Affordable THC Gummies Keeping Niche Edibles Afloat

Getting ahead in the weed gummy game sounds exhausting and expensive, but with so many dispensary shoppers clamoring for THC fruit chews, someone's got to do it. And for the past eighteen months or so, few brands have been doing it like Ript.

The gummy arm of Ripple, an edibles company founded on tasteless cannabinoid powder, Ript has wasted little time in gaining consumer popularity. According to dispensary analytics tracker Headset, Ript was the second-fastest-growing cannabis brand in the country last year, and you'd be hard-pressed to visit a Colorado pot shop without seeing Ript gummies on display in 2024.

According to Ripple co-founder and CEO Justin Singer, an affordable, no-bullshit approach has helped Ript gain and keep the attention of shoppers. And that "more gummy for less money" approach has helped fund new product research for Ript's sister brands, he says.

As the power of the weed gummy becomes more and more apparent, we caught up with Singer to learn more about Ript's approach and why he thinks the brand has taken off so quickly.

Westword: When did you realize that Ripple alone wasn't enough for the company to get where it wanted to go?

Justin Singer: It wasn’t about Ripple not being enough. It was about the market opportunity being so obvious that we felt compelled to pursue it. In 2022, we launched Ripple in Michigan, bringing our Ripsticks, Dissolves and Ripple Gummies to the state. But in the nine months preceding our launch, the price of gummies there dropped 70 percent, and we weren’t ready to handle that.

Back in Colorado, we were licking our wounds and wondering what had just happened when we noticed that gummy sales in Michigan were skyrocketing. We looked at our costs, Colorado’s demographics and what our competitors were charging. We did the math and saw a huge opening for a “Kirkland Signature”-type gummy brand that delivers high quality at low cost.

Could Ripple have continued as a company without adding Ript to the lineup?

Ripple could’ve continued as a niche edibles brand in Colorado. But without Ript, we wouldn’t have been able to support our clinical research program or invest in new product development. If you enjoy Riplets or Live Rosin Ripsticks, you can thank Ript for its support.

What are some keys to Ript's current success in Colorado dispensaries?

The money is in the gummy; we’re not plowing cash into fancy packaging or marketing. Over a decade into Colorado’s recreational market, I don’t know why people still think they need to spend $30 on a quality gummy — they don’t. Ript is the best gummy on the market, period. It’s small, delicious and hard-hitting. We built it to be consistently excellent, and we priced it at a level that works for us, dispensaries and consumers alike. We don’t gouge people. We treat them fairly, and they honor us with their business. That's why we’re probably the best-selling gummy by volume in the state. People want more for less, and we support that.

We've seen Ript packages on sale for as low as $7. How important is affordability to Ript's strategy?

Affordability is everything. But let’s be clear that affordable does not mean cheap. We did not race to the bottom; we set the floor. We profitably sell the best gummy in the market at a price point everyone can afford because we put in the supply chain work to get here. Too many people in cannabis equate price point with product quality, and we simply disagree. There are at least ten times more people out there with $10 to spend than with $30. We think they deserve great products, too. And for the record, we’ve seen retailers selling Ript for as low as $5 out the door.

How sustainable is that strategy?

The Ript strategy has already proven to be sustainable.

Gummies seem to have emerged as the edible of choice for the masses. Do you see that changing any time soon?

As long as the industry remains in its current form, no. At this point, there’s too much infrastructure in place, and behavior has already been ingrained.

Budtenders often tell us that dispensary shoppers still base their decisions on price and potency. With that in mind, how hard is it to gain and keep customer loyalty in the gummy sector?

We have a different outlook on the matter. Shoppers filter on price and potency, but within that filter, they still seek out quality. If you stretch consumers on price, they’re going to keep one eye on the exit — you can’t rip people off and expect their loyalty. If you tell buyers that your product is expensive because it's special and unique when it’s not, they’ll figure you out eventually. On the flip side, if you’re fair with them, they’ll be fair with you. We give people great-tasting, hard-hitting products at wallet-friendly prices, and they give us a reasonable amount of their hard-earned cash in exchange. It’s a good trade for everyone.

In this ever-expanding world of cannabis edibles, what is the next door that edibles manufacturers are trying to unlock? Faster absorption? New infusion, extraction or cannabinoid combinations? What's the next product or feature you've got your eyes on?

We, along with everyone else, are very interested in solventless extraction technologies and how to bring the truest representation of those extractions to edibles. Our Ript on Rosin line is unique in that we use food science to preserve and enhance the natural flavoring of the extracts instead of masking those flavors with sugar syrups. We’re food science nerds. This is how we have fun.

Colorado cannabis sales have been dropping for years now, but the state is still on track to see over $1 billion in sales in 2024. How bad is it out here for Colorado cannabis businesses right now? How is Ripple/Ript doing amid all of it?

It’s bad out there for Colorado cannabis businesses right now. Dispensaries are closing nearly every day. Seemingly everyone is for sale and no one’s paying their bills. Larger companies are squeezing smaller companies and daring them to do something about it. We recognize that Ript represents a lower price structure for the industry, and we’re sensitive to the change that brings. But we also believe that no business is entitled to make a 90 percent margin in perpetuity. The cost to produce cannabis products has decreased dramatically; it’s only fair that we pass those savings on to consumers. We’re doing sustainably well right now because eighteen months ago, we recognized that the market was about to change and did the work to get ahead of it. If we hadn’t acted then, who knows where we’d be now?

Any new flavors or plans for Ript, Ripple or any other products you'd like to share?

Ript on Rosin, obviously and again. On the Ripple side, we recently launched Riplets: tiny, potent tablets made with Ripple powder. They’ve eased into the space left by 1906 edibles, and we couldn’t be more excited to give those consumers a great substitute.