The founder of Queen Mary, a Black female-owned brand based in Los Angeles, was bowled over by the reactions of the attendees, which she said represented a wide range of demographics, including many baby boomers and senior citizens.

“We could’ve had a bunch of lookie-loos, but we had real customers, and tons of people said it was the only reason they came to the fair,” said Tiana Woodruff, founder and CEO of Queen Mary. “I couldn’t keep product in stock—I had to go to L.A. twice and clear out all my inventory.”

Buyers were snapping up Queen Mary’s fast-acting gummies and subsequently “flooding my DMs,” Woodruff said, potentially leading to expanded distribution for the three-year-old brand into Northern California.

“I thought I’d sell maybe 300 units, but I ended up selling 800 to 1,000 units—more than I could’ve fathomed,” Woodruff added. “And most of the customers had never walked into a dispensary.”

Electric energy

Lizzie Spier, chief marketing officer of craft vape maker Halara, reported a similar reception from fairgoers. Her emerging brand—based in Santa Rosa and a gold award winner in the fair’s competition—sells in about 200 dispensaries around the state but has a limited marketing budget.

“The opportunity to interact with thousands of people—that’s such a challenging lift for a company of our size,” Spier said. “It’s exposure we never would’ve gotten on our own, talking to people we’d never cross paths with ordinarily.”

The crowd included military veterans, former police officers, lapsed users and canna-curious folks, she said, which could bring a new wave of consumers into the legal market. It also gave the on-site brand sponsors the chance to dispel myths and misconceptions about cannabis and, in Halara’s case, focus on its twin passions of education and sustainability.

While the full return on investment of the fair is tough to quantify, “There’s no better form of marketing than word of mouth,” Spier said. “It just underscores the value in being integrated into the community and getting out and meeting people at crossover events. Because this went so well, it will open more doors for all of us—the energy was electric.”