We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cass. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cass below.

Cass, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

RESPECT THE HISTORY OF THE MARIJUANA INDUSTRY

Many people spent years in legal battles, fighting for a substance that they believed was wrongly demonized. Corporate influence tends to adopt a “move in and build with capital” approach to emerging industries that can often marginalize those same people.

“There is nothing more important than building trust. This starts by showing respect for the plant, respect for the customer, and respect for those who have fought hard to enable us to have this conversation.” That’s good advice for corporate America.

To be successful, it’s wise to get educated in the work of thought leaders and cultural experts who arrived before you. Corporations that think they will legitimize marijuana purely with money can come across as insensitive and dismissive to people who have risked their freedoms and put themselves on the line personally, the people who built this movement up to the point where it could become a legal industry.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Cass Stewart is a business owner and the founder of BreakingBrands. His entrepreneurial skills and style combine vision with superb marketing and sales acumen. His role is to assist and guide HIS CLIENTS in integrating both past and current cannabis culture, promoting positive results for businesses in the cannabis market. Cass was the Founder of Apothecary Seattle, the Capitol Hill neighborhood’s first Medical Marijuana Storefront, which was voted readers’ choice award “Seattle’s Best Dispensary 2011.” He is a strong advocate for legalization and a sommelier-type connoisseur of cannabis.

He is a co-owner of Better Properties-Metro, a boutique real estate office in the Queen Anne area of Seattle. Prior to real estate, he gained invaluable experience serving as Regional Marketing Manager for Entertainment Marketing, Inc. (“EMI”), a company that pioneered in the entertainment, sports, and lifestyle marketing categories.

EMI innovated and produced breakthrough campaigns to help launch and build brands for Anheuser-Busch, Phillip Morris, Dole Foods, Burger King, General Mills, Pfizer, Hanes Hosiery, and Adagio Brands, and others. EMI also leveraged music groups such as The Rolling Stones, Earth, Wind, and Fire, to create exceptional marketing and sales results for clients.

Within the cannabis industry, Cass was the 2011 Founder of Apothecary Seattle, the Capitol Hill neighborhood’s first Medical Marijuana Storefront. After legalization, Cass served as Assistant Manager at Green Theory Bellevue’s first recreational retail store, and then went on to serve as buyer at The Evergreen Markets in Renton.

At Evergreen he guided the team in integrating market culture that had been established through the medical program as well as setting up marketing programs which helped win the store Leafly’s best dispensary award eight months in a row during the first year of operations. Cass also helped launch another retailer Buddy’s in Renton, and hired/trained associates and secured brands allowing Buddy’s to be recognized as a best-in-class retailer for Washington State.

He was a founder of Synergy Brands Washington, the state license holder for the Willie’s Reserve brand, and helped establish farm partners and expand the retail sales channels, including establishing the first store-in-store Willie’s corner inside Buddy’s. He oversaw and developed the Willie’s Reserve Pop-ups and Ambassador program, as well as making key introductions for the WR brand in other states including Nevada, Oregon, Michigan, Oklahoma, Missouri, and New Jersey.

Cass founded Breaking Brands in 2019 and quickly secured a contract with Cheech and Chong’s Cannabis in WA state. He provided key introductions for the brand in Nevada and additional markets. In Washington he was responsible for selecting high-quality farm partners, expanding the retail sales channel and brand ambassador program, and serving as an industry subject matter expert. Additionally, he spearheaded the launch of Slightly Stoopid’s brand Stoopid Strains, a boutique premium cannabis brand in Washington. Breaking Brands has had the opportunity to work with some of the market’s premier brands including Willies Reserve, Cheech’s Stash, Cheech and Chong’s Cannabis, Stoopid Strains, and Artizen.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The qualities I prize from my journey in the legal cannabis market are authenticity, embracing the culture, and thinking long term. I think a story that demonstrates resilience is the story of these values coming into conflict with multiple organizations over my years in the industry. It lends me a degree of confidence when I reflect on the fact that although I parted ways with plenty of these organizations over differences in understanding of the market, many went on to spend millions of dollars and months or years to eventually reach the same conclusions.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I believe my reputation is staked on honesty and credibility. I pride myself on not always giving the answer somebody may want, but on giving them the truth for better or worse. Reliability is built on honesty, and a business should be well informed about market sectors it is both succeeding and struggling in. When a company is aware of potential hurdles it may face within a growing market, it is better able to mitigate the risks of such.

Contact Info:

• Website: breakingbrands.com
• Instagram: Breakin_brands_llc
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breakingbrands/

Image Credits
NW/Leaf