debate. So, yeah, of course, we we had a lot of debate. I think when it comes just to brand identity and some of the things that that went into the packaging piece, the the pieces you see on the shelf, we were really um we were really dead set on being bright, being fun, and being loud on the shelf and being um a can or a bottle or a shot that when you saw it, you instantly recognized it and it st stood apart. Um so we from day one, we've we've had these really bright gradients um on our products. They've uh they've helped us stand apart and they've helped us uh stand out on the shelf. Totally.

SPEAKER_01 14:20

If I came to you and told you I'm I'm thinking about launching a brand in this, say like THE beverage space, or maybe just the broader, call it functional beverage space, what are just, I don't know, maybe one or two tips you'd give me, or you know, things you'd say or recommend I watch out for that could trip me up along the way.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

Yeah, I think some of it maybe is best practice, but then you know, I I like to lean on things that are not uh you can't read on uh how to start your CPG brand online. And I think the most important thing is to be differentiated. Um Uncle Ernie's is very category or anti-category culture. We're anti-mainstream, we're anti-homogenous.

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:02

Um, and we're we're have no problem talking about what we are. Um, we are THC. I I'm so surprised, I guess, in a way, to see so many brands trying to hide the fact they're THC. Like they're trying to use other words or they're trying to kind of skirt around it. Um, I think customers, you know, there's a lot of really smart, really savvy customers out there, but you also have to be frontal about what you're about and who you are and get to the point. People don't have time to to figure out, you know, some mystery ride about what your brand is or or or what's in the product. And so I I think you know, being in CPG, it's it's important that you're you're frontal, that you're bright and loud. And and again, I'm a big fan of just doing what other people aren't doing. Um be different and and go the other way and and take that risk to a certain extent. Take that risk.

SPEAKER_01 16:01

I resonate with all that. You know, as you touched on at the beginning, Uncle Arnie started in the California regulated GHC market before you guys really expanded into this national hemp market where brands are sold in restaurants, liquor stores, big box retail. How consistent or different have you guys found? Are the is the audience that buys Uncle Arnie's in a dispensary channel versus the audience that buys Uncle Arnie's in your average restaurant or liquor store as an example?

SPEAKER_00 16:30

Yeah, I think I mean, just to be super honest, they're they're very different customers. Yeah. Um it doesn't mean you can't uh leverage brand value across the two markets, but you know, we've we've treated them like they're two different lines of of business and markets. Um I think customers on the dispensary side are um they tend to have had have much more experience with uh cannabis. It doesn't mean that they, you know, that they're they've veterans of it, but um people who are willing to go in a dispensary tend to be different than someone who might be at the grocery store or or at a liquor store. Um and so your products in a dispensary are not sitting on a shelf where the customer can usually grab them. They're usually gonna have a bud tender that's helping them guide through the process. Uh in a liquor store on the hemp side, it's gonna be right next to all your beer and and uh liquor. And so that right there is a very different experience, one as a customer, but then two as a brand um and how we support uh the retailers. Um the the retail experience in a dispensary and how it's run and operated is very different than how um the three-tier system over on the uh on the um A B bev side of things is run. So I I think we've we've tried to be strategic on both of those. Uh, but for me, as the creative guy, as the branding guy, as the guy who's doodling, um, it's important that we're able to have a brand that speaks to both, and that people who walk into a dispensary in California after maybe they've had our 10 milligram uh drinks in Georgia, they walk into a dispensary in California and see our 100 milligram drinks, there's brand consistency there. Yeah. And there's a story that that crosses, and people are they identify it in a similar way. And so that's been honestly, Adam, it's been a challenge, but also a huge opportunity. And we're one of the few brands that are in both markets, and we see it as a strength. We see it as a we're able to draw, um, we're able to draw lessons from both markets and then uh help the other side of the business grow as a result. So it's it's it's it's been really good for us.

SPEAKER_01 18:50

Yeah. You might have kind of semi kind of answered this, but as you guys really started focusing and expanding and more into this Hembeb channel, did you guys make any messaging look and feel the brand to like appeal to that, I guess, more broad audience? And or if you didn't write when you guys expanded in the channel as you start to learn more about this new audience, have you guys along the way made any significant tweaks or pretty consistent?

SPEAKER_00 19:13

Yeah, I mentioned um this year, 2025, our new CMO came on board, Brian Meshewski, and he's he's done a really good job of helping us um zero in, especially on the hemp side with with who we are, who our messaging is, and really nail our brand DNA, our our pillars of of who we are. Um, I think now we have a very, very focused um strategy. And that really to be able to speak to both that legacy stoner, if you want to call them, and maybe the newer uh consumer that's walking into Total Wine. Um, we have kind of four pillars. You know, we we believe in the 420 lifestyle, which is, you know, that free spirit festivals, the park life, um, you know, the getaways. The second pillar would be we believe that, you know, we're the life of the party. And I already mentioned that we bring the party, um, we're big on backyard parties and boats and barbecues and all of that. The third pillar we believe in is is, you know, taking a trip, um, being able to disconnect in a very chaotic world. And then the last one is uh as shown by our art and by our um by a lot of our marketing, we really believe in outdoor recreation. We believe in um being able to get outside and enjoy cannabis in a way outside the four walls. Um I I I don't know, I'm a big believer in nature. I'm a big believer that um uh that actually enhances the THC consumption experience.

SPEAKER_01 20:45

I'm on the same page there for sure. From a product roadmap, product suite standpoint, you guys have now three core product lines in the market that you introduce at different stages. So you start, I think you have the shots, you have the 12-ounce cans and ranging from you know 30 milligrams to down to three milligram variations, and then you have the soda pop line. Just kind of curious. What was the the first kind of second and third um order in terms of how you intro when you introduced each one of those product lines? And then what was the the thought process behind bringing each to market as a multi-part question? And did you guys find that have you found there's a pretty significant or a distinct audience or use case for each, or is it a pretty broad crossover?

SPEAKER_00 21:26

Yeah, uh that's that's a good question. On the hemp side, which are the the products you mentioned from three milligrams up to 30. Um I know you you've had other a lot of other THC uh um industry folks on your your pod. And something I've heard time and again is you know, you you are at the mercy of the regulations of these states. And so in the hemp industry, it's it's regulated state by state. So one state may say 10 milligram cap, another may say we have a four milligram cap. Um You know, and then there's places like Tennessee right now where we have a 30 milligram drink. Um, and so we are limited um just sheer product roadmap a little bit by by what the states are allowing and their own strategies and their own viewpoints on what um is available. So we've we've tried to be really flexible uh as strategically as we can going into these states and we try to carry flavors over. So we have a lot of the same flavor profiles and all these different dosages. But um, but then meeting people where they are at in their state. And what's interesting too is state by state, the consumer is very different. Um, and that's partially because of the regulation. It might be because, you know, cultural backgrounds of a state are different than others, but very much the states do have different customer profiles. And so the product also is is meeting the customers where they're at. We're trying to give them uh trying to give them something that uh that they want.

SPEAKER_01 23:28

Yeah. What's like it? Do you have an example of uh comparing two different states in terms of the differences in this two audiences between two states? And one's kind of not mine.

SPEAKER_00 23:39

Sure. Well, we'll uh a very, you know, stark difference, I guess, would be take Illinois, where both hemp and recreational cannabis is legalized. And we have drinks in both of those markets in one state. Um customers in Illinois are a little more experienced because you can, you know, you can access 100 milligram drinks there. You can also access 10 milligram drinks, and you can purchase them in a variety of different locations. Um, so the consumer in Illinois tends to be a little more educated, tends to have have had a lot more exposure to THC beverages and and edibles of all kinds. Um, you go to a different state, maybe like Georgia, um, or or like a uh New Jersey, which has a much smaller, much lower cap. Um that that consumer is, you know, when you talk to them about a 30 milligram drink or a hundred milligram drink, their eyes, you know, just melt out of their face. Like, what are you talking about? Like 100 milligrams. I I buy three milligram at at the liquor store. So exposure to the product is is probably the biggest thing you see state to state that customers have. Um, again, if if you're someone who really loves THC and you seek it out and you're educated, like that's not the customer I'm talking about. I'm I'm talking about the customer who's you know in the hemp space, who's being exposed to it um, you know, for the first time in their lives in the last year or two.

SPEAKER_01 25:09

When you guys, you got these three product lines, a few different SKUs under each one of those. Um, when you guys bring a new, it's an individual skew to market, or maybe one of these new product categories, like within those cans, you introduce the 30 milligram kind of category as an example. What does your kind of typical get playbook look like from a creative standpoint and the stuff that's really kind of in your role? Are there kind of like a standard set of assets that you put together?

SPEAKER_00 25:34

This is an area where we're growing up fast or we're we're we're changing quickly. I think, um, especially coming from the rec market, that being our our history, uh standards were very different from retailer to retailer. Um but now that we've entered the hemp space and we're working, you know, with these large distributors, um, there's obviously these kind of standards that have existed for ye decades. And that's where um we've, you know, we've recently brought on a lot of really good team members who've got experience in this uh in the hemp space, uh, in the craft beer space in in ABBEV. And we're catching up very quickly, and we're starting to build out a lot of POS and assets so that we're able to go to market with a much, much better playbook, much more pro um look and feel. And I I think very quickly we're seeing retailers expect that. Um, we saw a lot of consolidation in the rec market in in California and in other states, uh, where there was a lot of brands, and then the ones that were able to um serve the retailers' expectations, uh they were the ones that won, and we saw a lot of consolidation. I I think that's what's coming to hemp. I think um the brands that really take themselves seriously, they help the retailers, they meet the retailers with the assets and the tools they need. They're going to be the winners as we see consolidation in hemp. So we're doing our best um to do that. And I'm I'm really excited. We're we're we're finally starting to think ahead, uh, you know, think a year out, think of um about these things so that we're able to give retailers um just a lot more tools.

SPEAKER_01 27:21

I think as you and I kind of both know bud tenders, we're the the frontline retail people at dispensaries are a pretty important group from a brand building perspective. A lot of times customers walk into dispensary and the first thing they'll ask, or they'll oftentimes ask a bud tender, what should I buy? And if your brand is the first thing that comes out of that bud tender's mouth, you're definitely in a good position to win. Uh, and so brands you know invest a lot of time and resources with this group from in terms of education, you know, samples, incentives, that kind of stuff. What does Uncle Arnie's strategy look like from this bud tender perspective? Also kind of curious on the hemp side of things, do you apply kind of a similar strategy to off-premise and or on-premise frontline retail employees?

SPEAKER_00 28:04

Well, I will couch all this by saying you're asking the brand guy um some very like specific sales questions. Um, and there's people in our company who are much, much smarter and who have thought through this better than I have. That said, I think uh we have done a good job at trying to engage bud tenders and try to, one, it's all about education again and being able to give them the tools um and the education they need to recommend a product that they believe in. Um and buying cannabis at a dispensary, I I, you know, I've been in many, many dispensaries, and to me it's a very, it can be a very personal experience because you're relying on this bud tender to tell you what to buy. Um and if you are coming in maybe a newer consumer, that relationship is even more important. So we've tried to support with, you know, everything from uh, you know, physical assets like tchotchkis and shirts and merch and all of that, but then also um giving them education, dosage education, how the product works. Um, I think our team does a really good job of of offering um our retailers and our partners as much of that as they'll take. Um sampling. And you mentioned on-premise, off-premise. We we do sample events, parties, events. Um, I think this is an area that you're gonna see grow a lot in uh in cannabis, but um especially in Rec, there's there's some pretty exciting events. I mean, one um in Chicago that we went to a year ago, the Miracle Mundaline with Rise. Uh it was it was incredible. It was like go, it was a massive music festival, um, consumption, open air consumption of all kinds. Um, I think there's going to be a lot of opportunities for brands to engage um customers alongside the retailer, alongside the butt tender, um, in new ways like that, like music festivals. Yeah. Um, and it's it's a way I think that the future is very blue sky and a ton of potential.

SPEAKER_01 30:09

Yep, totally. I'm on the same page there for sure. Actually, I think here's a little bit, I know you guys just closed the series A, pretty sizable series A, seven and a half million bucks or so, which is awesome. Congrats. What's this capital infusion going to do for the business?

SPEAKER_00 30:23

Yeah, uh, this is where the shout-out goes to our hair high management team. Um, they I'm not responsible for the money at all. I'm just uh I'm the guy, you know, scratching out drawings in the back room. But yeah, we've got we we did raise, we've got a really, really good partners, um, investors that believe in the in the the category, but then also believe in our team. Um, and so it's allowed us to grow pretty quickly um into very strategically, but we've we've brought on some incredible talent. And I think one of the things we've learned is you know, talent is really what makes or breaks you when you're in an early stage CPG brand like this. Um, so we're investing in talent. That's the first thing that's that's uh immediately um noticed. But then we're also like we just spoke about, we're we're starting to dig into providing the resources to to distributors, to retailers. Um, that three-tier system that exists in the hemp market, um, we're gonna we're gonna come correct with those resources as well. And then over on the rec side too, I mean, I our our our team on the rec side has just continued to just crush it. And so we've been um bringing in more talent on that side and thinking through some new strategies. We're always looking at new states and new partners. So I it's a really exciting time for us as a brand. Um we're we're in a strong position, um, but we're also we're being careful. And um, you know, with all the changes in hemp that are going on right now, we we feel good. Um, we feel like we're positioned well and we can continue to be strategic because you know, our partners have put us in a position to do that.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

For some other creative leaders of the world, let's just say someone just took a role as a similar role to you, chief creative officer level type role at a a cannabis or hemp beverage brand. What are they in for? What's gonna be the biggest shock and the thing that's gonna feel the most refreshing?

SPEAKER_00 32:29

Uh the thing that's gonna feel the most refreshing is the potential. Um, the opportunity. I think there's enormous opportunity in the industry. Um, but as far as a shock, uh the the regulatory frameworks from state to state and uh nationally, all of it is it's a it's constantly changing under our feet. Um it's just shifting sand. So the amount of changes that are needed from um on the packaging side on the operational side it are enormous. And so it it's very shocking. I think if you're coming from beer, the kind of changes that we we go through just a w on a week-to-week basis are are things that may not change in alcohol over the course of years.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

Yeah, a lot a lot more iterations, a lot more quick turns, basically is what has to happen. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:29

I I yeah, I mean, I think it's it's opportunity in some ways because it is hard. And I think that's cannabis is is not easy. It's not for the faint of heart, but it does present a lot of opportunity if if you've got the stomach for it. Well, yeah, Jeff, this has been awesome.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

Last question for you. Um, you're just so plugged into kind of the the brand space in general. Any any brands or specific brands or just trends in general in the broader kind of CPG world that you've been kind of particularly excited about lately?

SPEAKER_00 34:01

Yeah, I I mean I love brands and I love uh I love brand art identity. I think in the CPG space, um, it's been really fun to see the non-alk beverage industry, uh, what's happening. Um, you know, whether it's on the more health conscious side or um even just, you know, there's a lot of brands that are that are doing very new innovative things. Um I I I just am so intrigued and I and I love it. It's it's fun to see um alcohol being given a good run for its money in a way with with the options that people now have to buy. And you know, even even a large, large scale, starting to see just the most, I don't know, just interesting things pop up. I was at Costco last night, which caught Costco, whatever, it's massive. But they had fresh coconuts, you know. Um, there's all these brands that, you know, you have a fresh coconut and you pop, you know, you you pull out the tab, pop your straw in, and just drink straight up coconut milk out of the coconut. And it's like if you take all the packaging off, it's literally a raw coconut that somebody just hot hacked up. And I love seeing the all the innovative, I don't know if you call that innovation, but the ideas that people are coming with um in the non-ALC space uh that are just giving consumers a lot more options. And if if you're somebody who's health conscious or somebody who cares about, you know, your body or the environment or everything, this is a great time to be alive because I think the amount of options you have, um, it's it's phenomenal. So I I'm pretty excited and pretty um encouraged by by just every time you go to the store, it's some there's something new. Um you know, there's always a startup that's kind of challenging the big boys. And uh hey, it's great time to be a consumer. Totally. I 100% agree with that.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

Well, yeah, Jeff, this has been awesome. You got so many cool things you're working on between Uncle Arnie's and all the other businesses you own and run. What's the best place for people to follow along with you? And then similarly, what's the best place for people to kind of follow along with everything that's going along with uh with Uncle Arnie's?

SPEAKER_00 36:11

Yeah, well, Uncle Arnie's um unclearnie's.com, um pretty straightforward. And I'll give you a code, uh Adam. Um you can put it in the show notes or whatever for perfect. Yeah, great. For a discount. Um that's the best place to find the brand. I'm on Instagram, um JFRY with some uh underscores in between those letters. Um but yeah, I I I think uh I think the most the most important thing is that people right now in cannabis and just all of us are active, um, especially with the changes happening in hemp. Um that you know, if you do have a voice on social or you do have a voice on LinkedIn that you're you're um saying your piece uh because right now cannabis brands really need the industry and our and the consumers to speak up.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

Yep, totally. Yeah, right your write your congressman. It's not uh not that hard. Short note. Uh make your voice heard is important for sure. Yes. Well, awesome Jeff. This has been great. Um, really appreciate the time.