Subscription Plan Promises To Deliver “Cannabis For Foodies”

It resembles a popular beauty product subscription box, right down to its packaging. But inside, you’ll find cannabis instead of cosmetics.

Welcome to a new subscription-box service from Nug Run Inc., a Sacramento startup. Maybe you’ve heard about Birchbox, the popular beauty-sample subscription service geared toward women. This is similar. For about $65 a month, customers can subscribe to receive monthly boxes billed as a “curated cannabis experience.” Each box comes with three items, such as cannabis and “exclusive edibles,” according to the company.

All Nug Run customers must have a medical cannabis recommendation.

Nick Ocampo, Nug Run’s CEO, has long been interested in the pairings that are recommended for beer, wine and coffee offerings. So it’s no surprise Nug Run includes many of the phrases that dominate the culinary scene. Think “small-batch” and “locally made.” But instead of farm-to-fork, it’s “soil-to-soothe.”

That refers to the startup’s focus on finding the best edible-and-strain pairings possible. On its website, Nug Run cites distinctive cannabis flavor profiles including citrus, berry, mint and pine. The service, which launched last week in Sacramento and the San Francisco area, is even billed as “the cannabis for foodies.”

Marijuana delivery isn’t new to the region. An online search yields other delivery services such as CleverTree Delivery and EZ Tree Delivery. But Ocampo said a high-end approach and foodie-oriented pairings make his startup unique.

But is it legal? That depends on the jurisdiction, said Melissa Sanchez, founder and attorney with Sacramento-based Harvest Law Corp. In general, she classifies the services as “questionably legal.” Sanchez said the city of Sacramento prohibits dispenseries from delivering but does not mention stand-alone marijuana delivery services.

Sanchez thinks high-end services highlight a change in the cannabis industry. “You’re seeing the consumer become more educated about the quality of the product,” she said.

Nug Run works with farmers outside the region who grow certified organic small-batch strains. Ocampo is working on business partnerships in the Sacramento region. He expects the cannabis boxes will expand to include non-cannabis items such as tea, cookies or almonds.

Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Sonya Sorich
Photo: Nick Ocampo’s Nug Run offers subscription boxes that include edibles. (Dennis McCoy, Sacramento Business Journal)