Two Out-of-State Cannabis Brands Expand Their Flower Power Into Phoenix

Editor's note: This story was updated on December 6 to clarify that Kiva Confections is based in Oakland, California, and that Green Dot Labs will launch a new cultivation facility in Tempe scheduled to start producing in 2024.

Out-of-state cannabis operators are wishing stoners in Phoenix “hashy holidays.” Two live resin cannasseurs from neighboring states announced expansions into Arizona’s young and booming cannabis market last week.

Oakland, California-based Kiva Confections and Boulder, Colorado-based Green Dot Labs are bringing boutique edibles, concentrates, and flower to pot apothecaries across the Valley.

The two pioneering brands are each helmed by married couples and specialize in premium, heirloom strains that offer a true-to-the-plant high for consumers. Both focus on live resin products — an ideal terpene ratio that provides a smoking or edibles experience with more floral, fruitier, and spicier undertones than concentrates made with either nug- or trim-run cannabis.

Lost Farm by Kiva Confections launched its line of strain-specific, plant-based edible gummies infused with live resin at select metro Phoenix dispensaries on December 1. Green Dot Labs announced on December 2 its planned expansion into Arizona in 2024, marking the company’s first foray into a cannabis market outside of Colorado.

Lost Farm Brings the (Tropical) Heat to Phoenix

You don’t have to leave Phoenix to have a holly Cali Christmas this year. After years of slinging sticky in California, Kiva Confections owners Scott and Kristi Palmer are venturing over state lines to offer their salable sweets at four Valley dispensaries.

Twelve years ago, the Palmers were inspired by a local chocolatier to create their flagship THC-infused milk chocolate bars. In 2020, the pair launched a unique chewy alternative that quickly became a fan favorite.

“Live resin has reached peak interest for Google searches in Arizona over the last 12 months,” Steve Miller, senior brand director for Kiva Confections, told Phoenix New Times. “Compared to eight other states, live resin has the highest amount of searches in Arizona. With live resin almost twice as popular as it was a year ago in Arizona, Lost Farm is paying close attention to their community of consumers and looking forward to offering cannabis consumers the product they’re looking for.”

The treacly treats are super potent. They’re ideal for seasoned stoners seeking a deeper and richer high than other prevailing edibles on the market, according to the company.

“Kiva’s Lost Farm live resin-infused edibles produce a full-spectrum experience because the process preserves the delicate cannabinoids and terpenes that are normally lost in most edibles,” Miller said. “While distillate has effective attributes, the impact of using the whole plant is greater than isolated parts.”

Lost Farm’s wax-infused gummies hit the shelves on December 1 at Harvest, Trulieve, Curaleaf, and MedMen dispensaries in Arizona. The 10-milligram confections come in four strain-specific flavors: Raspberry x Wedding Cake, Island Punch x Tropical Heat, Citrus Spritz x Joel’s Lemonade, and Chili Mango x Ghost Lime Pop.

A tin of 10 candies retails for about $22.

Green Dot Labs Opening Facility in Tempe

Get ready to ditch the mistletoe — there’s a new green leaf sure to spark joy in Arizona this year.

Green Dot Labs, launched by married co-founders Dave and Alana Malone, boasts an expansive menu of live resin and live rosin dabs and vape products, and a library of proprietary flower strains genetically engineered for generations.

Getting its start in Colorado in 2014, shortly after recreational marijuana was legalized in the state, Green Dot Labs is the first and longest-running purveyor of concentrates in the state and the first brand anywhere to focus exclusively on cultivating for concentrates. Throughout eight years of operation, the company has never ventured outside Colorado — until now. On December 2, Green Dot Labs announced its expansion into Arizona with a new facility to come online in 2024.

Like Kiva Confections, Green Dot Labs’ products showcase the distinctive exotic terpenes and flavors of the marijuana plant. The company meticulously cultivates its cannabis to maximize terpene and cannabinoid content.

“We are building a first-of-its-kind, fourth-generation cultivation and extraction platform armed with cutting-edge technology and distinct operational advantages in Arizona,” Dave Malone said in a prepared statement. “Our platform is driven by the unrivaled intellectual property that we have developed over the last decade, allowing us to deliver the consistent, high-quality products that define the Green Dot Labs experience.”

The Malones have studied and built an appetite for the budding Arizona market since 2019. They develop their own genetic lines, cultivate flower in their own production facilities, and sell that product to dispensaries throughout the state where it was cultivated and produced.

Scottsdale-based Zoned Properties, LLC recently approved a lease agreement with Green Dot Labs at a property in Tempe to create a cultivation facility scheduled to start producing in 2024.

"We are extremely excited to welcome Green Dot Labs into the Arizona marketplace as the new primary tenant at our property in Tempe," Zoned Properties CEO Bryan McLaren said in a statement. "We have known the team at Green Dot Labs for many years and have watched them thrive in the emerging cannabis marketplace.”

Alana Malone says she’s “absolutely not intimidated” by the Grand Canyon State’s softening cannabis market. She’s just excited to be planting roots in Arizona.

“We fell in love with Arizona for many reasons,” Alana Malone told New Times. “We’ve seen a broad and diverse consumer base. We’ve seen Arizona consumers choose niche, boutique, and premium products since the early stages of the industry out there. Those are all compelling signs that it’s a good market for our products.”

Like Kiva Confections, Green Dot Labs focuses not just on its product, but on cultivating a culture of mindful and sustainable consumption.

While most other operators white-label someone else’s grow, the Malones don’t work with outside genetics. They’ve developed their own technology, including advanced indoor cultivation techniques and their own trimming, binning, and transportation process that minimizes even the slightest chance of a resin trichome falling off the bud they’ll sell as a pre-packaged premium.

“We have more genetic variety than any other operator,” Alana Malone said. “We are looking forward to bringing that and so much more into the cannabis community in Arizona.”