IRVINE, Calif. – Petalfast Inc. today launches as the first-of-its-kind full spectrum sales and marketing agency for the cannabis industry. The newly formed agency builds on the acquisition of A.P. Keaton’s cannabis marketing business, through the addition of a dedicated sales and merchandising team deeply experienced in cannabis. In addition to its cannabis business, A.P. Keaton is an industry leader in adult beverage, working with leading suppliers throughout the world.
Petalfast blends decades of experience in adult beverage, CPG and cannabis to deliver sales and marketing solutions to established and up-and-coming cannabis brands in California and beyond.
The agency will be divided into two channels – a go-to-market accelerator available to a limited selection of high-potential brands – and ongoing agency services. The accelerator will at first focus only on the state of California, with other states to follow, while agency services are available to brands nationally.
Petalfast has already engaged a number of notable cannabis brands for the accelerator platform, including Space Coyote, Big Pete’s Treats, Honey Oil, and Weed, with additional brands to be announced. Brands in the accelerator will benefit from the branding, sales, marketing and distribution expertise in the Petalfast team, which includes a dedicated statewide sales force, as well as access to our preferred distribution provider HERBL, California’s largest cannabis distributor. Petalfast was founded by CEO Jason Vegotsky and COO/General Counsel Arun Kurichety, both former executives of KushCo Holdings, Inc. (OTCQX:KSHB), the premier provider of ancillary products and services to the legal cannabis and CBD industries. Vegotsky served as President and Chief Revenue Officer at KushCo and Kurichety was Executive Vice President/General Counsel. Following an acquisition of the cannabis division of marketing agency, A.P. Keaton, the Petalfast marketing team is led by CMO Ryan Goldstein, who separately will continue as CEO of A.P. Keaton.
Founded in 2007, A.P. Keaton is a full-service marketing agency having handled brand strategy, retail display, design and creative, and much more for spirits, CPG, and cannabis clients.
Vegotsky began his career in spirits learning that industry’s unique go-to-market model, before moving on to leadership roles in the food and eventually cannabis industry.
“In many ways, the cannabis industry has been a ‘wild west’ of sorts, with entrepreneurs and innovators developing really great products but who are then challenged figuring out how to successfully go to market. We built Petalfast to help brands go to and through market to achieve long-term success,” shared Vegotsky.
The accelerator portfolio approach is a key differentiator to the Petalfast offering, significantly changing the way a cannabis brand launches, scales and establishes itself in the market. The approach pulls together the best go-to-market practices from adult beverage and natural foods into a structure that provides individual brands access to greater resources, talent and relationships than they would ever have on their own.
“We provide the expertise and a structured approach with defined roles along the route to market that allow cannabis businesses to focus on their product, while we focus on their brand,” added Vegotsky. “Our team is unparalleled, with years of experience in sales, marketing, branding, and distribution and with specific cannabis industry expertise.”
The Petalfast team boasts decades of experience working with retailers and distributors in food and beverage, wine and spirits, and CPG brands. The organization features a dedicated sales force to represent the portfolio offerings, exponentially increasing the sales potential for each individual brand. That, combined with the marketing expertise of Goldstein and the A.P. Keaton team, give Petalfast and its clients a significant advantage in the market.
“Ryan and his team are talented marketers who know branding, retail and cannabis inside and out,” added Vegotsky. “I knew they were the best team to become part of the Petalfast offering.”
“Petalfast represents the future for cannabis sales and marketing,” shared Ryan Goldstein. “At A.P. Keaton, we built a legacy of innovation and success for clients by paying close attention to retail within the industry, and now, as part of Petalfast, we will be able to solve for some of the same things in Cannabis with groundbreaking programs and campaigns.”
About Petalfast Inc.
Petalfast is the first-of-its-kind full spectrum sales and marketing agency for the cannabis industry. Petalfast helps cannabis brands achieve rapid growth via its go-to-market accelerator, currently available in California only, and through its full spectrum of agency services available to brands nationally. A number of notable cannabis brands already engaged in the Petalfast platform include Space Coyote, Big Pete’s Cookies, Honey Oil, and Weed.
About A.P. Keaton
A.P. Keaton is a New York-based full-service marketing agency that works with top brands in a variety of categories, including cannabis, adult beverage, hospitality, lifestyle and more.
