Dear Shaded Viewers,
Drew Martin consists of three friends who met in 2018, they began throwing dinner parties pairing each course with wine or a cocktail and a custom botanically blended joint. The three friends: Drew Martin Gosselin: Product, Andrew Freeman: Branding and Marketing (he worked with clients like Tiffany & Co and West Elm) and Nicholas Pritzker: CEO background Venture Capital, Hospitality, and Culinary.
With a background in herbalism, a decade of world travel and a refined palate from his time as a mixologist, Drew spent a year formulating a new kind of pre-roll. He experimented with blending cannabis with worldly botanicals, as he curated complex aromas and flavors to evoke memories of his travels around the globe from Jaipur to Sao Paulo to Seoul. A little more history: Drew apprenticed under a master cannabis farmer to get a deeper understanding of cultivation techniques and garden strategy in managing a cannabis grow in Mendocino County. Drew is a certified herbalist.
The fresh take on pre-rolls is to combine cannabis with botanicals to keep the potency down and create a whole new sensory experience . The product assortment includes rose petal and peppermint, chamomile, calendula and Damiana, Lavender and Passionflower, Ginger, Damiana and Lemon Balm or The Collection which includes one pre-roll of each blend.
The packaging is designed by Stranger & Stranger with illustrations by the Berlin-based artist Sasha Igniatudo who created a custom illustration for each blend inspired by the botanicals and geographical cues of each blend. Custom cones, include custom filter and paper length, for shape and smokability.
Drew Martin is exclusively with Sweet Flower dispensaries.
What does it mean to launch a social product in an era of a government-mandated social distancing? although gathering around a table is not the order of the day there is the digital salon. Drew Martin co-hosted a series of evening “salons” with small groups of Los Angeles creatives, artists, and people of influence. These digital salons powered by oom is co-hosted by a friend of the brand and they in turn invite 5-10 people. Here is how it works…on the day of the salon, each attendee receives a hand-delivered packing including: “The Collection” the variety box of Drew Martin pre-rolls, a bottled craft cocktail paired to one of the blends like E.g. Rose Sour paired to the Rose Peta Peppermint pre-roll and a desert paired to one of the blends. On the evening of the salon, the hosts will gather their guests in a private Zoom meeting to share a drink, dessert, and a joint over conversation with the Drew Martin team.
What’s Next
● The team, collectively Aperture Brands, is currently under construction on a 5,000 sq.ft. facility in Culver City with a Cannabis “Microbusiness” license that includes manufacturing, distribution, and delivery.
o This is one of only 6 manufacturing licenses granted by the City of Culver City.
o Estimated Completion: Summer 2020
● They plan to use the facility to expand on their thesis of creating low-dose, experientially-driven, beautifully
designed premium cannabis products.
o Their next project is not yet announced, but one clue is that they just hired their first employee—
Manuela Sanin, Former Executive Pastry Sous Chef at Eleven Madison Park.
● Aperture Brands has received investment from Bail Capital (James Bailey the husband of Devon Aoki
husband) and the Activist Green Fund (venture component of the management company of Dead and Co., Lumineers) along with early funding from friends and family.
