Amid the craziness that is the COVID-19 outbreak, when most businesses are cutting back on their plans, a truly unique cannabis brand launched, not with a whisper, but with a shout.
Just days before 4/20, the honorary day of cannabis celebration, CLSICS introduced its rosin infused cannabis pre-rolls exclusively to customers at San Diego dispensary Mankind with a one of a kind launch that needs to be experienced first hand.
I had the chance to chat with CLSICS Founder and CEO Mathew Trautt to learn more about what sets his brand apart, why they choose to launch their brand during an pandemic, and the reason you shouldn’t miss the brand’s pop-up art installation at Mankind.
Launching a Genuine Brand
In my nearly decade long career writing about cannabis and reviewing cannabis brands, I’ve spoken with countless heads of cannabis companies who speak passionately about how their brand stands above the competition. Rarely though, does it come across as authentic as with CLSICS.
During my conversation with Trautt, it became clear that he built CLSICS to be an extension of San Diego’s – and by proxy his – aesthetic. It is this spirit that runs through the brand’s packaging, its marketing, and most significantly, its bold launch earlier this month.
Part of creating a genuine brand, of course, is selling quality products that you believe in. For CLSICS, it started with a simple question. “What is it that you want to smoke? For everyone here, it was flower and rosin,” Trautt said.
CLSICS comes out of the gate with a stunner. The brand’s first products are from its line of rosin infused pre-roll cones. The cones start with top quality buds of indoor grown flower and never shake or trim. This already sets the bar higher than most competitors are willing to clear. CLSICS then ups the ante by adding a stripe of rosin and finishing with a roll in finely ground cannabis flower. 
Looking for a way to bring clean, flavorful, and potent rosin to a wider audience, CLSICS landed on pre-rolls as a delivery method for a simple reason – accessibility. Customers won’t need to invest in pricey dab rigs in order to enjoy quality rosin. All they need is a lighter and a relaxing place to enjoy it.
“What we found in our extensive R&D work, which consisted mostly of smoking a lot of pre-rolls,” joked Trautt, “is that you still get the rosin effect and the rosin flavor and that long lasting really smooth feeling high you are looking for [from rosin] in a pre-roll.”
CLSICS pre-rolls are available in 0.7 and 1.3 gram options. The 1.3 gram option has one gram of flower with 0.3 grams of bud squeezed rosin. The 0.7 gram option has 0.5 grams of flower and 0.2 grams of rosin.
“Infused pre-rolls that are coming out primarily use distillate. So we started talking about infusing pre-rolls with rosin,” Trautt said of the process to create CLSICS pre-rolls with rosin instead of distillate in order to up their quality.
“If you’re not using a [prefilled] cart, pre-rolls are the next option for on the go smoking. There really are no rosin [products] for on the go,” said Trautt of the inspiration for their products. The company tried a number of options before finding that tarantula style joints with the rosin placed on the outside and then rolled in flower created the ideal experience.
Creating a Positive Experience
I came to learn something about this brand from my conversation with Trautt. CLSICS is a lifestyle brand – and that lifestyle happens to also include cannabis.
But it’s more than just marijuana, and Trautt revealed that the company deliberately navigated their brand’s inception so that it isn’t just another cannabis brand. Pulling inspiration from Southern California’s vibrant art scene, the company teamed up with Trautt’s good friend, the artist BB Bastidas, to breathe life into the brand. 
This is evident throughout the CLSICS website and packaging, but it is most obvious in how they chose to launch their brand. In partnership with San Diego’s Mankind, CLSICS has created a pop-up art experience in the lobby of the dispensary with artwork created by BB Bastidas. The immersive experience will be on display for six weeks beginning April 17.
“We don’t want to do our pop-up shop where there’s a couple paintings on the wall and we are here to sell [our products]. We believe we are in something that no one is going to forget about in 2020. What are those things? Coronavirus and Joe Exotic,” Trautt said of the hallmarks of our current situation.
You only get to leave the house for specific reasons and sometimes only for minutes at a time. How do you positively impact those experiences?
Coming to a Dispensary Near You
Why launch a new brand during a global pandemic? Trautt said his team had considered waiting it out and launching when the risk had passed, but instead they decided to push forward.
“People still need their medicine. People still need to be able to stay sane while they’re inside. And we believe we can bring help,” Trautt shared.
While the company had originally planned to launch in multiple locations to start, the recent pandemic forced them to scale back to just one in their hometown of San Diego. So to make it memorable, they pulled out all the stops.
“Our launch may not be what we wanted it to be, but we picked the right partner in San Diego to do it in our hometown with people who know us. That’s why it’s exclusive now at Mankind. It is what we can do to keep our employees safe.”
Trautt revealed that additional launches in dispensaries around Southern California will soon follow. Check out the CLSICS website for more or follow them on Instagram for the latest. If you live in the San Diego area, stop by Mankind to experience CLSICS pop-up for yourself.
