Viola is recategorizing all of its flower products in an effort to simplify the cannabis-shopping experience for consumers.
The new Viola Vibes System (VVS) categorizes all Viola flower products into one of four different ”vibes”: Get Up and Go (sativa), Good Times (sativa-hybrid), Kick Back (indica-hybrid), and Lights Out (indica).
Viola’s decision for a brand refresh was spurred by feedback from consumers and company employees alike, according to Viola Director of Marketing Najee Tyler.
“We were doing a lot of consumer research and talking to a bunch of the Viola family and we got the same consensus from a lot of them, which was when they go into stores, they're looking for a certain reason and a purpose between why they're consuming [cannabis],” Tyler said. “The reason why Viola even started was a purpose, which was [Viola Founder and CEO] Al's [Harrington] grandmother and the certain things that she was dealing with at the time. Each one of the vibes is something of a callout as to why people are consuming cannabis. There’s a little bit of something for anybody who's consuming cannabis.”
In addition to providing a ”purpose” for cannabis consumption, the VVS will also simplify the shopping experience for consumers both experienced and new.
“That was the idea behind it: being able to make people feel comfortable with their cannabis-buying experience,” Tyler said. “That was a really big focus for us, just to make it easy for people to identify the products. We still are using our strain names, so it's not like we're going away from that in a sense. The connoisseurs that were into the Viola products before, they still have those strains that they love and are able to pick from those, but [we] definitely wanted to help with the with the buying experience for consumers.”
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Tyler said the feedback to the new VVS has been positive from not only consumers, but also dispensaries and budtenders.
“We've been getting a lot of good reactions. We do a lot of budtender education, and it’s something they feel is very easy to be able to educate on,” Tyler said. “And it's fun. People are coming in [and] asking, ‘Hey, I'm looking for this type of product,’ whatever the case is, and I think it's something that our accounts are able to educate the consumers on: ‘Hey, Viola has this vibe for you,’ and it’s something easy to educate them on the product. … It's just something new and something easy to grasp.”
Viola Vibes System-branded products will first be available in dispensaries in Michigan and California at the end of August, according to Tyler.
Beyond that, Tyler also mentioned Viola is planning for both new products and unique consumer experiences in the coming months.
“We have new products that [are] coming down the line that we are excited about, and then just bringing these things to life,” Tyler said. “I think what we do well is creating consumer experiences where consumers are able to come in and try the products [and] give us some feedback along with budtenders and industry folks. We have a lot of cool ideas for how to bring it to life in an experiential capacity, and that's one of the things that we're really looking forward to. Because it’s one thing to see it on social and see it digitally, but I think being able to come to an actual experience and trial the product, that's something that we are really good at and looking forward to.”
