Cannabis Products Have to Earn Their Shelf Space. Curio Wellness Explains How

Maryland-based multistate operator Curio Wellness has spent years developing cannabis formulations aimed at specific effects, from better sleep to relaxation. As cannabis markets become more crowded, the Maryland-based, family-owned cultivator and manufacturer is weighing how to turn that work into products that retailers understand, customers are loyal to, and the business can manufacture profitably.

In an interview with IgniteIt, Curio Wellness cofounder and chief brand officer Wendy Bronfein discussed the regulatory and commercial decisions behind that approach. Her examples included a clinical study and a vape line whose formulations outlasted its original branding.

Research Rules Complicate Product Development

Asked about Curio’s biggest business challenge, Bronfein pointed to barriers to clinical research. The company applies some form of testing to every product before commercialization, she said, ranging from evaluating a new chew flavor to studying more complex formulations.

“They speak to wanting innovation. They speak to wanting a stronger connection on the therapeutic side for the citizenry,” Bronfein said about state regulations. “They speak to wanting to have successful homegrown licensees and operators, and they’re definitely the right goals, but the process and the regulations don’t always align with that.” 

Maryland expanded research opportunities when it moved to adult-use legalization, allowing Curio to conduct its first placebo-controlled study involving Crohn’s patients, she said. The trial received institutional review board approval, but difficulties enrolling participants led Curio to end it before completion after a little more than a year, short of its enrollment target.

Bronfein explained that regulatory challenges led to the study being ended early. Participants had to collect study products from a dispensary rather than the medical office where they underwent blood work and other visits. She would like to see regulators authorize participating providers to handle those products, reducing the steps required of participants.

Competing On Formulation And Consistency

Curio’s research supports the company’s efforts to differentiate its products in a market where consumers often compare THC content and price to make their selections. For Curio, the challenge is giving those shoppers a reason to pay more for some of its products.

“THC tells you a strength, but it doesn’t tell you an experience. We formulate around cannabinoids, terpenes, and intended effects, so that you’re buying an outcome, not a number,” she said.

Some products carry a premium price, while the wholesale and suggested retail prices of others are broadly in line with the market, Bronfein said. She pointed to formulations that competitors do not offer as a source of differentiation and long-term value.

Curio has also invested in manufacturing standards with possible federal regulation in mind. The company says its manufacturing facility has held current good manufacturing practice certification since 2019, an investment that Bronfein says supports retailer confidence and relationships with product licensing partners.

“The world will change one day. We will likely be governed by FDA in some way. We’re going to build for it today,” she said.

Connecting Products With Their Audience

A retired vape line demonstrated how branding could affect a formulation’s commercial prospects. Curio paired formulations intended to produce relaxation, balance, or an uplifted mood with a computer-inspired campaign aimed at millennials.

The campaign missed its audience because dispensary customers at the time skewed toward middle-aged and older shoppers, Bronfein explained. The formulations now appear in other Curio products, preserving the development work while changing how the company presents it to consumers.

Dispensary buyers and budtenders also influence whether differentiated products reach customers. Bronfein says limited understanding among retailers can constrain sales, particularly when marketing restrictions limit a brand’s ability to communicate directly with consumers.

“Getting it on the shelf is your first step. Staying there, I think, is probably a real accomplishment,” she said.

Curio supports retailers with product information sheets, self-directed learning modules, and in-person education, drawing on staff ranging from brand ambassadors to its clinical director. Field teams continue visiting stores after the sale to determine what support each retailer needs.

Deciding Which Products Earn Their Place

Curio evaluates products at successive stages of research, development, and product realization. At launch, it sets targets for adoption and sales velocity, then monitors reorders and the product’s ability to maintain its margin, Bronfein said.

Those results can prompt changes in pricing or the product itself, or a decision to discontinue it. A product customers like may still require reassessment if they are willing to pay less than the company anticipated.

“If it doesn’t earn its place, are we going to fix it or are we going to retire it?” she said.

As markets have grown crowded, Curio has become more selective about which products justify continued investment. The approach helps protect the products consumers rely on while preserving capacity for new development, and it requires the company to act on what it learns.

“Having a curated, stronger portfolio, I think, wins,” she said.