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[email protected] | www.intro-blue.com | Volume 65 | 10/14/20 COOKIES & 12/12: MAKING THE BIGGEST INTERNATIONAL CANNABIS BRAND The cannabis market has lacked brand leadership thus far. In our June 24 Stash report, we discussed why brand presence, shelf space, and market share are among the KPIs for cannabis investors to monitor. We also highlighted that cannabis brands are a state- specific asset, with no dominant brand across U.S. states, suggesting that local brands have an edge over national players that have yet to establish themselves as the number one choice among consumers. The lack of dominant brands is a reality in the Canadian market, too, as brand awareness is not translating into higher sales with consumers basing their purchase decisions on price rather than brand names or packaging. A Brightfield Group survey of 3,000 cannabis consumers found that despite the brand building push by most LPs, the vast majority of brands have awareness levels ranging between just 1% and 15%. And while brands from Canopy Growth (Tweed and Tokyo Smoke) and Aurora Cannabis (Aurora Drift) are among the top 10, their popularity at an absolute level is very low (<50% brand awareness levels). However, we believe this is set to change with Cookies – the biggest premium cannabis brand in the world. Founded by Gilbert Milam Jr. (better known by his stage name “Berner”) in 2009, Cookies is one of the fastest-growing and most respected cannabis brands in the world with an expected footprint of 30+ branded retail locations in 2020 and 100 branded retail locations across the globe by 2022 (an estimated $1 billion+ in brand revenue).