Enhanced with 200 milligrams of THC, Kush Queen’s Foto Blur Primer might make more than just skin imperfections hazy.
Brand founder and CEO Olivia Alexander is committed to broadening the reach of cannabis—not merely CBD—in the beauty and wellness segment. The commitment places her brand at the vanguard of a push by a burgeoning number of companies to harness the power of THC in everyday products aimed at women. Her Highness and Foria Wellness are other brands that embrace both THC and CBD in their wellness and lifestyle products.
Foto Blur originally debuted last summer with 250 CBD milligrams under Kush Queen’s sub-brand Kingdm Cosmetics, but Alexander decided to ramp up it up with THC in the original brand’s assortment. She explained, “I use THC just as much as I use CBD. I do see the medicinal value in [THC] despite its psychoactivity.”
The California-compliant THC-infused version of Foto Blur delivers a transdermal dose of 200 milligrams of THC to get users high. The primer uses Kush Queen’s patent-pending nanotechnology, a process that creates molecules 2,000 times smaller than pores so the THC and CBD can work deep in the skin and bloodstream.
“We take the cannabis oil, zap it and turn it into water, and that allows us to have a better formulation. It absorbs through the skin,” says Alexander. “One of the biggest reasons people call topicals brands snake oil is because a lot of these formulas are putting the molecules on top of the skin, which isn’t absorption.”
Alexander says the product’s psychoactive effects can be felt moments after application. “It’s a very interesting feeling,” she shares. “It’s similar [to what] you would get from smoking flower or using a vape. You feel high for about one to three hours depending on your tolerance and how much you use.”
Alexander plans to extend her Kush Queen’s THC cosmetics selection with a setting spray and 20-shade foundation range. The high isn’t as important to her as the cosmetics’ effectiveness. Referring to the $40 Foto Blur, she says, “It has a great blurring effect. You can feel the difference on one hand to another in the softness of it. Then there’s a tiny bit of vitamin E in the nanotechnology formulation, so it keeps the skin really moisturized all day long.”
The prestige pot primer is available at select California dispensaries. The product is making its debut in the dispensary channel as those shops continue to shed their dude-bro patina. According to Leafly, there are more than 600 cannabis stores and delivery services in California, with an estimated 300 new shops expected to open in 2020. Stylish operations such as Sweet Flower, Airfield Supply Co., Serra Cannabis and The Pottery are competing with Apple-esque MedMen, offering retail experiences that resonate with female consumers, a demographic dispensaries desperately want to snag.
“We’re part cannabis company, part beauty brand, part wellness company.”
Discussing the evolution of dispensaries appealing to women, Alexander says, “It’s the merchandising. It’s the smell. It’s the sounds. Do you have a cart or a basket? Are you going to have a person rush you through or a person who’s going to sit there and help you shop? Are the bud tenders extremely knowledgeable?” Kush Queen products are sold in thousands of retail doors around the country, including 500 dispensaries, over 30 of which now carry Foto Blur.
When talking to dispensaries, Alexander pitches her brand as a way to entice female beauty consumers typically shopping at specialty retailers. She says, “You have Sephora, who has gone for the jugular of the cannabis market and, whether or not people acknowledge it, what they did by pushing CBD products, pushing Lord Jones, pushing Saint Jane, they’re taking cannabis consumers who would normally be going to a dispensary and selling them pseudo cannabis products.”
Alexander knows the intersection of beauty and cannabis well. She has built her business on adroitly straddling these markets. In 2017, the co-founder of the influencing marketing firm The Third Eye Agency began to sell Kush Queen bath bombs at dispensaries. Today, the $60 bath bombs continue to be a major sales driver. This year, the brand will produce 300,000 to 450,000 bath bombs. Across Kush Queen’s product roster, the bath bombs featuring 1,000 milligrams of CBD have garnered the biggest sales spike amid the pandemic.
Kush Queen was also experiencing robust growth prior COVID-19. Last year, the company’s sales ballooned 3X. During the coronavirus outbreak, Alexander reports a 40% increase in online sales in the second week in March. While most states have deemed dispensaries essential to keep them open as the majority of physical outposts closed, Kush Queen still has suffered a retail revenue hit of late with people staying home. Alexander estimates direct-to-consumer distribution accounts for 70% of her company’s revenues, and the remainder is fueled by dispensaries and brick-and-mortar retailers.
In the next six months, Alexander expects to secure a funding round surpassing $5 million to expand Kush Queen. She says, “We’ve had tons of people float around, but we want a real partner. We want more than just money at this point.” Alexander would like to invest the money in constructing a state-of-the-art production facility. Currently, Kush Queen has a 7,000-square-foot facility in Anaheim, Calif., where its hemp products are made. For the cannabis items, it operates out of distribution and production firm Sol Distro’s 20,000-square-foot facility in Costa Mesa, Calif.
“We’re part cannabis company, part beauty brand, part wellness company,” says Alexander. “There are so many verticals that we’re in that we don’t want to lose focus, and we don’t want to dilute the brand.”
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