Keeping The Legacy Alive In Canada – Interview With CAKED Cannabis

We’re a lot different from other brands, we are not profit driven opportunists or following that type of blueprint. We’re a true designer brand that cares about every aspect of our image and products integrity, almost like a certification of high standards as far as cannabis goes. A brand isn’t a corporate logo under an umbrella of other brands designed to distinguish different white labeled or commercial products. A brand has a soul and a heartbeat, with the blood running through it as the culture. Our story is a movie….

This game wasn’t the safe game it is now when we started. We went through the same hardships as any brand, but with the cops on our tail raiding grow spots to losing packs and having to bounce back, along with all the evils that come with the streets. It’s all a part of our story and that’s the side of cannabis that we represent and showcase. Anyone from the legacy that’s really paid their dues and went through it, is who we collab with and support.

We’re not 3 buddies that quit their jobs and started a grow project later in life because it’s legal now and smoke weed, or named after an old war hero grandfather carrying on that story or a corporate funded mega whale looking to steal all the profits made off others hard work. There’s nothing wrong with some of that, and there’s room for everyone, but that’s not us. The cannabis culture has many different windows and roots, we can only represent and speak for the culture that has been our reality.

If I were to take issue, it would be when those type of companies/ambassadors speak for us and try to use us to validate themselves. Or use their political influence and deep pockets to hold others back so they can thrive. Which is the sad reality of much of the legal industry today.

Everyone has their story, but ours comes from those who really went through it and paid their dues, when the risks and consequences were much different. It’s a special love for the plant and as crazy as it sounds, the plant knows, embraces and reflects that in the end product.

Coming from nothing to something with all odds stacked against us and losing it all and having to do it again and again. That’s a different type of dedication and builds a different resilience than a company who’s master grower has a degree in horticulture growing tomatoes or something. We can go places other brands can’t, and we pride ourselves on that. Understanding and being able to navigate those waters is the game we play that they have yet too figure out. Knowing what people want and offering the very best representation of that.

Back then grow rooms were small because they were hidden in crawl spaces, basements, garages etc. So every square foot was important to producing the returns to justify the risks. Investing that valuable space into breeding and advancing your genetic game came at a higher price in those times. It takes a ton of time and space that you don’t see a return on for years, or at all. I’ve lost some of the best strains I’ve had or created in raids or outside bullshit, but that’s the risk for the reward in having that fire, that separates you from the rest. Some of the best brands and growers are still going through it today as they refuse to sell their soul for cheap to some big unqualified company.

At Caked, we are very genetic driven and creators, we pride ourselves in keeping all our genetics and strains in the control of the shops we run. We turn down money all the time from other brands and companies that want us to build their menus or buy or license our genetics. Once everyone has access to it, it loses its value. Good strains end up having their reputations dragged through the mud when it’s is not done properly. But it’s not the money for us, we’re good, it’s us believing in that person or company vs pimping out what’s proprietary to us out to just anyone and for that low hanging fruit. That’s what separates us from others in this space and keeps us unique and contained.