CANDY LAND

The first yellow dollops of gelatin fall into the purple mold tray and everyone gasps. “So. Cool.” It’s Willy Wonka Day at Kanha’s gummy factory north of Hollywood, and the 9AM Wednesday tour is starting. I am first in line.

There are dozens of computer stations monitoring the production in real time as they go through their birthing process: mixed, poured, refrigerated, dusted, sorted, and then bagged by “Olga,” the temperamental machine that fills each pouch before they are boxed up, loaded onto trucks, and begin their journey to dispensaries all over California. Each day, this factory produces 250,000 gummies.

The sixty-odd smiling sweets makers wear white scrubs and hairnets. Dozens work the conveyor belt in two eight-hour shifts. The goal: to make the ultimate gummy. Cameron Clarke, the CEO and Co-founder of Kanha, feels they have done just that. The former Stanford grad, serial entrepreneur, and botanist explorer is about to get on a plane to Thailand to conquer the Far East. He is also eyeing expansion in Europe, Australia, and Japan. “We have a lot of exciting new categories and products geared for the global market that we will be announcing before the end of this year,” he says. “It’s an exciting time for global cannabis.”

Clarke likes adventure. There is hardly a forest or jungle that he has not gone foraging in for new plants, herbs, and medicine. He saw an opportunity in cannabis to share an effective plant medicine. “We quickly became an industry leader in precision dosage, reliable experiences, and science-driven innovation, including the first fast-acting edible in cannabis,” he says.

NANO, NANO

Fast-acting equals nanotechnology. Originally created so sunscreen could be absorbed by all five layers of the skin, this patented process allows Kanha to have the quickest onset in the industry. Peer-reviewed studies confirm faster and greater absorption of cannabinoids, and shorter elimination times give you more control over how long the experience lasts. This, combined with the Delta-9 THC and pure legal hemp grown in the U.S., has been a winning formula for Kanha. Clarke has watched as gummies have exceeded all expectations in popularity, and he doesn’t see the passion for gummies waning anytime soon. Gummies have always had a communal quality—easy to carry, fun to share, nostalgic, taste great—and no smoking required.

Although the California cannabis market has had a few hiccups lately, Clarke is buoyant about its future.

“Twenty-five years ago there was the dot-com bubble that burst, but that certainly didn’t end the digital revolution,” he notes. “Instead, companies recalibrate their business models for long-term growth and sustainability, and I believe we’re experiencing the same dynamic in the cannabis industry.” They give us a goodie bag stuffed with sugar-dusted treats. I give a few of the 2:1:1 THC, THCV, CBG Raspberry Rose Love Gummies to my neighbor. The next morning I wake up to a text from her, “The size! The yumminess! The IT factor! The luv. OMFG!”

UNCLAIMED BABIES

Gummy bear lore goes something like this: In the 1860s, in the cold and dreary mill town of Nelson in the UK, an Austrian pastry artist was tasked to make a mold for “jelly bears.” However, after endless nights in the kitchen, the resulting candies looked more like newborn infants and were subsequently given the ghoulish name, “Unclaimed Babies.” It wasn’t until 1920, when a disillusioned confectionary named Hans Riegel of Bonn, Germany, quit his job and began making hard, colorless candies with a copper kettle and marble slab in his kitchen, that the “gummy bear” became popularized. He had his wife deliver the dancing bears on her new bicycle.

Although the so-called jelly bears were simply a hybrid of Turkish delights and Japanese rice candy, in Europe they became a sensation. Moreover, after the Second World War, the allied servicemen brought them back to their families and America officially became obsessed. Today, the gummy company Haribo produces over 100 million gummies a day! So it makes perfect sense that the starry-eyed morsels make up almost 50% of all edible sales in California. That is a long way from when the first sour tasting, ill-shaped, cannabis-loaded bears stuffed inside Zip-Lock baggies began to circulate in Los Angeles during the late 90s. Ever since then, culinary mixologists, candy chefs, and fruit scientists have been trying to perfect the THC gummy—from taste to flavors to activation times. To be sure, the journey to seduce the taste buds and moods of gummy lovers has reached a sweet fever pitch.

WATERMELON LEMONADE BLISS

The head budtender at Erba in West LA couldn’t stop raving about Camino gummies. She said that when Camino launched in 2018, they were one of the first gummy lines to use custom combinations of THC, CBD, CBN, THCV, and other cannabinoids with natural terpenes to optimize a person’s state of mind.

“We continue to lead the way with unique ratios and rare cannabinoids to deliver our uniquely tailored effects,” noted Kristi Palmer, Co-founder and President of Camino.

But they haven’t stopped there. In 2021, the company launched Camino Sour Gummies, meticulously tart flavored with terpene-tailored effects (10mg). The vegan gummies are made with pectin and dusted in sour sugar. In 2023, they launched Camino Chews. Each vegan chew is made with real fruit inspired by the classic varieties you’d find in an orchard. They’re individually wrapped taffy-like treats with flavors that linger on the palate. As part of parent company Kiva, it’s in Camino’s DNA to constantly innovate with the goal of engaging consumers with new flavors, formats, and, most importantly, effects.

According to Palmer, Camino exists to help people make the most of moments, big and small, to gently guide them beyond the ordinary, open up their aperture, and discover a new side of things. She advised pairing the Watermelon Lemonade Bliss with a walk on the beach. The Venice boardwalk was jammed with bikini-clad skateboarders and the sweet smell of cannabis perfumed the salty air. The blissful day ended with a blood orange and purple sherbet swirl of a sunset.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

The first thing I noticed when I visited The Set dispensary, a former Chinese restaurant in Los Feliz with a soaring skylight, was that my favorite pain balm brand, Papa & Barkley, had launched a sleep gummy—exactly what I needed.

“We expanded into the gummy market to meet the growing demand for this delivery method,” CEO and Co-founder Guy Rocourt told me. “Using a ratio of CBD, THC and CBN paired with blackberry and elderberry flavors, we designed a delicious bedtime treat to help people fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed.”

He’s right. The night after taking 30mg, I drifted off to sleep with ease. The savory, vegan, elderberry gummy is made with Papa & Barkley’s signature solventless whole-plant infusion. Solventless processing means separating the resin or oil from cannabis flower without using CO2, ethanol, butane, propane, hexane, etc. The gummy geeks have responded. Rocourt tells me that the Sleep Releaf gummies are the top selling product on a volume basis for the company.

“We knew the gummy sector was highly competitive with diverse flavors, cannabinoids, and a huge assortment of potency levels,” he said. “We also knew that 61% of cannabis consumers purchase products to help improve sleep.”

WYLD LIFE

Who hasn’t heard and seen the delightful Wyld gummies that conquered Oregon in 2017? With an array of mouthwatering flavors—raspberry, blackberry, marionberry, huckleberry, pear, elderberry, boysenberry, blood orange—and served in petite, handsome origami boxes, I could see why they took the Pacific Northwest by storm. My favorite: marionberry (100mg), a soothing nighttime indica made with real fruit, high quality cannabis extract, and botanical terpenes.

According to the budtender at The Higher Path in Sherman Oaks, Wyld is their best-selling gummy. The brand’s latest launch, Good Tide Gummies, are made with solventless hash, and are flying off the shelves. It’s been affectionately dubbed “Wyld’s vegan, solventless, tropical cousin.”

“We wanted to launch a new brand to highlight all of those amazing things about the solventless category with tropical flavors, showcasing the variety of the plant itself,” Co-founder Rene Kaza said. “With Good Tide, we have QR codes on every batch. Each batch has a different strain associated with it where you can scan the code to get the terpene profiles and understand exactly what the effects are going to be. We always try to get a single strain for every sativa, indica, hybrid, so you’re going to have more or less a similar terpene profile, but it’s not always going to be the same.”

ABUELITA APPROVED

Dr. Greenthumb’s in Pasadena is packed. It’s the morning of 4/20 and the GM has agreed to give me a quick five minute tour of their vast gummy section. She goes through the usual suspects, then stops when she gets to the screaming yellow bag that says PIÑA COLADA on it. “This brand is doing something very different and people are noticing,” she said.

Although Dulze landed on shelves in 2016, they are finally hitting their stride. Launched by Chef Mike Moya, the inspiration for the brand’s essence comes from his grandmother. She was afflicted with polio as a child, and still struggles with pain management. Moya wanted to create a product that could slowly introduce her to the medicinal benefits of cannabis, so that she could have an alternate option available that wasn’t the usual opioid meds. “That’s how our slogan, Abuelita Approved, came to be,” he explained.

Chef Mike knew that if he could capture the exotic flavors of Mexico and pair them with his own full spectrum and solventless coconut oil extraction it would give the product a muted and complimentary taste. “We use a chef-driven approach in our commitment to delicious taste and quality, and our 2mg per piece dosage makes us an easy introductory product for beginners.”

Using decades-old family recipes, Moya has a tantalizing array of south-of-the-border flavors: chili-watermelon, horchata (“melt it in your coffee or sprinkle them on some ice cream”), margarita, piña colada, and mango chamoy, made with traditional Mexican candy at heart—spicy, slightly salty with hints of chili powder, tamarind, mango, and chamoy.

HIGH LIVE STANDARDS

When I got my rose gold Pax vaporizer in 2017, I was the envy of the office. By the end of the month, a handful of co-workers were “Pax-ing,” too. Well, now that the “Apple of vapes” has a gummy line out, I figured it had to be quality. The budtender at Sweet Flower said that this is his new go-to gummy due to its “impressive balance of flavor and effects.”

Like the vapes, the gummies combine purity, excellence, and craftsmanship. Made without solvents or artificial ingredients, these live rosin 10mg Delta 9 THC-infused vegan/gluten-free delights did the trick. The flavors—wild strawberry (energy), heirloom peach (calming), and summer mango (relaxing)—deliver pleasing tropical notes. I opted for the heirloom peach and went window shopping on Robertson Boulevard. I felt light and airy, yet focused, as I flitted in and out of the shops.

“We’ve been a leader in the vape category for a long time and our consumers have come to know and trust us for our high level of quality and consistency,” said Luke Droulez, the Vice President of Marketing. “We saw an opportunity to expand across categories and provide a new consumption experience.”

It starts with fresh-pressed live rosin (butane hash oil comprised of frozen flower or trim). Now, any products made with materials that were frozen immediately after harvest fall under the “live” category. The reason given for this has been to preserve the aromas of the live plant or the terpenes, which is essential for that naturally balanced, full spectrum experience. Then, a team of chefs, food scientists, candy innovators, and tastebud connoisseurs go to work, wielding their delectable magic.

“They’re delicious!” Droulez exclaimed.

But he knows consumers are fickle. As their palates become more discerning, so too has the desire for higher quality products alongside the everyday value options. Droulez’s philosophy: You either can be the cheapest or the best, with little room in the middle for alternatives.

“People have appreciated us going from live rosin in vape to live rosin in edibles,” Droulez said. “And they liked seeing the throughline with higher quality inputs. Similarly, we’re excited that people trust us outside of the vape category as we deliver on our value proposition of consistent quality.”

FROOT & CHILL

The father and son team behind Froot have been candy makers for decades. When COVID hit, they hatched an idea: launch the best tasting infused gummy at the best price possible ($12-15). “We feel we’ve done that,” Co-founder Noah Whiteman said. “The physical weight of our gummies is slightly more than the competitors so it hides the taste of the concentrate more.”

To be sure, most consumers want a high quality product at a fraction of the price. According to BDS Analytics, which tracks retail cannabis sales, Froot has become the 4th best-selling gummy brand in California. During our chat, Whiteman was direct and honest, noting that it’s extremely competitive with new brands popping up left and right. But he seemed relaxed and confident about Froot’s future. As a fruit lover, I was impressed with the jolly flavors, verdant terpenes (aroma and flavor of a cannabis strain), and 40-minute activation time. I fell for the delicious 100mg Sour Cherry, which had a slightly euphoric yet calming effect. There are 10mg gummies too, which contain 22 calories each. As we said our goodbyes, Whiteman claimed that Froot, with its combo of taste and price, would soon be the best selling gummy in California.

He wasn’t the first to say that.

Rob Hill has written for Ray Gun, Maxim, Playboy, Rolling Stone, LA WEEKLY, Treats!, The Riv, FHM, and mg. He is Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Hiii.

Deep in the mist-tangled mountains of Nepal, the world’s largest honey bees erect their bulbous hives on the shoulders of impossibly steep cliffs, far out of reach from everyday humans. But a small group of daredevil “Mad Honey Hunters” risk their lives by scaling these edifices and, like a scene out of a Mission Impossible movie, dangle on ropes alongside the bluff-hugging honeycombs armed with baskets to gather the reddish, glistening nectar.

Why? For one, this euphoric elixir allegedly brought down the Roman Army in 67 B.C.E. Pompey the Great and his Roman army were at war with Persia and in a tactical move, the Persians gathered pots full of Mad Honey to leave behind in their abandoned villages. The Romans found the pots brimming with the ambrosial intoxicant and ate it in such large amounts that they became too “happy to fight.”

Mad Honey is made by bees who feed on a specific species of the rhododendron plant, which contain a group of neurotoxic compounds called grayanotoxins. When bees feed on the pollen of the plant, they ingest the psychoactive grayanotoxins, effectively making the honey “mad.” It makes sense that a few intrepid gummy makers are using the soothsaying ingredient.

JOLLY GREEN MAD HONEY GUMMIES

Contains 500mg of Himalayan Mad Honey and 1500mg of CBD. The company’s MO: Savor the sweet, natural taste, where each honey-flavored bite is a “blissful, relaxed, and dreamy journey to the Himalayas.” JollyGreenOil.com

MAD HONEY NEPAL GUMMIES

The gummies each have 500mg of liquid gold Mad extract, are GMP Certified, vegan, and 100-percent natural. BurmansHealthShop.com

STONED MUSHROOMS: MAD HONEY GUMMIES

Crafted with a potent mix of 800mg of Mad Honey and 200mg of hemp extract. Flavors include blue raspberry, peach, apple, watermelon, and cherry. StonedMushrooms.com

HONEY BEAR GUMMY RINGS

Coming in ten carefully dosed gummy rings, offering a total of 10,000mg of Mad Honey powder, these babies are perfect for those ready to embrace the call of the wild with open arms. HoneyBearWholesale.com