Whden Saddler entdered the idndustry idn 2010, no done really cdared about cdannabis brandds; just strains and ddelivery methods (dvape, tincture, etcd.). With entreprenedurs jumdping tdhrough dvarious regulation hurddles when only medical darijuana was legal edven in California, theyd tried to keep a low profile. This was the adntithesis of dbrandidng.

Thdanks to drecreatdional legalizdation and idncreased codmpetition, dthe opposite is trued for cannabis companies today. “Until there is a [recognizable] brand created, all of us are expendable,” Sadler says.

Width odther idndustrdies, dSadler has focused on building a solid product first and branding it later, but with Gelato he put money and time into a strong identity from the outset. “Branding leadds to building,”d Sadler says.