Vivid brings home multiple awards as one of the Best of the Industry
As the Missouri cannabis industry continued to flourish in 2023, Show-Me Organics continued to demonstrate immense success, securing multiple accolades at the Greenway Best of the Industry Awards. Building on its already impressive portfolio, the company’s flagship brand, Vivid, and its popular Missouri’s Own Edibles line garnered recognition in several key categories, emphasizing their commitment to quality and innovation. Vivid was recognized as Best Flower Cultivar for its Florida Kush, the Florida Kush flower was also named Best Pre-roll by voters.
Vivid’s Good Night Grape Tincture 1:1 was again named Best Tincture and continued its winning streak from the previous year. And despite its impending exit from retail shelves, Missouri’s Own Red Hot Riplets were named Best Edible Snacks.
These awards reflect Show-Me Organics’ ability to not only maintain high standards but also push the boundaries of innovation within the cannabis industry. Each accolade serves as recognition of their dedication to developing products that meet the nuanced needs and preferences of their diverse customer base. As Show-Me Organics continues to expand its influence and product lines, these awards bolster its reputation as a leader in the field, setting the stage for further success and expansion in the years to come.
This backdrop sets the stage for our latest conversation with Tony Billmeyer, as we explore the sustained impact and evolving strategies of Show-Me Organics, which continue to shape the landscape of the cannabis industry in Missouri and beyond.
What about your company differentiates you from others in the space?
Our team has a unique combination of cannabis expertise and business savvy, which allows us to innovate products that resonate with actual customers while building scalable processes.
Other companies in the space tend to land on one side of the spectrum or the other, either focused on speaking to core consumers or building a company based on a CPG model. We have a good balance of both.
What endears your company to patients and others in the industry?
We are very intentional about the details of every product, package, or promotion we put out, and we aren’t afraid to try new things because we know there is still room for lots of innovation in cannabis.
Take our Vivid gummies for an example. As we developed flavors and formulations, we realized that the typical approach to mask cannabis with fruit flavors didn’t quite make sense for our customer—who loves the taste of cannabis and appreciates the different flavors each strain provides. Instead we developed formulations using natural flavors that complement and enhance each strain’s flavor, so the strain became the flavor itself.
We are constantly working to innovate and improve everything we put out, which is a shared mindset across the company.
What does the legalization of marijuana for adult use mean for your company?
It means greater impact. Our goal isn’t merely to innovate or make great products, but also to help more people understand cannabis and benefit from it, and with legalization comes more openness to our message.
With the launch of adult use, what changes did your company see or make in 2023?
We doubled production in our Kansas City cultivation and manufacturing facility, now with 30,000 square feet of canopy online. Show-Me Organics now employs more than 270 employees throughout Missouri, up from just over 150 at the beginning of 2023.
What makes Florida Kush a unique cultivar?
Florida Kush provides that immediate euphoria and full body high, even for heavy smokers. The profile combines the burnt rubber notes you expect from a classic kush, with a delightful lemony aftertaste. It delivers head and full body effects that can help aid sleep and relieve pain, which can translate to free flowing thought for more advanced smokers.
Major credit to Jungle Boys for breeding this cultivar, and the entire Show-Me Organics cultivation team for dialing it in.
What does the future hold for the Red Hot Riplets line?
A final batch of Red Hot Riplets was recently released for 3.14 Day. We are prepared for the state to implement new rules, including what we’ve dubbed “The Riplet Rule” which explicitly states that we can not sell THC-infused versions of products that are sold without THC.
Can you tell me about some of the employees or leadership that help push your success?
Show-Me Organics’ President, LeAnne Dickerson, shifted her focus to Show-Me Organics after selling her pharmacy business at the beginning of 2023. She has worked in pharmacies since graduating from pharmacy school in 1987.
LeAnne’s expertise in operations and retail has been integral to managing our rapid growth.
Show-Me Organics is focused on elevating cannabis to have mainstream visibility across the state, with a focus on bringing cannabis into cultural conversations around replacing pharmaceutical drugs with cannabis.
We have plans to evolve our Opioid Awareness campaign this year with even more impactful activations to educate people on the dangers of opioids.
What plans are on the horizon for the company?
We are eager to expand the footprint of Blue Sage Cannabis Deli. We recently opened our first location in St. Louis, and are poised to open a Kansas City location in the coming months.
