March 11, 2024 – The BC Craft Farmers Co-Op (BCCFC) today released their response to a recent provincial government survey regarding the establishment of a craft cannabis brand. Among other things, BCCFC is proposing a BC craft cannabis designation focused on the people farming BC-Bud and the special place it is bred, grown and processed.
“With cannabis legalization, we have an opportunity to protect and celebrate a global BC brand that already exists, thanks to generations of medical farmers, advocates and patients that fought for legalization and against the injustice of cannabis prohibition,” said BCCFC President Tara Kirkpatrick. “While we are disappointed BC is paying a mega-corporation to define craft cannabis, any progress towards an initiative BCCFC has been suggesting since 2020 is welcome.”
Earlier this year, BC’s Ministry of Agriculture hired Deloitte to create a survey to help establish a craft cannabis brand. The attached overview captures BCCFC’s response to the survey questions.
With size and quality parameters, BCCFC suggests craft cannabis designation in BC be limited to five (5) geographic reference points consumers can easily understand:
- BC Grown
- BC Owned
- BC Indigenous Owned
- BC Processed
- BC Origin
“More than the plant, what makes ‘BC Bud’ so special is the people and the place,” said BCCFC Vice-President Richard Willams. “If federal and provincial governments can eliminate barriers preventing craft farmers and processors from a successful transition to the legal market, BC craft designation has the potential to help with national and international marketing. However, failure to eliminate these barriers means fewer craft farmers will survive long-enough to benefit from it.”
BCCFC’s response reflects questions from the Deloitte survey, including:
- What is your definition of “craft” cannabis?
- Is there a specific size parameter in terms of area of production that could qualify as “craft”?
- How do we assess quality for “craft” cannabis products?
- What challenges is your organization facing that a craft designation could help with?
- What types of marketing / promotional support may be beneficial with a craft designation?
- What are the biggest barriers to selling craft cannabis under a craft brand?
Developing the BC craft cannabis brand will be a key topic at next month’s BC Craft Farmers Cannabis Summit taking place in Prince George April 19 to 21. BCCFC has invited BC’s Agriculture Minister to attend the Summit and speak about Deloitte’s findings and next steps. Click here for more information about the 2024 Summit.
BCCFC was established in 2020 under the BC Cooperatives Act to help BC’s world-class cannabis farmers transition to Canada’s new legal market, maintain BC’s global brand and ensure consumers and patients have legal access to the best cannabis in the world. BCCFC members include craft farmers, processors, independent retailers, consumers and supporters.
Contact:
Tara Kirkpatrick, President
BC Craft Farmers Co-Op
info@bccraftfarmerscoop.com