Wicked Wedges
Winter 2020
Inspiration comes from ordinary places. Sometimes, happy hour margaritas.
Wicked Kind Wellness needed a standout product, something that differentiated it from all the other CBD companies. It already was using Nano tech, which is a big deal in the CBD industry. But it needed a real staple. And then while having my favorite 5 o’clock libation, it hit me, so I pitched it.
The Wicked Wedge : an gourmet CBD gummy shaped like the actual fruit slice, the WK logo was already the perfect shape. Think exotic flavors. Made with real fruit. Formulated with water-soluble Nano CBD. And it had to be the most potent (that’s WK’s thing).
This project took about a year and a half in R&D to get to market. We knew exactly what we wanted but had to switch production and formulation teams - it turned out surprisingly difficult to pack 30mg of water based Nano in a 3g tiny gummy and have it test right.
We launched Wicked Wedges Summer 2021.
The Product + Packaging
Three flavors: Yuzu Sour, Pink Guava, and Strawberry (inspired by margaritas). We sourced fruit purees from Napa valley, so these things are actually as natural as possible. The color varies slightly batch to batch because they are made with real fruit and are also vegan. The R&D process was long with a lot of samples being flown all over the county in 2020/21. I also suffered a major accident during this time, so I’m actually really glad I had samples to aid with my recovery - Wicked Wedges are the real deal.
Good things come in 3’s…
I really liked the idea of having a weird number of wedges in a pack, so I chose 33. If you know Wicked Kind, they’re actually from Cape Cod, and they happen to really like the #33 out there. Since the gummies had to be uber potent, a wedge has 30mg Nano, available in 3 flavors, just the right amount to last you about 30 days - retailing for $69.
In true Wicked Kind nature, they had to look good and also match the tincture product line. If you know me, you’d know I love packaging projects. We were going after people who travel often, are constantly on the go, do stuff, can just toss this thing in a bag, so no glass. Since light degrades product we chose to keep these in a dark container, which added a depth of mystery because the shape/color is a nice surprise.
Make it wicked (hello metallic gradients).
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I ♡ Analytics
It’s important for any brand to track stats, for obvious reasons. So each product comes with a unique code. It’s integrated through an app, which tracks users who scan the code (for ease of reordering, or those who want to learn more/see product test data). The app sends out a weekly report to me, consisting of geolocation, demographics etc. Nifty :) Which in turn helps me put that into human terms, so we know more about our customer.
Summer 2021
Teaser/Launch
To grow the WKW mailing list and get more interest in the new product release, we teased it with some vibe-y images, and asked people to sign up and be the first to know about the drop (an automated campaign with a special friends discount). In the meantime that bought us some time to get things finalized, and send product out to the ambassador team.
The first batch of gummies sold out in about a week.
And also during our holiday campaign.
The Ambassador Team
Nic was spending the summer living on a boat and working as a tennis pro in the Hamptons: he used WW for a shoulder injury. Tim was traveling the country mountain-biking, skiing and eating gummies. We generated buzz from social, and surprisingly had big interest from dispensaries (although it’s not a THC product).
Wicked Garnishes
Wicked Mocktails were already something we were doing on social and for events, so it just made sense to also include the CBD gummy as a drink garnish.
It looked like the fruit, tasted like the fruit, and does the body good.
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Wicked Wedges are currently sold online and a couple physical shops around the country, while WK Wellness is working on a larger production + distribution plan.