Shryne Group: A House of Brands

Building on the momentum of its most popular brand, STIIIZY, California cannabis powerhouse Shryne Group last fall launched two new product lines, STIIIZY Gold Liquid Live Resin and STIIIZY Silver Cannabis Derived Terpenes. Cannabis concentrates is one of the fastest-growing product segments in the market today, according to cannabis research firm BDSA, with retail sales expected to reach $8 billion by 2022. Along with the launch of STIIIZY Gold and STIIIZY Silver, Shryne Group also revamped its wholesale and distribution business becoming the exclusive distributor of its house brands.

“STIIIZY Silver sold out in the first week,” said Charmaine Chua, Shryne Group’s senior vice president of sales. “We saw STIIIZY sales jump up more than 50 percent in the first month after the November launch.”

In early 2019, STIIIZY was the thirty-three highest-grossing cannabis brand in California. Today, it is number two and fast gaining on the competition, according to the most recent sales data from BDSA. STIIIZY also is sold in Washington, Nevada, and Michigan through partnerships with licensed manufacturers in those states.

“Consumer dynamics vary from state to state, but the popularity of the STIIIZY brand has been consistent across the board,” said Chua. “STIIIZY is entering markets where consumers are already familiar with the brand and asking for it by name. That is a great position for us to be in. It allows us to build our base in emerging markets early in the game, like in Michigan, the first Midwestern state to legalize adult use and right next door to Illinois, the most recent state to legalize adult-use sales.”

The recent pandemic has impacted cannabis operations differently in different states. Most states deemed cannabis an essential business given its medical use, but the ban on travel depressed cannabis sales in tourism-dependent states like Nevada and Colorado, for example. In California, cannabis sales have held fairly steady, even rising up slightly from last year’s levels according to BDSA.

“Shryne Group sales have remained robust in California,” said Chua, with the Gold and Silver offerings expanded into more strains since the launch. Liquid Live Resin is a concentrate extracted from freshly harvested, flash-frozen cannabis to preserve the plant’s aromatic terpenes as well as its full cannabinoid profile, resulting in a naturally flavorful extract with no additives. STIIIZY’s Liquid Live Resin is single-sourced and made in small batches, appealing to the purists among the brand’s legions of fans who have grown exponentially since STIIIZY’s launch in Los Angeles in 2017.

“The popularity of the STIIIZY brand definitely has opened a lot of doors for us,” said Chua. “But we have a full catalogue of diverse offerings from edibles to flower and pre-rolls, and other house brands that complement our STIIIZY lines.”

Shryne Group’s vertical integration allows the company to have full control from seed to shelf, facilitating product development, quality control, and proof of concept. The company currently operates six dispensaries in California, allowing it to test consumer response to new products even before offering them to its wholesale clients.

“It means we can back up what we are saying about our products,” said Chua. “We also have a greater ability to offer promotional support and marketing resources because of the economy of scale. We are a one-stop shop.”