Rebranding the World’s Largest Cannabis Dispensary, Harborside Health Center

Nation’s Model Cannabis Dispensary Celebrates 10 Years of Success with Bold New Design Rebrand, Leading the Way into California Legalization

Oakland, Calif.—Harborside Health Center (now known simply as “Harborside”), the nation’s model cannabis company, celebrates its 10-year anniversary this week with an innovative design rebrand that will reinvent the original industry standard Harborside pioneered a decade ago, and has since been adopted nationwide. As a new era looms in light of November 8th’s vote on Prop 64 (AUMA), along with nine more states voting on cannabis laws on November’s ballot, Harborside co-founder Steve DeAngelo proclaims, “The revolution has just begun!” With recent polling putting AUMA well above 50% of the vote, it seems like the revolution will continue through November and on into the future.

After a decade of successful operation despite federal threats, Harborside is no stranger to groundbreaking work, introducing to the nascent cannabis industry laboratory testing, non-psychoactive CBD-rich medicines, and the treatment of children with intractable epilepsy. When Harborside opened in 2006, it was one of the initial six medical cannabis dispensaries licensed in the US. Steve DeAngelo and Director of Design Yolanda Felix created a facility that welcomed patients with a beautifully designed, open space with initially with hemp rugs (now hardwood floors), natural lighting, friendly and knowledgeable sales staff, and an expansive selection of cannabis products. Harborside has since influenced myriad dispensaries across the country, expanded its retail footprint, and added cultivation and manufacturing to its operations.

Ten years later, as 26 states have legalized medical cannabis, four states have legalized adult-use cannabis, and five more states (including California) are voting on adult-use in November, Harborside continues to be on the leading edge of this industry, with a new brand identity which reflects the changing times, the changing ways that consumers are using cannabis, as cannabis moves from subculture to mainstream culture.

Harborside’s Chief Marketing Officer, John Yost, began this design process very carefully and deliberately. Harborside’s rebranding was developed by careful study and conversation with patient-members, staff and visitors to the dispensary. “The Harborside name and brand symbol are iconic in the cannabis world,” says Yost. “Any tinkering or updates had to be done with great care, so as not to disturb the bond that exists between Harborside and its members. We conducted several waves of consumer and stakeholder research before even starting the design phase, which helped us create a visible, new identity built on the foundational values of the organization.”

DeAngelo and his team also recognized that the world of cannabis was changing rapidly so they wanted to make sure that the Harborside business and brand were keeping up with the times, and continuing to be seen as the national leader it’s always been, as it welcomes new adopters to the conversation about this miraculous plant. “We are entering the era of Modern Cannabis,” he says.

DeAngelo further explains the dispensary’s transformation. “We see new product formats, formulations, consumption devices, and brands every day,” he says. “Our job is to introduce patients and consumers to the best of cannabis today, without sacrificing the timeless values this precious plant teaches us.”

Harborside’s original branding reflected the world of cannabis in 2006. The new branding reflects the legal reforms and increased social acceptance of cannabis over the past decade, and highlights the flagship role Harborside has played in bringing those changes about. The new mission statement reflects Harborside’s commitment to a values-based and community-focused approach. The new mission statement reads, “To help build a world that lives by the values cannabis teaches us.” Harborside’s expertly curated selection of products showcases the industry’s most recent advances. And its bold new retail exteriors highlight the quality care, sustainability, diversity and innovation awaiting inside.

Yost says, “While the new logo feels fresh, distinctive and contemporary, the new mark continues to stand for the values that have always defined Harborside: Equality and compassion; a commitment to serve all constituents of our diverse community; a spirit of unity, in principle and practice.”

A New Era…Of Branding Cannabis

Key emphasis is to be added to the work mark in that quote by Yost, as part of the new era of cannabis branding is patents, trademarks, and copyrights.

James Bowie, a sociologist at Northern Arizona University, remarked on the problems in using a cannabis leaf as part of your mark, “the problem with the leaf in a marijuana business logo is that it is so commonly used that it acts as a symbol of merely the general category, rather than of the specific brand.” Bowie went on to make the point that “This is fine when the category is more important than the brand…but as marijuana becomes legally available on a more widespread basis, its branding is going to have to move beyond the generic leaf to incorporate more distinctive visual elements.” In many ways that is what Harborside has done in transitioning from their iconic original logo, which proudly featured a cannabis leaf between two hands, to a much more nuanced and modern-art inspired mark with no discernible leaf whatsoever. Furthermore, as made clear by cannabis attorney Alison Malsbury, when choosing a mark it is critical to pick one that is distinct enough to not get your company sued; another thing wholly accomplished by Harborside’s rebrand.

FLRishing into Vertical Integration:

Harborside is one project of FLRish, a for-profit, benefit corporation, whose mission “includes positive impact on society, workers, the community and the environment, in addition to profit, as its legally defined goals.” FLRish “intends to be the leading vertically-integrated provider of quality cannabis and cannabis products under the new and developing California regulations” and aims to achieve that goal by attaining multiple business licenses in California under the new MCRSA regulations.

[Correction: An earlier version of this piece cited a post on New Cannabis Ventures, which made incorrect statements about recent investments in FLRish, Harborside, and The Arcview Group. Those statements have since been removed, as well as the link to the inaccurate New Cannabis Ventures article.]