“When we partner with a grower, you know who grew it, you know where it came from.”
One of the most interesting interviews that we did at the Massachusetts Flower Expo last week was with the team from Fourteen Counties. A project of the Orange, Mass-based Temple Hill Collective, it’s “designed to connect craft cultivators with retailers and consumers for a streamlined way to support local, independent growers.”
Put another way, Fourteen Counties is curating an all-star independent product line under its stamp of craft approval, sort of like a vinyl-only record label that collaborates with cult or local icons for limited releases. Their brand has standard packaging, which is then augmented with a label platforming their partner. At the Flower Expo, their team was showing off a mashup they released with Tower Three, a Half Pint #4 (Runtz x Horchata) grown in the cultivator’s Taunton facility.
That one comes from Bristol County on the South Coast, but true to their name, Fourteen Counties aims to cover the whole state. They’re already on their way, with products dropping alongside Mass Yield, Impressed, and the Fresh Connection, among others. Sophia Shaw, the VP of marketing for Temple Hill Collective, broke down their plan, approach, and mission in our short interview. We highlighted some excerpts from our chat below …
The concept …
We are kind of taking this idea of white labeling and turning it over. We are partnering with these growers to get their products on more shelves, to see craft flower on the shelves next to your big players. Part of the way we’re doing that is our labeling, our storytelling, and our branding all comes back to those growers.
The mission …
We are trying to work all over the state. We are called Fourteen Counties and the goal is to have growers from all 14 counties in our jars and to also inform consumers about the quality of their weed. It’s not all about TAC, it’s not all about the numbers that you’re reading, or how strong it is. These growers are putting all of their love into the buds. These growers are passionate, these facilities are clean, they know the names of their employees, and there are employees in every room taking care of the plant. To us, that is a really important piece.
The partners …
When we partner with a grower, you know who grew it, you know where it came from. What this does it allows dispensaries to work with one vendor to be able to carry a range of craft flour and it allows the consumer to pick up a product at a dispensary, know exactly who grew it, come to our social and our website, and see interviews with these growers and hear their stories and see their menu and educate people about their weed.
The process …
We’re going in and doing interviews [with growers] and we want them to tell us what matters to them. We want to hear about what strains they love the most—even if that’s a 14% [TAC] strain that they swear will fuck you up. That is important to us. …
This will all help people be able to go to a dispensary and just say, I really want something craft and small, and the bartender can pick any Fourteen Counties box and know that they’re getting that.
