Our Story
Munch & Co. was founded in 2014, shortly after cannabis became recreationally legal in Colorado. Since then we have developed consistently with the evolution of state driven cannabis legislation and regulation, always holding our clients and their consumers in the highest regard of brand image and legal compliance, respectively. We pride ourselves on our ability to work with law enforcement and city, county and state officials. Munch and Co. has been able to ensure confidence from those who oversee compliance issues when it comes to public consumption, marketing, and branding. Since 2014, we’ve expanded from only working in Colorado to service clients in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington DC.
As our our footprint has expanded so have our team. The Munch & Co. team brings decades of brand-building experience to the cannabis industry and offers first-hand insight of how some of the most iconic, world-renown brands have become a part of consumers’ daily lives. Prior to cannabis becoming legal, our team was spread throughout a a multitude of trendsetting industries such as automotive, beverage, boutique hotels, fashion, finance, fitness, nightlife, restaurants, and brick-and-mortar retail. We’ve had experience in helping brands launch, grow, and connect with their consumers. Some brands and companies include Aston Martin, Maybach SLR Group, Coca-Cola, Red Bull, Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, Thompson Hotels, Diesel, Jones of New York , Polo Ralph Lauren, Versace, Morgan Stanley, Bacardi USA, Beam Suntory USA, Diageo USA, Moet Hennessey USA, and Pernod Ricard USA.
Since recreational legalization, Munch & Co. has evolved just like the cannabis industry and it's consumers. We approach working with our clients today as we did back on day one, understanding this industry has constraints which hinder normal marketing practices. We support our clients not just through their vision, but also through their budget. Munch & Co. stepped in as the marketing agency for cannabis companies in Denver to remove the legal liability which may fall on a company executive. Our services have remained the same from the day of our inception: Brand Positioning, Concept Creation, Event Production, Industry Showcases, and Business-to-Consumer Responsibility.
2014 was an exciting year in Colorado, cannabis prohibition within the state had ended. Everybody wanted to celebrate it and be apart of the experience. Cannabis tourism was a boom for the state and brands were anxious to make an impression in the newly legal market. Events were small in the beginning; dispensary openings and “underground” brand parties. Exposure for brands started to grow later in the year with some high impact events. Munch & Co. descended upon Aspen for the X Games and executed the “iRecreate House” for Dixie Elixirs, Native Roots Colorado, and O.pen Vape. Flexing our muscle in concept creation, we fabricated a three-story shipping container booth for Dixie Elixirs’ presence at Denver’s High Times Cannabis Cup 2014. Concluding the 420 Weekend Festivities, Munch & Co. produced The Waldo’s Music Festival at the Denver Filmore with Congo Sanchez, Talib Kweli, and Matisyahu along with sponsors Dixie Elixirs and Native Roots Colorado.
“Save the Rocks”, a fundraising event for Red Rocks Amphitheatre, soon followed with performances by Schoolboy Q, NAS, and Flying Lotus. Grand Openings for Munch & Co. came back in to the mix when Dixie Elixirs opened their new head quarters and facility. Helping their clients for the largest industry showcase in the U.S., MJ Biz Conference, Munch & Co. executed the first ever brand cooperative afterparty for the cannabis industry hosted by American Cannabis Company, CannaLabs, Dixie Elixirs, Leafly, and Poseidon Asset Management. 2014 ended with the 1st Anniversary of Legal Cannabis in Colorado and a New Year’s Eve celebration at Infinity Park Event Center with Pink House, Surna, and Funk Sac. Instead of a champagne toast to welcome the new year, guests were allowed to spark up when the clock struck midnight.
Year two at the Aspen X Games, we kicked the week off with an elegant sit down dinner for 100 guests prepared by Cultivating Spirits. Native Roots Treehouse made a debut, as well, with special guests Snoop Dogg, Wiz Khalifa, and Michal Menert with sponsorships from Keef Cola, Foria, Npen, Aspen Brewing Co., Infinite Monkey Theorem, and VapRwear. With brand expansion in the Colorado market, we again executed grand opening parties, one for the Medicine Man Aurora location and the second for the Native Roots Colorado Vail location. In March 2015, Munch & Co. introduced cannabis to Nightclub and Bar at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The connection of cannabis to nightlife has always existed, but it was now being discussed how to legally work with products, regulation, and liability. This contribution would be the birth of Munch & Co. consulting for Questex, creating cannabis focused panels for the years to come, and the emergence of hosPOTality™.
In April 2015, we assisted clients again with their brand impressions at the Denver High Times CannabisCup supporting Native Roots Colorado, Npen, Leafly, and Marqaha. The same weekend, we constructed the Leafly Lounge at the “420 Rally” located on the grass lawn of the Colorado State House. To wrap up a very busy 2015, Munch &Co. ventured to the nation’s capital and produced the High Times Business Summit at the Washington Hilton.
The next three years many more states became medically and recreationally legal. Oregon and Washington soon followed Colorado’s legalization, but those markets sat relatively dormant when it came to companies willing to spend the money on marketing to expand their brand recognition. So we continued to focus on the Colorado market, and returned to the Aspen X Games in 2016 for another week of cannabis centered events. Magical Butter kicked off the weekend hosting a 120-guest sit down dinner. For four nights the Native Roots Colorado Treehouse was the “hangout of choice” with fellow sponsors Deep Eddy Vodka, Keef Cola, Sweet Water Brewing, Mary’s Medicinal, PAX, and Weedmaps.
Throughout 2017 and 2018, Munch expanded in to other markets including Nevada and California. Assisting with business positioning, Matrix NV was able to hone in on their target demographic, expand their product line for their target demographic, restructure their merchandise footprint to seasonal promotional items, and created a 420 dispensary tour which ended with a pop-up party at each location.
The Munch & Co. team then headed to Santa Rosa, California to build out Emerald Cup 2017 VIP Patient 215 Tent. We focused on the Emerald Triangle community’s authenticity and remained devoted to the Emerald Cup’s organic farming message.
In September of 2017, Munch & Co. took on its largest project yet. We were contracted by American Green to make the small California town of Nipton in to a desert oasis of cannabis. This was the social test we had been dreaming about for the last few years, and what we had started discussing on panels and at conferences: hosPOTality™. We knew the direction of cannabis lounges and public consumption would go past regulation and legislation and transition in to what we knew as consumer experiences similar to what food and beverage has been for decades. For 16 months, the Munch & Co Team predominantly committed themselves to one client for a large undertaking in the Mojave Desert by creating a 360-degree hospitality experience for cannabis consumers. Through accommodations, large scale art, dining, fitness, on-site activities, and retail we built a legal cannabis resort with a foundation of respect for those who consumed or chose not to consume. We proved you can legally offer alcohol, state lottery, and cannabis side-by-side while putting customer service at the forefront of operations.
Munch & Co. has been understanding about industry hiccups, legal grey areas, and what our clients go through during these evolving times. We have remained committed to hosting legal consumer interactions where we minimize liability. When budgets have shrunk, management has changed hands, or companies have become bought or sold we have remained relevant by offering other services besides event production. We understand this industry is tough to market in because of federal regulations, but think all brands should have an opportunity to get involved. We seek to find the solution to the challenges our clients face in the cannabis industry, no matter how big or small.