California’s Eaze yesterday launched a menu expansion in Los Angeles featuring brands owned by Black people and people of color. The expansion also includes brands from its Social Equity Partners Program, which already features Cloud 9, KGB Reserve, and SF Roots in Northern California.
The brands featured on LA menus now include Dreamt, Blaqstar Farms – both based in the city – and Bay Area-based James Henry SF, and Oakland Extracts. Social Equity Menu brands must either hold a social equity license or be actively engaged in securing a license from a city or county.
Eaze’s Social Equity Partners Program provides brands with financial and operational support to help them scale and succeed on Eaze and beyond. Social Equity Partners are eligible for a variety of benefits, including, preferred financing and payment structuring; discounted access to Eaze Partner Portal data; incorporation into the company’s supply chain; and marketing and public relations support. To date, social equity brands have sold nearly $1 million worth of products on the platform, the company said.
Blaqstar Farms Founder and CEO Bryant Mitchell, the son of the first Black police officer in Orange, Texas, said that “cannabis is no exception” to the shift toward “thoughtful” consumer behavior.
“Eaze is an exceptional partner for Black-owned cannabis brands, allowing us to step into the spotlight and reach consumers who not only want a fantastic product but want to know their dollars are going towards a new generation of Black cannabis entrepreneurs.” – Mitchell in a press release
Last year, Eaze launched Momentum, a business accelerator “to cultivate the growth and success of underrepresented cannabis business founders.” The inaugural class of that program received a $50,000 grant along with educational tools and other resources.
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