The weed industry needed a national hero

Butter is a new vertically integrated cannabis brand rooted in Flint, Michigan. They believe that if we can improve individual lives with cannabis, we can make the world a better collective place. Cannabis was legalized in Michigan in the first wave of states, with limited licenses available. Butter campaigned to have Flint, an industry town that was devastated in 2014 by water crisis, to hold one of the first limited licences, advocating based on their ability to operate and support a community in need.

The legal limitations of marketing and selling cannabis in the United States has lead to a divided market, with brands competing state to state for market share before an assumed federal legislation. In short, the weed industry needed a national hero.
So after years of work Butter were ready to launch and needed a holistic branding system (from identity to packaging, retail, merchandise, OOH and digital channels) to spread a butter way of life and become the first mainstream nationwide iconic cannabis brand.

As it's still illegal to market cannabis on some platforms, our abstracted butter stick logo is a powerful marketing tool to promote our product in an effective and bold way. Our packaging leans into our hero brand color: using bright yellow to create an immediately recognizable brand across any weed shelf. Our typography system flexes in weight and width to describe each strain, from the excitedly thin sativa strains, to the thick and mindful indica varieties. Our information design system seeks to educate consumers by creating the "nutrition facts of cannabis" outlining the effects and usage of each strain. Our art direction brings back the human element of sharing cannabis, with film photography highlighting authentic use cases.

Butter launched in February 2022 with 20 strains that hit shelves all over
Michigan, success came thick and fast: selling out of first harvest in the first week, over 3 million digital impressions in the first 30 days, features in regional and national press, and 2 retail stores on the way. Butter committed to the community that 75% of the jobs they hire for in the Flint cultivation facility are given to the people of Flint. Butter also donated 1,000 smoke/CO2 alarms each year for homes in the community, planted flowers (vellow of course) in downtown Flint and are also a long term sponsor of professional basketball team, the Flint United. Whether it's community based support or high quality cannabis products, Butter is ready to spread a better way of life.