KANOMKUSH
ADULT BAKED GOODS CO.
While living and working in Thailand during the pandemic, I had the opportunity to help design and 🚀 launch a cannabis edibles brand.
⋆ Kanom /k-ah-n-oh-m/ ⟹ Thai word for dessert or snack.
⋆ Kush /k-uu-sh/ ⟹ Slang for cannabis.
CREDITS
Brand Design
Copy
Creative Direction
Product and Packaging
BEHIND THE SCENES OF LAUNCHING A "SPECIAL" BAKED GOODS CO.
INTRO
On June 9th, 2023, Thailand reversed it’s stance on cannabis. The Thai parliament voted in overwhelming support to remove cannabis from it’s narcotics list, transitioning the country into a new economic boom, as a measure to make up for tourism losses during the pandemic.
Cannabis has been grown in Thailand for generations, it’s part of their culture - it’s even illustrated in old artwork in temples. But since the summer of love days and hippie movement, cannabis had become more criminalized with radical punishments.
I was fortunate to find an avenue in the industry while I was living in Thailand. I started interning with a company and agriculture university in their medical research team, learning cultivation. After legalization, I started working at their dispensary, allowing me to be a frontier budtender in the heart of Bangkok.
There, is when I was approached by a hip-hop artist/cannabis connoisseur, and a baker to help launch an edible brand.
I accepted the mission and strapped in on an exciting journey!
Kanomkush
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SpaceKake
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Kanomkush ⋆ ⁺₊✦ SpaceKake ⋆ ⁺₊✦
MISSION
Bangkok is littered with trendy, overpriced cafes. Ranging from old and grungy, to minimal and modest, to the overly ornate; any of which make great escapes from the blistering sun.
So, I wanted to design a brand and product that could navigate these spaces, and be a brand with products for anyone to enjoy..
I simply wanted to design a brand that consumers could trust - welcoming curious first-timers, and serving connoisseurs with integirty.
I broke the journey down into simple sections, working alongside the team. These sections included; Research, Moodboards, Sketches, Designs, and lastly the Test Kitchen - where I found the most thrills and shrills.
Because I was already “in the know” with the scene, the initial phases of this exploration was a piece of cake.
SOCIAL
After getting yet another strike just when our first strike was lifted, I decided to play it safe on Instagram and facebook. Mostly fun designs, memes, and product shots all while being a bit discrete.
Running ads here is a bit of trial and error, something I’m still trying to get used to.
ORDERING
Because I lived in Thailand I became aware of this tool utilized by companies large and small, from 711 to the food-cart on the street - LINE Official. Having lived in Japan as well, I was aware of LINE as a messaging app. But now it’s much more.
Not only that, Bangkok’s delivery system is insane - with services like Grab, there are thousands of motorbike messengers ready for the handoff.
They’ve extended their services on another app, LINE Official, linking it ot the LINE messaging app. It’s basically a free online store-front. After fiddling with the features I got it set up and designed. Kanomkush shop was ready for launch!
AD COPY
With running ads I had to be careful. This is where my wit and dad humor came to good use. I got to use puns, cryptic messaging, and emoticons in my advertising. It’s important to know the lingo and culture of the industry you’re designing for, because it helped me with clever copy and design choices. The skunk being a perfect example - the algorithm won’t detect that as weed infused goodies > 🦨🍪. Or even my favorite, our term spacekake for yet another term for weed brownies, “space cake” > 👽🍰
MARKETING
I did something I never done before for a brand, create a persona. Introducing the chill beats collection of Edward “Eddy” Bulls (pronounced just like edibles). We wanted new cannabis users and customers to feel welcomed and relaxed by offering them a playlist to accompany them on their interstellar journey. All under the pseudonym DJ Eddy Bulls.
I know twitter is overrated, but it is beneficial for us because we can openly post content with cannabis flower and terminology after Elon Musk lifted some of twitter’s regulations. Far safer to post cannabis content here than on Meta’s platforms.
*Eddy Bulls’ avatar was my first AI generated creation.
MAKING CONTACT
It’s no surprise that social media is important for brand awareness and getting sales. So, I created as many accounts as I could for Kanomkush and connected them all with linktr.ee as our hub. I had to be extra careful with what and where I post after being in Meta timeout.
With all that said, we agreed at the very beginning that this would be a process in the making. After all, we didn’t go to the moon over night. Many missions failed before success. So, our focus is organic growth, word of mouth.
Overtime all these different platforms may synchronize and monetize.
RESEARCH
While at work during the day, as a budtender, I took note on who was asking for what. There was a huge demand for edibles, especially with the swanky crowd and beginners. While in the evenings I investigated other dispensaries as a “customer” to see if they met market demands.
MOODBOARD
This is my favorite part of the process. I love getting lost listening to a good playlist while sifting through the internet for inspiration. I start with the basics by going through Instagram and Pinterest, and dumping everything I like on to a Pinterest board.
SKETCH
Before I pick up the pencil or move things around in Photoshop I make a list of associated words. I also use this list to guide me during the Moodboard phase.
Name: After some time the two words that stuck out the most were “kanom” and “kush”. As a previous writer, I loved using alliteration to attract attention. Thus, “Kanomkush” was born. By combining the two words into one, I felt it gave life to the brand for creating a word - great for brand recognition and hashtagging.
Kanom /k-ah-n-oh-m/; Thai for dessert, snack, treat.
Kush /k-uu-sh/; Slang for cannabis, more specifically indica strains indigenous to the Hindu Kush region.
Kanomkush /k-ah-n-oh-m-k-uu-sh/; A trip to space with every taste!
Color: It wasn’t a tough decision to choose a purple theme, I love purple, but there’s a few other reasons too. Purple represents elegance and is a color used throughout Thai culture - it sits well against the brightly sunlit saturated atmosphere of Thailand. The other reasons being it is softer in tone, perfect for a delicate product like baked goods. It’s also a gender neutral color, suitable to attract any customer - but lastly it reminds me of the darkness of space.
DESIGN
This is where the brand comes to life. I gather all my info; moodboard, word lists, and all the notes from research and client meetings - and I start to design and pull assets.A
Logo: I was inspired by the Rorschach Test inkblots when researching terms from my list like, drip and splat. Not only that, it is a method for psychological testing - or studying the mind. Cannabis is can have cerebral affects. It fit the idea of micro dosing (routinely small amounts for therapy), to the stoners who have a high tolerance and want to visit space.
Brand Elements: For this I went with a drippy space theme. I didn’t want to go full out space-campy theme, but subtle. Why space? Nothing is more far out than space - and sometimes you reach that point with cannabis.
Skunk is another slang word for cannabis, due to the similarity in aroma. So, I went with some skunk stuff to represent that thought in a playful, minimalistic route.
The wavy line design was inspired by the cheesecake swirl of the brownie, and I also wanted to represent some sort of distortion of the mind.
TEST KITCHEN
I never thought I’d take an interest in baking, but it was great to be in the kitchen assisting the baker. We worked day and night working on our recipe and dosage trials.
Flowers: Staying on course with the space theme for funnsies and marketing, we selected Alien OG Kush as our special ingredient. It allowed for some fun creative content and wordplay for ad copy.
However the main reason for selecting Alien OG was it’s profile. This strain is a hybrid with 19% THC, and it’s primary terpenes are myrcene and pinene. Both of which produce affects perfect for first-timers or those interested in micro-dosing for therapy. Three cannabis specialists, myself included, worked on selecting this strain and the right grower.
"GROUND CNTRL, WE HAVE A PROBLEM"
We were not ready for what was about to come. Just as quick as the Big Bang, we got a strike on our Meta accounts. This is a looming worry for every cannabis business - getting abducted by the algorithm.
We also had a few issues with our first choice in packaging. The extra oily “special” butter soaked through the backing. And While I was at it I made a few minor tweaks to the label design.
After getting feedback from product testing we made some adjustments to our secret recipe. We aim to be a edibles brand for every user. My experience as a budtender, too many companies catered to the person that wanted to blastoff to outer space - leaving out the casual user interested in micro-dosing.
TEST KITCHEN 2.0
With no time to waste we got back in the kitchen, perfected the flower dosage, improved our signature Brownie Swirl, and added additional items to the menu - Blueberry Crumble and Ube Sugar Cookie with sea salt.
Our second round of packaging worked better.
FLIGHT MANUAL
Kanomkush is concerned with customers’ safety and experience. So, I designed educational content for social, along with a user guide, or flight manual, to help customers consume the proper dosage.
I valued my time as a budtender - I was eager to assist anyone who wanted to learn about cannabis and it’s benefits.
I am proud of Kanomkush’s dedication to doing good!
Get Baked²
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Kanomkush
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Get Baked² ⋆ ⁺₊✦ Kanomkush ⋆ ⁺₊✦
