Michigan cannabis consumers will get a chance to sample and judge dozens of products as part of the third annual Best in Grass competition.
The people’s choice-style competition will launch Saturday with the sale of thousands of judge kits spread across 30 dispensaries statewide. More than three dozen Michigan brands are participating, and the kits come in categories that range from flower and pre-rolls to live rosin and edibles.
“Michigan residents love this competition,” Mark Kazinec, co-founder and COO of Best in Grass, tells Metro Times. “There’s a ton of different brands participating, and the pricing is incredible.”
The competition allows consumers to try new brands and strains at prices that are 30% to 60% less than what consumers would pay if they bought each item individually.
For brands, the competition offers exposure, customer feedback, and the possibility of a sales boost after winners are announced.
The 15 judge kit categories are indica flower, sativa flower, hybrid flower, infused flower and moon rocks, pre-rolls, infused pre-rolls, solventless infused pre-rolls, solvent concentrates, non-solvent concentrates, non-rosin vape pens and cartridges, rosin vape pens and cartridges, gummies, rosin gummies, non-gummy edibles, and beverages and syrups.
The kits range from $30 for eight beverages and syrups totaling 905 milligrams of THC to $205 for 16 solventless concentrate samples totaling 13 grams, according to the pricing guide. Flower kits include 29 grams of indica flower for $90, 23 grams of sativa flower for $70, and 33 grams of hybrid flower for $100. In those flower kits, each entry is one gram.
Other kits include seven infused flower or moon rock samples totaling 14 grams for $85; 17 pre-rolls totaling 19.7 grams for $55; 10 infused pre-rolls totaling 13.1 grams for $60; nine solventless infused pre-rolls totaling 14.3 grams for $110; 16 solvent concentrates totaling 15 grams for $135; 12 non-rosin vape pens and cartridges totaling 12.5 grams for $100; and seven rosin vape pens and cartridges totaling 4 grams for $55.
Edible kits include 18 non-rosin gummies and fruit chews totaling 3,626 milligrams of THC for $60; eight rosin gummies and fruit chews totaling 1,604 milligrams for $40; and nine non-gummy edibles totaling 1,833 milligrams for $30.
All prices are before taxes.
Kazinec encourages consumers to arrive early because there are only 100 to 300 kits for each category spread across the 30 dispensaries.
“It’s a very limited quantity,” Kazinec says. “I would get in line early before the dispensary opens.”
Metro Detroit dispensaries participating in the competition include Gramz in Detroit, Hazel Park, and Romeo; Pleasantrees in Mount Clemens and Lincoln Park; The Grove in Center Line; and Bloomery in Mount Clemens.
Anyone who completes the entire judging card earns entry to the awards show at the Royal Oak Music Theatre on July 30 and a 20% store credit from the dispensary where they bought the kit.
Kazinec says the competition helps brands appeal to new customers, who rate the products on visual appeal, aroma, taste, effects, and other criteria. Brands receive the customer feedback after the awards show.
“We’re highlighting brands, educating consumers, and helping brands do better business by reaching a larger consumer base,” Kazinec says.
Some of the brands participating this year are Hytek, Mi Loud, Wojo Co., Peninsula Gardens, True North Collective, Uplyfted, Society C., Superb Cannabis Co., Freight Train Canna, Seed Junky, Midnight Roots, Pleasantrees, Green Dolphin Craft Cannabis, Nura Premium Cannabis, and Armada Cannabis Co.
Among last year’s winners were Uplyfted Cannabis Co.’s OG Runtz for sativa flower, Mi Loud’s Faders Fuel for indica, Society C’s L.A. Purple Pop Rocks for hybrid flower, Wojo Co.’s Strawberry Candy for pre-rolls, a collaboration between CannaBee Extracts and Alien Tek Farms for infused pre-roll, Wojo Co.’s Sundae Driver for rosin vapes, Wojo Co.’s Modified Punch for rosin-infused pre-rolls, Cosmic Cowboy’s Lemon Berry Runtz Snowballs for infused/moon rocks, Armada Cannabis Co.’s Sparkling Sweet Apple Cider for syrups and beverages, and Afternoon Delite’s Blue Lemonade Crunch Gummies for gummies.
Judges have until July 12 to submit their ratings. Winners will be announced live on July 30, during an in-person awards show at the Royal Oak Music Theatre.
