Can cannabis be a luxury product? SoKO CBD believes it can

David Soko Slide

Dave Soko aims to change the way people view cannabis in the United States. The company has a rich line of products allowing users to discover and enjoy CBD items like never before. SoKO CBD offers a variety of products for users from vape carteridges to health and wellness supplements. Each product contains high-quality CBD giving users an experience like no other.

But Soko isn’t just changing attitudes towards cannabis with the company’s line of merchandise. The entrepreneur launched the Cannabis Ball bringing together the culinary world and fashion, and combining it with cannabis and hemp.

SoKO CBD is expanding rapidly and the company’s potential is through the roof.

Dave, SoKO CBD is quite a unique company in the cannabis and hemp industry. Can you start off by explaining the company and what led you to found it?

I wanted to give the cannabis industry a facelift by becoming the “Gucci of Cannabis”. There are so many negative connotations associated with cannabis, we recognized this as a problem and decided to be pioneers of change.

We consider SoKO to be influential, innovative and progressive. We are reinventing a wholly modern approach to the cannabis industry. Born out of a unique collaboration between artists, fashion and cannabis experts comes SoKO Cannabis Creations, representing the pinnacle of craftsmanship and unsurpassed for quality and attention to detail, further reinforcing SoKO’s position as one of the world’s most desirable cannabis brands.

What was your experience with cannabis and hemp prior to launching the SoKO CBD brand?

I’ve been in the cannabis industry for about four years now. Two years of that was research and development for our brand in preparing the launch of the business.

Prior to this, I was in the fashion industry and started Florida Fashion Week in Naples FL, and another company called Glamour and Glow, which featured backlight body paint and fashion shows in Miami.

The company was self-funded. How did you get the finances in place to launch the company and how difficult was it to self-fund?

Since our company has been self-funded thus far, we have been able to scale the business up by using investment money from my other event production businesses.

In the spring of 2019, SoKO proudly announced its products would be distributed and sold in Ireland, Scotland, and the United Kingdom. The company hopes to reach mainland Europe soon as it has become the first California CBD company to distribute its products overseas.

SoKO’s wide spectrum of CBD culinary, health and wellness, and recreational products are non-GMO and100% organic. The company’s products will appeal to a range of customers in the luxury market, especially those looking to improve their health through all-natural supplements and products.

The company has been called the “Gucci of Cannabis” as it seeks to be the luxury provider of cannabis and hemp products to the world.

SoKO Brand. Images credit: Judd Weiss, Antonio Javiniar and Webjoint

You have earned the nickname the “Gucci of Cannabis”. How did that nickname come about?

The name SoKO is my last name but the origin of the brand origin came from wanting to create a luxury lifestyle brand. Social responsibility is one of SoKO’s core values and is the base of the brand’s identity. We recognize that the philosophy of “sustainable value” is at the heart of our management policies and our corporate conduct, which means that we have implemented a process to integrate social, environmental, ethical, human rights and consumer concerns into our business operations. Our business model is designed to provide our customers with the highest quality products, which are made entirely in California in a responsible manner.

Dave Soko knew that the majority of mainstream America wasn’t ready for cannabis. The mere mention of the naturally grown product can raise eyebrows with individuals becoming offended or intimidated. So, Soko devised a unique idea in which fashion, food, music, and cannabis would all share the same sphere.   

Soko created the SoKO Cannabis Ball in 2017 to shed marijuana’s hippy, tie die, and unwashed look in favor of a more luxurious black-tie image.   

The initial Cannabis Ball was held at the lush Lafayette Hotel and featured some of the most well-known cannabis companies in Southern California. Event goers were also able to sip the finest CBD inspired cocktails while listening to live music. 

The Cannabis Ball is still bringing people together for runway fashion, body art, culinary tastings, and dance music while giving them an opportunity to put on a tux and ball gown. Although it is always evolving to deliver the best experience to attendees, the meaning of the event has stayed the same.

SoKO Cannabis Ball

SoKO Cannabis Ball. Images credit: Judd Weiss, Antonio Javiniar and Webjoint

It isn’t just clothing that you have your finger on the pulse of. The SoKO Cannabis Ball, which took place in February, also combined cannabis with the culinary world. Can you tell us about the Cannabis Ball, its start, and how it is combining different areas?

When coming into the cannabis industry, especially as a fashion-forward company we wanted to be different. I was turned off by going to the same cannabis events with the same people and the same guests. So, I started the SoKO Cannabis Ball. How do you bring the mainstream into cannabis without being offensive and intimidating? By having an event that offers runway fashion, body art, culinary tastings, dance music and an opportunity to put a tux and ball gown on. Thus, the SoKO Cannabis Ball was born. So many people who have attended and have had amazing, memorable times had no idea that it was a “cannabis event”.

The event has led to many people, who were never associated with cannabis, to see it in a completely new light. According to the company founder, some of the ball’s past attendees failed to realize it had any connection to cannabis when they arrived. The very idea that individuals now see cannabis in a new light, shows SoKO’s Cannabis Ball has the power to alter the image of marijuana and CBD products.

In March of this year, the fourth annual SoKO Cannabis Ball was held at San Diego’s Sugar Factory. Like previous events, the March edition featured a hemp clothing runway fashion show, CBD-infused culinary artistry tastings, product vendors and educators, and much more.

SoKO Cannabis Ball. Images credit: Judd Weiss, Antonio Javiniar and Webjoint

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the Cannabis Ball is the education it provides guests. With the influx of interest in CBD and cannabis products in the United States right now, SoKO is giving groups a platform to share the benefits of the much-maligned natural product. According to SoKO, the Cannabis Ball was partly created for the social responsibility the company has to its customers and beyond. 

SoKO Cannabis Ball. Images credit: Judd Weiss, Antonio Javiniar and Webjoint

The approach Soko has toward cannabis is far different that anything that has come before. There are no blacklights and florescent posters of Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley lining the walls of the event. Guests indulge in high-end CBD-infused cocktails while listening to DJs and watch models strut their stuff in hemp clothing. Yes, this is a brave new world, one in which cannabis is extolled and not reviled.

SoKO’s explosion in the cannabis industry means the ball is only going to continue its growth. There are a lot of people it can still reach and opinions about cannabis it can change. Certainly, the focal point of each SoKO Cannabis Ball is on the runway fashion show, but to say that it does not have a greater impact would be foolish. Soko and his luxury brand are doing more for cannabis than many of the natural product’s biggest endorsers. His foresight to take a different route to deliver the message of just how beneficial CBD products can be should be applauded by those in the cannabis industry. 

The company has been around for just two years, but success has been tremendous during that time. Can you describe the growth and impact the company is having on the CBD and cannabis world?

The growth has been tremendous, so much its been difficult to scale the business accordingly. However, we have made such an impact thus far, creating waves in the fashion world to health and wellness events and beyond!

SoKO aims to bring cannabis to the luxury and upscale marketplace with its products. Why aim for this marketplace and does cannabis have a stigma as a non-luxury item?

Cannabis does have a negative stigma attached to it, this is why I wanted to develop a brand that is sexy, fashionable and approachable. From our cooking oils, French chocolate to topicals and tinctures, the SoKO line has something for everyone.

It has only been two years since the company launched, but thanks to the success thus far, it seems like the sky’s the limit. What is next for SoKO CBD?

Things have been moving fast for sure. We just launched our SoKO CBD line in Ireland, Scotland and England, so continuing the brand’s vision, not just in the US but also the world, is our focus three years from now. We are starting to produce the SoKO Cannabis Ball in Miami and Las Vegas and will host in New York City sometime in the next year or so. Our hemp clothing swimwear line is ready to launch at the upcoming Cannabis Ball in San Diego. Our goal is to have our cannabis brand in all 50 states by the time it becomes federally legal.

Partnering with the right people to advance our vision is vital to the success and the delivery of our product to the public.

SoKO aims to push the boundaries of cannabis and hemp. The company’s success has been helped by the United States’ growing acceptance of cannabis and the future looks bright for SoKO. As attitudes change, SoKO’s trajectory continues to trend upwards. With a fascinating line of products and new Cannabis Balls starting up in other cities around America, more people are bound to discover the brand.

For more information on Dave Soko and SoKO CBD, please visit www.sokocanna.com

Dave Soko
Founder of SoKO CBD. Image credit Jon Melicharek

 

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