This week’s Trailblazer is Logan Dunn, Founder of DUNN Cannabis, a craft producer with the vision to bring an experience to the recreational cannabis market that hadn’t yet been seen in this new industry.
Questions with a Cannabis Industry Trailblazer
When did you first become involved in the cannabis industry and why?
I’ve always been passionate about this plant, long before I had the vision to start DUNN Cannabis. I’ve been working with it for over 25 years now, first in the legacy market and then I was a medical producer for years before applying for my micro license when recreational cannabis became legal. It’s been awesome to be able to turn my passion into a legitimate business and create a lasting legacy for my family.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced when working with cannabis companies/brands?
I think the biggest challenge has been not being able to share everything we want to about this amazing plant we all love and how we’re working with it every day. Transparency is a big deal for us at DUNN; we love inviting craft cannabis fans into our world and showing them what we’re doing behind the scenes but of course there are restrictions on where and what we can share. That’s why we were so excited about Farmgate and the opportunity to have the public come to our farm and see what we do firsthand. I built the facility specifically to be able to do that when the time came.
If you could change one of the current Canadian or American marketing restrictions on cannabis, which would it be?
I’m not a marketer in the traditional sense aside from being the face of my company, so I’m not sure how much I could add here aside from the challenge I mentioned above. We work with the talented marketing team at BZAM, who know the promotional regs inside and out and are pretty good at navigating the restrictions while still doing cool things and helping us stand out.
In your observation, what marketing techniques or channels have been most effective for cannabis companies looking to connect with consumers?
We love connecting directly with consumers and industry folks who are as passionate about cannabis as we are. Whether that’s hosting tours of our facility, doing live Q&As with budtenders or meeting them in person at events, connecting face to face really helps people make a more authentic connection with our brand.
Are there any other Trailblazers in the cannabis industry that you follow?
Over the last few years, we’ve had the pleasure of meeting and building relationships with many excellent legacy folks entering the legal space. Each license holder has their own journey to legalization. Trailblazers in my eyes are innovators and ambitious achievers that not only have the passion to always improve but also implement those improvements. Traviss and Brandon from FRESH (IslandCanna) are always improving their techniques and it really shows in their products. We are very fortunate to be working with these guys for some of our BZAM x DUNN Craft Series releases. We’re also keeping a close eye on the newly licensed group Amani Craft. Their new Lake Country facility is focused on crop steering and data innovation and we know this is the area where we can focus to always improve production results.
What is one tip or piece of advice you would give to marketers looking to enter the cannabis industry?
My advice would be to work with partners who complement what you bring to the table. With our BZAM partnership, for example, we bring the craft cultivation expertise, and they bring the sales and marketing chops. Together, we make awesome things happen by focusing on what we do best.
A big thank you to Logan from DUNN Cannabis for participating as this week’s Trailblazer! Stay tuned for another interview with a cannabis marketing Trailblazer next Thursday in the ADCANN blog.
