Butter is a new vertically integrated (cultivation, extraction & retail) cannabis brand rooted in Flint, Michigan that makes high quality products. They believe that if we can improve individual lives with cannabis, we can make the world a better collective place.

However, the legal limitations of marketing and selling cannabis in the United States has divided the market, with brands competing state to state for market share before an assumed federal legislation. In short, the weed industry needs a 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 communicate their mission: become the first mainstream nationwide iconic cannabis brand.

The mission was clear: spread a better way of life and become the first mainstream cannabis brand. With this aim to make cannabis more accessible for more people, starting in the MidWest, Butter needed to reflect a simplicity and transparency across all it's touchpoints. It starts with the name. Butter makes everything better. Butter goes with everything. Butter can give you that smooth, gooey, melty feeling. We chose iconcism over niche, and it had to start with the logo. We abstracted a butter stick to the point of pure simplicity, one bright yellow rectangle that celebrates our name and our vision of mainstream togetherness.

In the United States, it’s still illegal to market cannabis on some platforms, thus our abstracted butter stick mark became 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 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 taken at a lively house party.

Once 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 donate c 1,000 smoke/CO2 alarms each year for homes in the community, planting flowers (yellow 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 take on the country and spread a better way of life.

Cannabis was legalized in Michigan in the first wave of states, however licenses are limited and are decided upon by the cities and municipalities who allow for them. Butter campaigned to have Flint, an industry town that was devastated in 2014 by water crisis, hold one of the first limited licences. Butter advocated based on their ability to operate and their ability to support a community in need.