By Rachelle Gordon – GreenState
A coast-to-coast cannabis competition has announced its inaugural winners. The MJBowl is the first nationwide contest recognizing regulated marijuana products from both California and New York. Expert judges from the Budist platform carefully critiqued entries from five categories, using a proprietary 100-point scale to determine the victors.
Announced at last week’s MJBizCon event in Las Vegas, the Most Valuable Products trophy for New York in the Pre-rolls category went to Albi:
New York:
Pre-Rolls: Alibi – Dream Star / Nilla Wafer Combo Pack
Finalists in each category were flown to Sin City to experience the biggest cannabis conference in the country—and to learn whether they had been crowned champions. It was the first time in its 13-year history that MJBizCon had hosted a cannabis product contest. For many competitors, that meant a first experience at the show as well.
“My heart is bursting right now, because we’ve had so many brands come up and say, ‘This is my first time at MJBiz,’ or ‘This is my first time in Vegas,’ and ‘thank you guys so much for making us, as brands and farmers, feel welcome,’” shared Jocelyn Sheltraw, co-founder of Budist.
Many of the winners were craft operators. They expressed immense surprise and gratitude for their achievements, especially given some of the struggles the market has faced.
“It’s a pivotal year for the industry, with all of our headwinds that we have going on,” said Marianne Cursetjee, CEO and co-founder of Alibi. “The fact that small family craft farms are able to be recognized on a national stage is really important. I almost want to cry, because we work so hard.”
The winning products from New York will be available for sale in Gotham dispensaries, while the California winners can be purchased at The Artist Tree locations. Consumers will be able to vote for their favorites in a secondary Consumers’ Choice competition.
For Sheltraw and the other MJBowl organizers, the opportunity to amplify deserving brands in the emerging space is what drives them.
“[We want to] help the market and just drive awareness for quality products. That’s really our goal,” Sheltraw concluded.