People who would rather ingest marijuana than smoke it have plenty of options. You can buy weed-infused pasta sauce, chewing gum, beef jerky... even vegan caviar. The edibles market is big. And this November, voters in California and several other states will decide whether to legalize the recreational use of pot---which means it's poised to get a lot bigger.
The issue with edibles is their notoriously unpredictable user experience: They're potent, take a while to kick in, and can take a long time for your body to metabolize. All that makes dosing an intimidating guessing game.
One of the first companies to address this problem in a comprehensive way is Oakland-based Défoncé Chocolatier. The company specializes in high-end, cannabis-infused chocolate, and it's anticipating the marijuana boom with some of the most user-friendly edibles you've ever seen.
"Our main focus is consistency," says Défoncé CEO Eric Eslao. He's talking about every aspect of his product's design---from the packaging materials (soft-touch, naturally), to the quality of the ingredients (sustainably and ethically sourced from two of the fanciest chocolate makers in the US), to the shape of the chocolate bar itself (the bar's 18 segments, all but two of which are pyramid-shaped, are volumetrically identical, to ensure a dose of 10mg of THC per segment). "I spent the last six years at Apple, where we were really detail oriented, really pixel perfect," says Eslao. "So when we went to create this product, we devoted the same level of attention to detail."
The result is one fancy-ass bar of weed chocolate. But you might not even notice, at first glance. For the package design, Défoncé traded chintzy pot leaves for clear instructions and sensible dosing recommendations. For now, you can only buy the stuff at dispensaries, but it's easy to imagine this stuff on the shelves of a high-end grocery store.
In fact, that's the whole point of Défoncé's premium, user-friendly approach. Paying attention to the packaging, the consistency of dosage, as well as taste, says Eslao, is all about crafting an experience that will appeal to a much broader range of customers. "If you’re paying attention to the details, the experience is gonna be great." As marijuana becomes more mainstream, smart entrepreneurs will be looking to do the same.
