Business

Here’s who sells the best cannabis in Mass., per the new Cultivator’s Cup

"Growing cannabis is a labor of love, and there's a lot of pride that goes into the process. It's evident we all want to know who has the best product in Massachusetts."

Bountiful Farms in Natick and Theory Wellness in Stoneham were chosen in the first ever Cultivator’s Cup. Photographer: Galit Rodan/Bloomberg

By Julia Taliesin

September 14, 2021

A new people’s-choice competition is here to determine the best cannabis in Massachusetts, and two dispensaries in eastern Massachusetts won out.

Bountiful Farms in Natick and Theory Wellness in Stoneham were chosen by over 200 consumers and volunteer judges in the first ever Cultivator’s Cup, hosted by Somerset’s Solar Therapeutics and California cannabis event business theFarmacist.

On Aug. 6, Solar and theFarmacist launched the event, which included sales of $420 judge’s kits featuring flower from 16 cultivators. Each box included 28 containers for a blind test.

“As a licensed cannabis operator in Massachusetts, it’s really amazing to see this event evolve at such a fast pace and come to fruition,” Solar’s CEO Edward Dow said in a release. “What really surprised me was the amount of buy-in from the other licensed cultivators. Growing cannabis is a labor of love, and there’s a lot of pride that goes into the process. It’s evident we all want to know who has the best product in Massachusetts.”

According to the Boston Business Journal, Bountiful Farms and Theory Wellness took home accolades in four categories — best overall, best visual, best taste, and best cure.

“We’re so proud to see the concept of the State’s first-ever, people’s-choice cannabis competition become a reality,” said Jordan Carlson, Founder of theFarmacist. “We created the Cultivators Cup to empower and establish emerging licensed cultivators, while allowing the actual consumer the ability to provide honest feedback on each of these products. We’re confident that this will be the first of many Cultivators Cup competitions in the future.”

The Cup results show that despite the many new cannabis products offered around the state, the popularity of raw flower buds remains.

In the previous sales week, flower and pre-rolled selections accounted for over 50% of all cannabis sales in Massachusetts. Between Aug. 30 and Sept. 5, the state tracked over $30 million spent in 742,961 sales, equalling about $40 per sale.