Growing sustainably — the Wyld way | Cannabis Products Insider

As one of the largest edibles producers in the U.S., Wyld has experienced growth that is befitting of the company’s name.

After moving into Washington, Oklahoma and Illinois in 2022, the Clackamas, Oregon company now serves nine U.S. markets and Canada, offering real-fruit gummies manufactured and packaged with sustainability in mind.

Wyld’s newest brand, Good Tide, builds on its mission with company firsts — solventless hash rosin and tropical flavors — and represents an important milestone on its journey of introducing compostable, recyclable and plastic-free packaging.

Photos courtesy of Wyld

Sustainability

For Wyld, it’s not enough just to manufacture gummies — the company strives to do so while minimizing its environmental impact. The launch of the Good Tide brand last fall presented a prime opportunity to live up to that objective, said Rachael Smith, corporate communications specialist.

“Sustainability is something Wyld has been incredibly focused on since our inception, and with a new product line like Good Tide, this is a good chance for us to launch it with compostable and recyclable packaging,” she said.

Good Tide’s plastic-free packaging wasn’t ready-made, however. Wyld’s design team worked with a material supplier and packaging manufacturer to develop a solution that featured the interactivity, messaging and experience Wyld wanted while still meeting its sustainability goals and compliance requirements, said Ben Gaines, director of marketing.

“Usually you’re looking for turn-key solutions in order to reduce friction, lead time, and cost,” Gaines said. “What Wyld has found is that child-resistant, compostable, sustainable packaging is hard to come by.”

Wyld has undergone a similar process in Canada, introducing a child-resistant, compostable zipper structure and pouch in November 2021. While Canada has stricter regulations around on-pack branding, Gaines said Wyld was pleased to expand its sustainability mission to the Canadian market.

“It was a win for us to do the same thing — bring materials and manufacturers together and bring something to market that wasn’t single-use plastic,” he said.

Wyld plans to roll out fully compostable packaging this year, and in 2024, the company aims to use plastic-free packaging in all markets.

Photos courtesy of Wyld

“It’s going to take a little while to ramp up the supply chain,” Gaines said. “That’s why it’s a little bit of a long lead on attaining this goal, but we are confident that we are on track to be able to minimize and then completely eliminate the use of those plastic components in packaging.”

The Good Tide brand, alongside the Wyld and Wyld CBD brands, is Climate Neutral Certified, which signifies it was produced with a carbon neutral footprint. Smith said the company, which became certified in April 2022, worked with sustainability experts to measure, reduce and offset its carbon emissions. In addition to working with South Pole to purchase and retire 23,000 carbon credits from a variety of projects, Wyld is switching to energy-efficient appliances and LED facility lights.

“It’s little things like that that really make a big difference in the long run,” she said. “It’s really important for us to practice what we preach, and Climate Neutral is a great way to do that.”

Reworking its packaging and achieving Climate Neutral certification aren’t the only ways Wyld pursues its sustainability goals. The company partners with community organizations in the markets it serves, including One Tree Planted, Friends of Trees, Oregon Wild, Compost Colorado, Oregon Natural Desert Association, The Freshwater Trust and Willamette Riverkeeper.

Product development

Gaines said Wyld views itself as a food and beverage manufacturer first, so the company invests significant resources to develop operations in each state market it enters. Setting up its own facilities allows Wyld to maintain control over product quality, as well as employee training and management.

“We’re not currently focused on licensing and using other people’s operational footprint in order to get that done,” he said. “The home office and all of the other facilities are really about their efficiency and the financial discipline it takes to commit to that future growth.”

Gaines said Wyld maintains stringent standards for its products, presenting a challenge for its research and development team.

“They’re very skilled, and they have a hard job in terms of the quality standards that we’ve set,” he said. “The guardrails are all there for us. We operate with real fruit ingredients, and we need a high quality flavor experience to match a high quality and consistent cannabis experience.”

Photos courtesy of Wyld

When it comes to developing new gummies, Wyld aims to create the best-tasting product while weighing opportunities for cannabinoid content ratios. It’s also critical to ensure the juice supply chain can support Wyld’s true-to-fruit flavors.

“We usually bring a SKU to market because it brings value to the consumer,” Gaines said. “That’s going to be paired with innovative cannabinoid profiles incorporating minor cannabinoids in combination with THC so that the consumer can pick it out of the lineup and (decide) what it means for them in terms of product experience.”

Among Wyld’s gummy offerings are:

Raspberry Sativa (10 mg THC per gummy)
Huckleberry Hybrid (10 mg THC per gummy)
Marionberry Indica (10 mg THC per gummy)
Pomegranate Hybrid 1:1 (10 mg THC, 10 mg CBD per gummy)
Peach Hybrid 2:1 (10 mg CBD, 5 mg THC per gummy)
Strawberry Hybrid 20:1 (20 mg CBD, 1 mg THC per gummy)
Pear Hybrid 1:1 (10 mg THC, 10 mg CBG per gummy)
Elderberry Indica (10 mg THC, 5 mg CBN per gummy)

Last year, Wyld launched two sour varieties — Sour Apple Sativa and Sour Cherry Indica. Available in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington.

Photos courtesy of Wyld

Wyld launched a line of CBD products in 2019. Featuring flavor profiles similar to its THC options, the CBD gummies are made with broad-spectrum hemp oil.

Gaines said its CBD offerings allow Wyld to tap into a consumer base that expands beyond dispensary customers.

“What we are good at is manufacturing food and beverage with cannabinoid content, and the brand is just as appealing for those open-market consumers as it is in a dispensary,” he said. “Part of the appeal for us is to make sure that we’re building a product portfolio that services cannabinoid consumers at large, and it also provides an opportunity for us to build brand, create product recognition and experience in markets that are not carrying Wyld.”

The Raspberry, Blackberry, Lemon and Huckleberry gummies contain 25 mg CBD per piece. The Pear variety features 20 mg CBD and 10 mg CBG per piece, while the Elderberry option includes 25 mg CBD and 5 mg CBN per piece.

Alongside its CBD gummy portfolio, Wyld also offers sparkling waters infused with broad-spectrum hemp extract in Lemon and Blood Orange flavors. Each 12-oz. can contains 25 mg CBD.

Though Wyld’s expertise is in gummies, two of its founders — Aaron Morris and Chris Joseph — gained beverage experience through the Wild Roots liquor business, which now falls under the Cascade Spirits umbrella.

Gaines said developing a beverage line was “daunting” for Wyld to take on, but the sparkling waters offer a different consumption experience than the company’s gummy offerings.

“It’s a great product experience and something that has high impact on the consumer,” he said. “Unlike a gummy, you’re going to sit with a can, you’re going to have that relationship with the product. It benefits all Wyld brands to have that out there.”

Wyld manufactures all of its CBD products at its Oregon facility. The company ships directly to consumers in all 50 states, and on the wholesale side, 6,000 retailers carry at least one of Wyld’s CBD SKUs.

Photos courtesy of Wyld

Good Tide and beyond

Wyld debuted the Good Tide brand in Oregon, California and Colorado with three vegan gummy offerings featuring solventless hash rosin.

Designed to provide a “true-to-plant” high, the rosin contains naturally occurring terpenes and minor cannabinoids married with tropical flavors to provide a full-spectrum experience. Mirroring Wyld’s original gummies, the Good Tide varieties are made with real fruit. They’re available in Mango, Guava and Pineapple flavors, with each piece containing 10 mg THC.

Gaines said the company leveraged its existing distribution network to introduce Good Tide, and so far, the response has been positive. Wyld aims to expand the brand to other markets soon.

“We’ve gotten a lot of love from budtenders, a lot of positive feedback in terms of the flavor and experience,” Gaines said. “By all accounts, the product is going to go a long way, and we’re just getting started.”

Just getting started, indeed. Wyld plans to push further east in 2023 and beyond, moving into additional markets in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The company began serving Oklahoma’s medical consumers in September, and it announced plans to move into Illinois in December.

“The growth has come really to power all of these positive things and be a cycle that’s self-reinforcing,” Gaines said. “It’s a great place to work, and we’re super fortunate to participate in this unique positioning and success for a brand.”