With so many cannabis brands coming to the market, it can be hard to tell one from the other or to know what, if anything, makes each one unique. Huxton, a cannabis company based in Phoenix, Arizona, is one of the first experience-based flower brands in the country.
The brand developed its product and cultivation processes in order to simplify the consumer’s buying process and to give them more control over understanding their cannabis experience. Huxton organizes its set of cannabis “series” according to each product’s effects, rather than the traditional hybrid, indica, or sativa model. Instead, the products are given strain names that correspond to how the person will feel, such as Hi Fi, for a high energy experience, or Zen for a relaxing, calming experience.
“We’re built around providing consistency and simplicity in flower and vape pen products,” says Dustin Johnson, co-founder of Huxton. The first question customers often ask is how a product will make them feel, but often they can’t relate to the industry terms bud tenders toss around, he explains. Not everyone can relate to indica or sativa, or know how an OG will make them feel.
“So we set out to understand how our genetics made people feel,” Johnson says. “With close to a thousand focus group tests with patients and staff to have them consume our product and give us feedback about how it made them feel, we classified them into three series to provide an easy selection process for newcomers who weren’t well versed in the language of cannabinoids and terpenes. These were people who were excited about cannabis and wanted to give it a try.”
In addition to their three different flower products (Zen, Hi Fi, and Rise), Huxton also has single strain products, including strains like Maui Wowie, Wonder Woman, and Durban Poison “for the connoisseur palette,” as Johnson describes. “But we still classify them by series. For instance, we’ll classify our Maui Wowie in our Rise series because it gives people more of a focused, uplifting effect.”
Offering only bud and vape pen products, Johnson says the brand is looking to speak to the flower enthusiast, as opposed to people who are more interested in edibles or concentrates. “The folks who enjoy the art of flower are looking for connoisseur grade flower in our packs,” he says. “And then we’re looking for more of the casual consumer who’s coming to the market, is curious about cannabis, but doesn’t know where to start. We provide an easy solution to access products that aren’t complicated or need a lot of knowledge to get into.”
Huxton isn’t the only brand to name their products after the experience they provide. A number of vape pen companies, such as hmbldt, have also begun to give their products more explicit names like “bliss” or “relief” to showcase how the user will feel. It also allows companies to experiment with cannabinoid and terpene formulations to craft a specific cannabis experience.
