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Submitted By: Cristiane Roget, Sr. Correspondent AdAvenueGroup/Forbes France Submitted to California Apparel News & Washington Post
Two consecutive world class events unspooled in Miami Beach this last month within the breathtaking re-imagined Miami Beach Convention Hall and Visitors Bureau channeling a design of an undulating whale skeleton.
The 30th annual SWIM WEEK – Miami was joined at its tail end with the world’s first USA CBD EXPO. The two consecutive world class trade shows exuded a synergy that combined the allure of the fashion world’s sexiest display of swim and resort wear collections with the most powerful exhibit of health , wellness and beauty CBD alternatives to ‘Big Pharma’ found anywhere. Boasting over 700 exhibitors representing well over 1000 brands containing cannabis, hemp or Cannabidiol (CBD) in their ingredient profile.
The CBD Expo had a full circle business model from seed to shelf and beyond. Exhibitors included growers, harvesters, laboratories, processors, sourcing centers , delivery and financing systems, and wholesale to retail distribution. All were seamlessly collaborating in tandem throughout.
For over three decades Swim Week has navigated the tides of change. Its genesis was designers and buyers plying their living in the New York, ‘rag trade’ while seeking an escape from the brutal winters. What better place than a Miami Beach bikini clad disco driven respite? Move forward 20 years and the legacy brand Mercedes Benz and iconic International Management Group created a exclusive jet set showcase. With the fall of IMG to William Morris Swim Week (especially Swim The Globe, Sustainable Swim Week, Coterie and Faena Art District’s week-long series of immersive events) has been reinvented as a fashion centric , trend setting, pop up , pool party , free for all.
With the organizers sprouting previous CBD EXPO’s in Peru, Barcelona, and Medellin ; according to Nicole Beiner , Marketing for CBD Expo, “This was the companies first venture on North America’s shores and the indisputable consensus was we exceeded all expectations”. According to Zachery Bader ” “.
The nation’s largest CBD distributor (420BEAST.com)’s and sister company USA CBD EXPO, headed by Jason Monti put the show on. Based out of Garden City , New York, these companies have existed in the CBD and Vapor space for the past 3 years. Michael Kastenbaum, a documentarian specializing in filming NGO (non government humanitarian organizations) was on assignment to elicit sound bites from guests who wanted to share their CBD first hand experiences. Most were CBD converts who were passionate in sharing their personal experience. They described countless benefits they had derived from CBD , Hemp and Cannabidiol based products and applications. Some suggested , “their experiences were nothing short of miraculous”.
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A CBD Standout was the launch of Coldfire Roasters, the new gold standard of CBD infused Colombian and Cuban coffee originating from the Sierra Maesta Mountains home to the finest Arabica beans in the world. Managing Partner Hector Mendez, segued from a career in culinary arts into the even hotter terrain of recording studio ownership in Miami Lakes and now LA’s Hollywood Hills. Mendez admits the pivot back to Food & Beverage was motivated by ColdFire Roasters being a superlative beverage with unique CBD enhancements, “that strike the perfect chord”. Joined by his ‘Paisa’ partner Edward Juica the duo announced that on the ColdFire Roasters horizon are modular coffee bars and healthy tasting eateries. They developed their coffee connoisseurship having been raised in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres where Eduardo Juica Sr. was a respected Chilean Chef , pre “Foodie” era.
Hector claims to have kept his coffee startup under wraps until the formulation could impress the likes of USE ANY NAME YOU WANT…Pit Bull, J Balvin and Chris Brown. ColdFire Roasters ™ CBD espressos are guaranteed to keep the vibe mellow and to keep the beat “all night long”.
“Coffee doesn’t ask silly questions, it understands. Direct from our farms to the cup our fine grind is melded with our herbaceous hemp (the plant most often associated with health). The two ingredients combined , our customers may enter the cosmic realm. At $60 a pound one would hope so. www.coldfireroasters.com
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Not limited to beverages, tinctures, topical applications and vapes , the humble Hemp plant is more and more associated with food, paper, bio plastics, insulation, and even as a fossil fuel alternative. “Adding to its versatility , Hemp is used as a raw material in the manufacturer of textiles, clothing, shoes, fashion accessories and beauty , hair and skin products,” according to Vasiliki Karlin , founder of Nayked Botanicals ™. Her CBD infused mosquito repellant and sunscreen were standouts at ‘sustainable’ SWIM THE GLOBE and the Eco Luxury Gifting Lounge during SWIM WEEK.
Karlin’s representatives were exploring strategic alliances for her private label CBD infused formulas. She has collaborated most recently with Climate Change 2041 Ambassador and President of Allay Pharmaceuticals Rosy Sultana for her Butterfliyz Brand, an underwriter of Swim the Globe and Endeavor’s Miss USA Pageant.
Several other CBD driven companies that participated in SWIM WEEK and the USA CBD EXPO were Matt Rose and Josh Wagschal makers of the ‘new leaf on life’ Great Leaf ™. Distributors with robust down lines that included Ignite, Beast 440 and Paul Pizzo’s PDF Foods with warehouse in Detroit and Delray wanted to augment the robust demand for VYBE Waters while increasing his four generation distributorship portfolio of farm fresh products.
The comingling of Miami Beaches’ most anticipated gatherings with a global reach , that is MIAMI SWIM WEEK and the next MIAMI CBD EXPO, “would be a natural evolution,” suggested Jennifer Sclafani, Founder of Swim the Globe and her associate Kristin Cook Swim the Globe plsyed out at the Hotel Sagamore this past July 11-15. The bespoke property also hosted the Sustainable Swim Week Eco Luxury Lounge and Jeffrey Lubin with Edwin Muhammad’s Model’s Summit, a two day forum designed to introduce industry experts to models with valuable lessons on how to navigate the talent and entertainment industries.
Miami Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau , reimagined in the form of a giant whale.
LtR Peter Hanna attended with his PCRGenix a portfolio of CBD based products, Greg McCullough and Richard Schaffer of Medical Innovations Group was joined by Alexander Titomirov, Ph.D of Alarnia.com.
photo by Gark Kirk Brown Photography , SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SI Swimwear Runway Show.
Kristin Cook and Jennifer Sclafani , Founder of SWIM THE GLOBe sample CBD products that reduce stress, pain and insomnia.
Matt Rose – of Great Leaf, A New Leaf on Life and Peter Hannah PCR Genix Exhibit at SWIM THE GLOBE , Sustainable Swim Week Eco Lounge and Gifting Suite joined by VIBLOK spokes models.
In excess of 15 CBD targeted magazines, Cox Media, Miami New Times and AdAvenueGroup / Forbes France covering the Expo media visibility was in the gazillions. CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Charles Warner of Innovation & Tech Today, Residential Tech Today was joined by Dr. Laura and her new product line Hemp & Heroes ™ to coincide with the debut of Cannabis and Tech Today.
Dr. Laura , author and naturopathic doctor and sustainable SWIM WEEK alumni at the Faena Forum was produced by Erik Rosete of Art Heart Fashion a connoisseur of Hemp-derived CBD , who brought in Hemp&Heroes a premium whole plant full spectrum Hemp extract, as a sponsor for his VIP guests and designers. Integrative Medical Physician, clinical researcher, and founder of Hemp & Heroes, Dr. Laura pre-launched her brand at SWIM WEEK and debuted her product line at the USA CBD Expo.
Brittany Warner spokesperson for Savage CBD states, “We strive to help people by offering what we believe to be top quality, lab-tested natural alternatives. Whether you are new to CBD or have been using it for years, you can count on all-natural hemp-derived CBD with the purest ingredients. Each batch is carefully tested to ensure quality, consistency, taste, and authenticity. Overall, our goal is to create the products that empower you to maintain your healthy lifestyle.”
Harkening back to year 1212 when German Benedictine abbess , Hildegard of Bingen, who was anointed in 2012 as an original contributor to holistic medicine derived from plants with healing properties was the de facto Patron Saint of the USA CBD EXPO. Her herbal potions, poultices and seed based pastes were described by her as ‘Veriditas’, a word that is synonymous with optimal health in body and spirit.
A millennium later Veriditas has gone viral embracing the notion that health is a feeling of lushness, overall wellbeing that can be bottled. Practitioners and purveyors alike are advancing the Hippocratic Oath, that espouses “first do no harm”. Among the CBD crowd there is a concerted push back against the nation’s bloated and dysfunctional “sick” care system.
White coat corporate MD’s are crossing the aisles where Green Coat Naturopaths are advancing treatments that run the gamut from Stem Cell therapies, peptides, and all manner of cannabidiol (CBD) based ingestible and topical applications. Guests worked the aisles seeking vetted information from the experts. Exhibitors advanced the tenets of functional medicine while educating an inquisitive public of the cornucopia of tested CBD products that are viable alternatives to the drug industry rife with Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR’s) and chemical addictions.
The vast majority of exhibitors came from California, the first state to legalize medical cannabis in 1996 and from Colorado’s ‘Rocky Mountain High’ where Marijuana is legal again. As it was before The Great Depression, as well was, bathtub Gin, back woods distilleries and Cocaine as an active ingredient in CocaCola. Cannabidiol (or CBD) companies had a run of show with many broaching the idea of extending their brand into the sustainable and eco friendly apparel, cosmetic, food and fragrance arenas.
Even if CBD does not bring on a psychedelic THC induced ‘high’ or a deep craving for S’mores or salt and vinegar chips, enthusiastic endorsements lay claim that CBD calms nerves , cures insomnia and releases happy making neurotransmitters that are found in everything from lattes by ColdFire Roasters, lotions by Nayked Botanicals and Puur Premium Oil and for the four legged attendees dog treats by PCR Genix and 100’s of gummies to tinctures originating from California, Colorado and China’, the CBD Triad.
Capping off the three day’s of festivities, interspersed with breakneck negotiations to break dancers, the event was permeated with a feeling of fun , frivolity and an undeniable mellow vibe. Guests remained refreshed with raspberry snow cones and mint colored cotton candy. A play station for adults was devoid of computer generated CGI and foley sound effects in favor of a big bean bag toss and strength challenges that involved a mallet, hockey putt and a powerful swing. The mini carnival provided entertainment relief for participants that included entrepreneurs, wizards, neural scientists, naturopaths, a contingency of counter culture advocates, functional doctors and an amalgam of growers to purveyors of all things hemp.
Future iterations are planned for Las Vegas, in November, Oklahoma CALENDAR and with a return to Miami Beach in 2020. According to Jason Monti , “the USACBDEXPO and HEMP CONFERENCE are events whose time has come”. Closing the two week gap between SWIM WEEK and USA CBD EXPO just makes sense, suggests PDF Foods, Paul Pizzo.
The confab was an egalitarian affaire. with attendees representing all generations and walks of life who are seeking a to detoxify the environment by embracing less invasive alternative cures and mood enhancers for whatever was ailing them.
PHOTO FROM HECTOR MENDEZ:
