If there’s one name that comes to mind when you mention ‘marijuana,’ one international and universal symbol for the pro pot movement, it’s Bob Marley. The iconic Jamaican singer took the world by storm in the 1960’s and 1970’s before his untimely death from unchecked cancer in 1981. The messages of peace, love, and achieving a natural high – including smoking ganja – were anthems sung by the late Robert Nest Marley, a dreadlocked Rastafarian and father of the world reggae movement with over 75 million record sales to his credit. He’s long been gone but his music is still with us – as well as a lasting empire that includes music by his talented children, including Ziggy, Stephen, and Damian. Now, the Marley legacy is taking a huge step to becoming a household name again – and cashing in on the worldwide pro-marijuana revival.
Announced in an NBC television exclusive, Privateer Holdings has partnered with the Marley tribe, releasing their own brand of marijuana called Marley Natural. http://www.marleynatural.com. In a genius marriage of capitalism and Marley’s inextinguishable musical legacy, the Seattle based firm is bring marijuana to the mainstream – and hoping to cash in on the world’s first true global marijuana brand.
It’s not a project without backing or a business venture based on folly; Privateer Holdings is lauded as one of the most successful and straight-edged corporate venture capital firms in the United States. Their CEO, Brendan Kennedy, has a MBA from Yale University and many of the board members and high-level employees are Ivy-league educated and Wall Street groomed. By NBC’s estimates, the worldwide marijuana market is worth up to $150 billion, leading Kennedy to call this venture with the Marley’s, “the biggest opportunity of my life.”
In fact, the Marley’s are doing their part to promote the new brand, granting interviews and appearing on camera, putting the full collective force of the Marley legacy behind the business. The company logo, designed by Heckler Associates, the same company that designed the Starbuck’s mermaid logo, is a regal lion, reminiscent of Bob’s self-anointed image and song lyrics. Even the Hollywood-esqe promotional trailer for Marley Natural evokes images of misty mountains and natural beauty in Jamaica, accompanied by Bob’s classic, “Could You Be Loved.”
But it’s not just slick marketing underway. So far, Privateer has raised $50 million in equity offerings and hopes to reach the $75 million mark. They are not newcomers to the marijuana business, though they’ve treaded lightly before, dabbling in marijuana accessories only to evade legal retribution, websites like Leafy.com that were protected under 1st Amendment laws, and opening medical grows in Vancouver, Canada, where it’s perfectly legal.
Still, the “all in” move by Pioneer with the Marley Natural brand isn’t shocking considering the wave of states adding marijuana decriminalization to their legislative rolls, including Washington, Alaska, Colorado, D.C., and many states where medical pot is legal. Timing is everything, and they see the writing on the wall enough to take a calculated risk – for you’d rather be a little early on the marijuana big business wave and hire a lot of attorneys to deal with the consequences than be too late and miss out on the biggest toke of that $150 billion market.
So what’s next for Marley Natural? That seems to be the hard part, as they instantly achieved household-name brand awareness without a viable product to offer…yet. They did establish a 4,000-square-foot office space in the Bowery area of New York City, where they plan to expand their paraphernalia line like lotions, accessories, and vaporizers before jumping into seeds and shipping any actual marijuana.
“Marley Natural is born out of Bob Marley’s deep respect for the power of nature to heal and inspire us,” states the website copy. “True to his ideals, we will cultivate fine cannabis, blend infused topicals, and craft accessories that celebrate life, awaken well-being and nurture a positive connection to the world.”
Yet the Product page on theirr website has some ambiguous descriptions for products “Coming late 2015.) But how can they legally sell on a national level when marijuana is still a controlled substance according to Federal laws? Can they mail products interstate? Even if they make their money overseas, won’t declared income raise huge red flags with the IRS and DOJ?
These are all questions that need to be answered – and will be worked out over time as the tug of war between legality and mass demand struggles on. But one thing is certain – with the Bob Marley and family pulling their weight with Marley Natural, we know who the clear winner will be.
