Cannabis beverage brand Cann scored a lot of celebrity support.
The company announced Thursday that it has received investments from several big-name stars, including Academy Award-winner Gwyneth Paltrow, as well as Ruby Rose, Rebel Wilson, Darren Criss, Baron Davis, Tove Lo, Casey Neistat and Calesha Murray (aka Bre-Z).
"Cann sits at the intersection of two powerful trends… the 'sober curious' and 'cannabis curious' movements," Paltrow said.
Paltrow is also the founder and CEO of wellness and lifestyle brand Goop.
Rose, an actress and model who recently starred in the CW series "Batwoman," touted the diversity of the team, which is currently made up of "50%+ women and 33%+ people of color."
"When making an investment decision, you have to invest in two things — the product and the people," Rose said.
Since its launch in 2019, Los Angeles-based Cann has become known as a purveyor of CBD and THC-infused intoxicants. It sold over 2 million cans, each formulated with 2 milligrams of THC plus 4 milligrams of CBD.
In July, the company celebrated its first year of operations with the milestone of producing its millionth can of Cann.
In January, the brand raised $5 million through a seed funding round co-led by Imaginary and JM10 Partners.
Following its recent debut in Nevada, Cann intends to expand into four additional state markets over the next six months. Currently, Cann is available across California, Nevada, Rhode Island in MedMen, Sweet Flower, and Urbn Leaf dispensaries.
"We couldn't be more excited to welcome this group into our Cann family and have them share in our mission with us," said Cann co-founder Luke Anderson.
Cannabis Brands Seek Authenticity In Rock'N Roll
And while it remains to be seen whether the support of this group of distinguished personalities would result in an uptick in sales of Cann, some suggest that celebrity endorsement doesn't necessarily equal sales growth.
1933 Industries’ TGIF 0.16% TGIFF 8.33% CEO Paul Rosen recently told Benzinga that consumers are more likely to gravitate towards brands where "authenticity is part of the celebrity brand."
He cited Snoop Dogg, Tommy Chong, Willie Nelson and the late Bob Marley as examples of celebrities who can "move product" since "they are associated with cannabis in the public eye."
Meanwhile, several musicians ventured into the marijuana market lately, such as legendary guitarist Carlos Santana who teamed up with Left Coast Ventures to launch cannabis products, including flower, pre-rolls, and topicals with traditional formulations.
Moreover, Jerry Garcia's family opted for a similar move by partnering with Holistic Industries Inc. in December to develop new cannabis products.
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