Stylemakers Get Ready for Cannabis’ New York Debut

New Jersey may have beat its neighbor out of the gate on adult-use sales, but New York retailers are readying to embrace cannabis with typical Big Apple panache. The 5th annual Luxury Meets Cannabis Conference (LMCC), a B2B trade event focused on luxury brand retailing, will be held this year in NYC at Hudson Yards from May 5-6. The invite-only trade event spotlighting health, beauty and wellness connects cannabis companies — and their founders — with retailers, the global media and investors against the Westside’s backdrop of culture, commerce and cuisine.

Just announced as guest speakers at the LMCC will be Flora Growth’s CEO Luis Merchan and CSO James Choe. On opening day, Merchan will lend his voice to “Business Insider Live at LMCC 2022: New York and Cannabis — We’re Ready for You,” a discussion hosted by Business Insider’s Yeji Jesse Lee and Jeremy Berke. Choe will be featured the next day as a panelist in “Voice of the Consumer: Essential Insights You May Have Missed,” moderated by Verena von Pfetten of Gossamer.

Flora Growth’s CEO, Luis Merchan, will participate in the trade show’s opening expert panel discussion. PHOTO COURTESY FLORA GROWTH

“We are looking forward to sharing our excitement for the global opportunity of CBD, hemp and cannabis with other business leaders and industry experts,” Merchan said. “We’re continuing to execute on our strategy to build a global house of brands servicing consumers across the globe, and firmly believe the future of cannabis has a meaningful place in the luxury retail market.”

Other C-suite execs sharing their insights on topics like “Mergers, Mascara, & Megatrends” and “The Dreaded Capital Raise,” include Wendy Bronfein, chief brand officer of Curio Wellness in Timonium, MD, Mitch Baruchowitz, managing Partner of New York’s Merida Capital Holdings, Charlotte Cho, co-founder of Soko Glam in NYC, Jake Bullock, co-founder and CEO of cannabis-beverage company, CANN, based in San Francisco, CA and Leigha Gray, DMM & senior director of The Vitamin Shoppe. For a full list of this year’s speakers, visit LMCC’s website.

Where the elite meet to greet
The LMCC selects best-in-class cannabis brands from hundreds of applications worldwide, allowing companies to put their products in the hands of New York’s stylemakers. Some of the leading retailers attending the event – poised to open the door on Manhattan’s cannabis sales – include: Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sephora, The Vitamin Shoppee and leading dispensaries. Exhibitors can also hope to catch the eye of journalists and editors from storied publications like Forbes, The New York Times, Travel & Leisure, Cosmopolitan, Bon Appétit, Oprah Daily and Vogue.

As an investment forum, companies can schedule meetings with potential partners to discuss their brand portfolios and upcoming new product launches. Among the 46 brands whose products finessed their way into the event include: Botany Farms of Bloomington, Minnesota, Aurora Elixirs of Oregon, Holi Hemp of Potomac, MD, New York City-based House of Puff, Portland, Oregon’s Barbari and New York’s OEUVRE. With the help of giveaways and those little trade-show niceties like CBD hand massages, companies at the LMCC can only hope their cannabis-on-the-Hudson debut will be a splash.