Martha Stewart Once Came To N.B. To Kayak, This Time She Came To Talk Pot
SAINT JOHN– The last time Martha Stewart was in New Brunswick, it was to take a journey on a kayak.
“When Expedia was just starting I came up to do a special report via satellite from a kayak,” she said of that first visit.”We had to go from somewhere around here to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia by Kayak. We were out there for days. We made it back and it was so much fun.”
But her latest visit to the province was under very different circumstances. On Tuesday, Stewart was one of the closing keynote speakers at the World Cannabis Congress. The famous American TV personality, best selling author and retail executive shared the stage with Bruce Linton, founder and co-CEO of Canopy Growth and Derek Riedle, founder and publisher of Civilized.
The main focus of the conversation was around growing mainstream partnerships in the cannabis industry. Stewart and Canopy Growth announced a partnership earlier this year to develop hemp-derived CBD products for both humans and pets.
Stewart described how she first met Linton through her friend, rapper Snoop Dogg, with whom she hosts a show.
“I met Snoop years ago, he was on my show a few times and he’s such a pleasant guest. Always high,” Stewart said, to a laughing crowd.
“We sort of talked about the industry. He has a lot of stuff going on in this industry and he introduced me to Bruce.”
Though many people may associate Stewart and her business with a more older, square set, she says her entry into the cannabis sector has helped her brand reach a new demographic.
“It’s a really fantastic opportunity to broaden the demographic. We’re a media company basically, and a product company afterward. To broaden your demographic in any way possible is very important,” she said. “My friendship with Snoop and my TV show with him has certainly broadened my demographic and now with the involvement in the cannabis industry too, again, [reaching] another very broad swath of the populous.”
The partnership with Canopy will include creating a line of CBD products for animals. They are also exploring the idea of making products for humans such as cosmetics and food.
“We’re looking in cosmetic and body care. I’ve been experimenting with some of the good products that are available now and I find very useful and really good for your skin,” Stewart said. “Then, of course, food. What can we do with food to make it more palatable and more fun? Martha Stewart Living has 35,000 original recipes, those can be adapted with the use of cannabis or CBD or whatever we’re going to use.”
Though Stewart is relatively new to the cannabis space, she is certainly not new to the business world. Her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, will be 30-years-old next year. She says the reason why her magazine has survived while others folded was its ability to evolve with the times.
“You have to adapt to all new technology. Everything else that comes along, the Pinterest, the Instagram, the Snapchat, all of that stuff takes place in our world now,” said Stewart. “That’s how you reinvent, you keep modern. You never say you’re too old for that, or you can’t possibly adapt to that. You must try.”
But how has the core Martha Stewart fan base really reacted to her foray into cannabis culture? Quite well, she says.
“So far so good. No one has canceled their subscription because of my relationship with Snoop,” she said to more laughs from the crowd.
“If I said I was for one politician or another, I would lose 50 per cent of my readership. So I can never mention a politician but mention a talent like Snoop Dogg, and even though he smokes, heaven forbid, nobody has canceled their subscription because of that.”
Looking ahead to what the future of the cannabis industry will hold, Stewart said she predicts more people who before would never consider using it, giving it a try.
I’m not an expert on where it’s going to go. But I always think of myself as the ‘every woman.’ I’m surprised, my friends come to my house now and there are little bags of gummy bears in the bedrooms. They bring them. I don’t put them there, they bring them,” she said.
“I’m shocked at the adoption and the use of all kinds of different products, and I’m shocked and also pleased that stiff people are adapting [to cannabis].”
No doubt Stewart has become a role model for many, especially women when it comes to entrepreneurship. Stewart told the packed room at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre that her role models are business leaders who focus on more than just the bottom line.
“I got lucky to have met many many of the founders of some of the greatest new companies in America. The Bill Gates, the Steve Jobs, the people who wrote the programs. One of my boyfriends was the man who wrote [Microsoft] Excel and Word. So you get to see how they changed the world,” she said.
“That makes a difference to me. How are you going to change the world while you’re doing good things, while you’re being philanthropic at the same time, while you’re making money for your shareholders? All of that is important.”