Jimi DevineDoja Pak’s weed was already high in the power rankings, but its Thursday Night Strain Premieres in Hollywood have taken hype levels even higher.
Doja Pak founder Ryan Bartholomew jumped on a call with L.A. Weekly to talk about the quick rise of the Thursday night series since kicking off in June with the official debut of Permanent Marker. The stain was originally teased during the wild 4/20 festivities this year in New York City. Bartholomew had been kicking the pop-up idea around in his head since last year; the quality of the Permanent Marker among other things inspired him to pull the trigger.
Permanent Marker is [Biscotti S1 x SherbBx] x [Gelato 41 x Sherb Bx] F2.
Photo Courtesy of VisitHollyweed.com
“I had been kind of writing down in my notes that I needed weekly pop-ups, as well as new forms of me getting the product that has been produced and packaged by us to the consumer in the most direct way possible, so that even if just 50 people come out, they all get a jar of the freshest batch of this brand new strain,” Bartholomew explained. “They’re all going to tell everybody and it’s going to create waves in the industry.”
Bartholomew called the pop-ups a mechanism for him to nurture the market he’s created for Doja. It was important to him that it felt more like a brand showcase you’d see at a consumer trade show than a “Trappy” looking thing with just a bunch of weed on tables. The name was a result of their first trip to the venue.
As Bartholomew and the gang visited the space next to The Vogue Theatre for the first time, one noted how cool it would be to have red carpet Hollywood strain premieres. While they didn’t have the theater, everything else about the idea stuck.
“I was like, that’s exactly what we’re gonna do. Not the red carpet, not at the theater, but we’re right next door and that’s what it’s gonna be called,” Bartholomew said. “So we ran with that idea of the Hollywood Strain Premieres. The first week that we did it, I think we probably had 100 people.”
The brand showcases quickly morphed into community R&D sessions. The heads would come to weigh in with Bartholomew on what they thought about his new selections. Dispensary owners see the excitement firsthand and want it on their shelves. The whole thing was as symbiotic with the L.A. heat-smoking community as Bartholomew could ask for three months in.
“That’s another thing, too, is the platform on Thursday nights allows me to have this opportunity to get testers to people,” Bartholomew said. “There have been times where people just show up and we’ve given out like five pounds of testers, and we were just giving out jars to people and getting feedback back on it.”
Photo Courtesy of Jon Cappetta
The strains being premiered on Thursdays come from Doja Pak’s partnership with Seed Junky Genetics. Bartholomew picks the genetics and Seed Junky grows it at scale for Doja Pak. He’s still working with his other cultivation partners, which include Preferred Gardens, Blueprint, and Hi Tech.
Since Bartholomew originally selected the Permanent Marker early this year for its Zoap-like traits with more impact, Seed Junky has done a lot of work in the months since. You can expect the new flavors to keep pumping out.
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