DENVER, CO — The cannabis edibles market is growing rapidly — with a predicted CAGR of 25.4% between 2019 and 2025 — but the laws surrounding are trying to keep up. The regulatory landscape remains complex even in established markets, and laws don’t just differ from state to state. Layers upon layers of guidelines exist even from county to county and municipality to municipality. These layers pose challenges for commercial bakers looking to break into this emerging market, from marketing, packaging and labeling perspectives.
“We’ve had to get creative,” said Peggy Moore, CEO and partner of Denver-based Love’s Oven, which began selling cannabis-infused baked goods for medical use in 2009. “The rules are constantly changing, so we have to be able to pivot quickly to ensure we’re complying with the latest regulations.”
Moore added that in the company’s first year, when adult-use was legalized in Colorado, Love’s Oven had at least five label changes, which came at no small expense.
The same was true for Sweet Grass Kitchen, a small-batch bakery selling cannabis-infused edibles in Colorado. In three years, the company had to change its labeling at least seven times. “In these emerging markets that you guys are going to be exploring in the next few years, we can’t stress enough small inventory, digital printing, all these sorts of things that you can flip on a dime,” said Jesse Burns, marketing director at Sweet Grass Kitchen during an IBIE 2019 education session. “This isn’t like FDA regulations. You don’t get five years to comply. You get four, five, six months to comply.”