The latest foray into feeling good for Gwyneth Paltrow’s multifaceted lifestyle brand is its greenest yet: cannabis. Following a sold-out third installment of the In Goop Health wellness summit at 3Labs in Culver City, the clean-living company has teamed up with marijuana dispensary chain MedMen to unveil a specially curated Goop wall at its newest recreational boutique on Abbot Kinney Boulevard in Venice.
Now with eight locations in California along with stores in Nevada and New York—including an Apple store-esque flagship on Fifth Avenue—MedMen has emerged as the largest U.S.-based company in the cannabis industry since its medicinal start in 2010 (it was recently listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange with a valuation of $1.65 billion).
MedMen’s SVP of Corporate Communications Daniel Yi says of the official collaboration, “It is a perfect partnership for us. Historically speaking the industry has been male dominated on both the consumer and business side, so it just makes sense. For Goop to be proactive in partnering with a cannabis brand—it only helps in eliminating the stigma. It’s a milestone.”
In line with the company’s mission of “mainstreaming marijuana” to shed the stoner stereotype and raising awareness about cannabis as a wellness supplement, Yi adds that, “The way we talk about the plant as a product is not about getting high. It’s about a lifestyle and incorporating it into a wellness regime. It’s about giving people a healthier option and educating them.”
As an official sponsor of the sold-out day-long conference, MedMen presented a panel on the cannabis industry featuring Kimberly Dillon, SVP of Marketing at Papa & Barkley, Cindy Capobianco, Founder and CMO at Lord Jones, Samantha Miller, President and Chief Scientist at Pure Analytics Lab and Dr. Jeffrey Chen, Founder and Director of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative. Actress Lake Bell, whose husband Scott Campbell is a co-founder of the celebrity-beloved cannabis brand Beboe, moderated the 40-minute discussion in a custom necklace case for her very own vaporizer by jewelry designer Daniela Villegas.
The 675 wellness-obsessed attendees also scored MedMen swag bags with Goop’s ganja picks in their signature red, zippered to-go bags. Couldn’t swing a $650 general admission ticket? You can stream access of the full speaker schedule with the purchase of a $60 Digital Pass.
For Goop’s executive beauty editor Jean Godfrey-June, the health and aesthetic benefits of CBD are noticeably effective, acknowledging it’s just the beginning of what’s possible for the brand’s future.
“Taking down stress is a big CBD claim, and certainly, a less-stressed person is more attractive than a super-stressed one. Feeling better definitely translates to looking better in most cases, so CBD’s calming, analgesic properties have serious beauty and wellness potential,” says Godfrey-June.
Ashley Lewis, who oversees development of the company’s self-branded products and worked in conjunction with the MedMen team to curate the Goop wall says of the dispensary, “It’s a fascinating space and being a part of it complements our mission to bring women the best in self-care and wellness.”
In-store at MedMen, find the Goop stamp of approval on these products (the Goop Lab in Brentwood will also stock the same lineup later this summer): Beboe’s Inspired Sativa Blend Vaporizer Pen, Papa & Barley’s Releaf CBD Patch, Kush Queen’s bath bombs, Défoncé Chocolatier’s matcha chocolate bar and Kikoko’s cannabis infused herbal teas.
And if you’re heading to high country on holiday this summer, you can also shop at Goop’s pop-up chalet in Aspen (although they aren’t selling any cannabis-friendly products … yet).
