Who Is Trailblazing In Cannabis Hospitality? Meet Philip Wolf

One pioneer in the cannabis hospitality space is Philip Wolf, CEO of Cultivating Spirits. It’s a unique cannabis and food pairing private event company based in Colorado but operating and expanding into other states. He is also a partner in the first cannabis wedding expos. And he has recently been anointed as a Rolling Stone Culture Council member. 

Let’s meet Philip as he shares his experience innovating and leading the way for cannabis hospitality businesses. It’s time.

I read that you’ve been a grower, owned dispensaries, and then you founded Cultivating Spirits and now the wedding expo. Please give us an overview of your experience, and let’s take it from there.

In 2009 I opened up a medical dispensary in Colorado, and from there, I quickly got into cultivation because vertical integration was allowed. I realized how much of a passion I had for growing, and I was pretty good at it as well. I did that for several years and eventually launched a consulting company to work with multiple caregivers and multiple dispensaries – I had so much fun doing it.

It has been a privilege to be in Colorado at the turn of legalization and create things I felt would help serve not only the industry but the people as well, and it’s just been a lot of passion projects. After spending some time traveling, I just tried to open up my heart and see what opportunities would come in around cannabis. 

I met this Wall Street banker going after the green rush in Colorado and looking for help to launch an ancillary business. He had little knowledge of the cannabis industry, and I knew a lot and many people in the community. We partnered up and started all of these ancillary companies. 

As the cannabis movement geared up in Colorado, I saw the potential for the tourism market. I started 420 tours which were the first of their kind.

Two weeks before recreational dispensaries opened in Colorado, I was at a wine tasting in Barcelona when I got the idea to start Cultivating Spirits, a cannabis and food pairing private event company similar to wine-tasting events.

I learned about terpenes and created the concept of pairing the terpene profiles of cannabis with the flavor profiles of food to harmonize and enhance it. And the scientific facts available on the various terpene profiles brought legitimacy to my work. Terpenes steer the ship and are why you feel the way you do when you consume cannabis.

Teaching people how to identify terpenes through these gourmet dinner experiences puts them in touch with their senses and educates them on the plant. It made a lot of sense to put on these dinners. At that point, I was hooked.

There is much more to learn about terpenes and cannabinoids, but the research is coming. It’s the future of medicine-cannabis medicine. You’re also doing your part to educate people on the intricacies of the plant for when that comes.

I hate the word pharmaceutical, but the creation of these cannabis formulas will one day cure specific ailments. I agree, it’s the future of the industry, but it is still a ways off because the government is dragging its feet and holding things back.

I like to teach people to think of cannabis as a plant medicine that can integrate into their lifestyle. I show them how to connect with their senses to identify their feelings when consuming cannabis. To do this, you also need to be in touch with your body to associate those aromas with specific emotions. Then, connect with your intention of why you’re consuming and then consume the appropriate amount to get to that place. 

My goal is to guide people to this intentionality and awareness around their consumption. And to me, this plant has limitless potential based on someone’s body, mind, and soul makeup. The beautiful part about it is cannabis makes us all feel different. And if we use it with intentionality, it can drive us all into other areas of thought. And that’s why I think it has limitless potential.

Your affairs are smokable, not infused. I’m curious how the infused-style events manage the dosing. It sounds like a recipe for people having too much, so I like your approach because it’s a safer way to introduce cannabis to newcomers and these kinds of events.

Smoking vs. infused is undoubtedly easier to control the setting with people. But it honestly makes for a better dinner party because you feel the effects immediately. And “breaking bread” at a table and sharing it with friends unites the physical bodies, and sharing smokes unites the spirits. 

You are also the co-founder of Cannabis Wedding Expos. Please tell us about that!

The journey that led us to dream up the Cannabis Wedding Expo was from Cultivating Spirits because people embraced our cannabis-infused experiential events. We saw the opportunity to shape the industry through cannabis hospitality and feel that it will be accepted anywhere if cannabis weddings are accepted. It also offers mom-and-pop companies a marketplace to showcase their products or services.

What does a cannabis-themed wedding look like?

There are a few boxes you have to check to make it happen. For example, you can’t sell cannabis at a wedding because that’s distribution -you have to gift it. So the bride and the groom each bring their allotted amount to gift their guests. That makes it legal because weddings are private events. And you have to be in a venue that allows smoking. There are different ways to navigate the gray areas to still be on the white side.

I don’t do many weddings, stick to my private dinners, and run the expo. We sell the booth spaces, figure out all the logistics, and just hold space for these other companies.

We have cannabis-friendly service companies that exhibit like any expo- venues, transportation, floral artists, musicians, catering, and bud bars are a few examples.

I’ve hosted 220-person dinners with cannabis pairings, it can be done, it’s not as intimate, but it can be done.

How do you market or promote the wedding expo?

We partner with wedding and cannabis magazines. We can’t do Facebook ads, or Google ads, but social media is still big for us, and we have a substantial email list— We’ve been doing this for a long time, many people find us through SEO, and the interest in cannabis-style events is growing. 

We also lean on listing sites and extensions through ticketing websites. That stuff has been good for us. And we do some digital ads and even old-school flyers in dispensaries – a lot of eyes lay on that.

What are your expansion plans for Cultivating Spirits?

I’m working on an educational program right now to train people in other markets to expand outside of our current markets. And, as I’m looking to expand and reimagine how we do big business to normalize the cannabis industry, I plan to do my part by making example companies. But, most importantly for me, it needs to fall under a conscious for-profit corporate model.

The strains you’re using in your private events are crucial to the event. Is that something that you grow or source?

I partner with dispensaries because there has to be a legal transaction to buy cannabis. So yeah, those partnerships are very important for us to get the best flower possible for our clients. I get good recommendations, and then it’s just cold calling. 

Thank you for your time Philip, and I think you have a special business in Cultivating Spirits and The Wedding Expos- good luck!

You know, we need so many people with traditional backgrounds coming into this space to help normalize it and grow it. So I’m grateful for what you’re doing. And thank you for having me today.

Interview series by Pam Chmiel.

#######

Studio 420 is a cannabis and psychedelics creative agency specializing in branding, UX/UI design, web development, ecommerce, and digital marketing solutions. We offer a variety of services to ELEVATE your online web presence.

Contact our Denver, Colorado office for a no-obligation, project cost analysis at 303-653-9855.