If Tomer Grassiany told you he’s going on a hike with “Ralph,” chances are he’s hiking solo. That’s because “Ralph” isn’t actually a person, but the name of one of four flavors of cannabis chocolates sold by Grassiany’s LA-based edible company To Whom It May.
Ralph is a hazelnut butter truffle, while Vivienne, Zak, and Myra carry hints of raw honey, dry cherry, red wine, cayenne pepper, and smoked almond butter. There’s a poem that goes along with each character, and a story to each of them that the company develops through its website and social media. Each one of the edibles is its own persona, says Grassiany, CEO.
“Because cannabis may not be that socially acceptable in many people’s circles, it lets you talk about {the edibles} without being overly specific,” he says. “All the characters are faceless, which plays on the anonymity, the secret identity, or alter ego.”
To Whom It May’s personified edibles and company character are a testament to branding genius, repositioning cannabis as a luxury product. “The main idea was to show a different side of cannabis, that cannabis can be used as a tool to enhance and engage the world,” says Grassiany. “Let’s say even the name, To Whom It May, can spark some curiosity. It sounds sophisticated yet whimsical. And we decided to give the flavors names because it adds an elegance and ambitiousness to it.”
The chocolates are handcrafted and minimally processed, without any refined sugars or preservatives. “They have nothing you shouldn’t be putting in your body, let alone calling medicine,” says Grassiany. The four different flavors also come at four different potencies, beginning at a microdose of 2.5 milligrams of THC, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. “It was really important for me to have the lowest dose for someone who never consumed before, and to still have a pleasant experience without getting overwhelmed,” he says. The doses go up from there to five, 15, and then 45 milligrams.
To Whom It May also carries chocolates with no THC at all. Edibles that taste too good carry the risk of getting you too high. That’s why the company sells boxes of edibles and non-edibles, alike, so you can keep eating chocolate without overmedicating.
“They’re meant to be more of an experience than just a product,” says Grassiany. The chocolates are packaged in colorful boxes tied with ribbons and inscribed with inspirational messages. “At the end it was something people can relate to,” he says. “We did a lot of research on the stoner culture, as well as the luxury aspect. We’re trying to address the cannabis stigma, but doing it in a sophisticated way. There’s a little bit of play on the psychedelia philosophy and surrealism — that’s the color splat that’s on the top of the box, like a variation of tie-dye.”
The chocolates and their packaging are meant to be able to serve as a replacement for bringing say, a bottle of wine to a dinner party. “It’s something you can bring that people can talk about for a week, rather than something added to the party table and used another day,” says Grassiany. No matter how low-key or upscale the atmosphere, these chocolates prove that cannabis is branching out of stereotypical stonerville and into expanding facets of society and culture.
