Words by Traci Putkey
A few weeks back, we had the pleasure of attending one of the Bay Area’s largest music festivals as a guest of the luxury edible cannabis brand, Kiva. With over 60k people in attendance, Outside Lands is an art and music festival that has taken place within the confides of San Francisco’s historic Golden Gate since 2008. This year’s festival featured headlining artists such as Childish Gambino, Paul Simon, Blink 182, Anderson.Paak & The Free Nationals and Lil Wayne, but it can be argued that this year’s GRASSLANDS stole the show.
San Francisco has long been at the forefront of the cannabis industry, Outside Lands has followed suit with the addition “Grasslands”, a cannabis friendly ground of the festival. In 2018, patrons were not allowed to purchase or consume cannabis products, but in 2019 Grasslands provided designated consumption areas, allowing the purchase of marijuana. One of the owners of KIVA, Kristi Knoblich Palmer, praised the festival addition as “a very comfortable environment [with] no expectation or pressure like a dispensary making it [a] completely unique cannabis purchasing environment.” In fact, this past festival sold more than $1M in cannabis goods within the area — a jaw dropping fact, especially considering this transactions happened on federal property!
At the helm of Grasslands was the KIVA CONFECTIONARY — a mock candy shop, complete with KIVA CONFECTIONERS educating guests and gifting them with edible treats such as infused coffee beans, gummies, mints and candy bars, each ranging in potency.
Since it’s launch in 2010, KIVA has positioned itself as one of the most respected brands within the edible cannabis category. The company is the leading share holder in edibles in California – the biggest cannabis market in the world – and currently serves five states. They are, perhaps, most recognized for their delectable, just right, TERRA BITES, which are crafted from premium cacao and infused with handmade cold water cannabis extract. Legend has it, each TERRA BITE, with it’s 5MG THC, takes 10 hours to make!
Kristi Knoblich Palmer owns the company with her husband Scott. The two originally set out to appeal consumers such as her mother-in-law and grandmother, who were looking for sleeping aids, but also accustomed to a high standard of packaging. She credits much of their success to their quality grade THC, as well as pioneering the ability to quantify the amount of THC in their products. KIVA was one of the first brands to take THC dosage down to a more manageable 5MG – which is the perfect dose for many consumers needs.
Next time you’re at the weed shop – cop a KIVA goodie, you’ll thank us for the recommendation and them for the perfect high.
