BUSINESS WIRE
Critic-Led Mobile App Driven by Industry Leaders Is Building a Culture of Connoisseurship and Acting as a Catalyst for Product Premiumization
Budist, the Cannabis Industry’s First Dedicated Social Review Platform, Debuts in California Market
Casey Echols
caseyechols@mygrasslands.com
Budist, a platform for both consumers and industry experts to rate and review cannabis products, today announced its launch with a curated selection of California cannabis products, with additional markets to be added in coming months. The platform is the first in the industry to centralize and share product reviews from cannabis experts and mainstream consumers with a 100-point rating scale. Designed to catalyze product premiumization while uplifting the cannabis community, Budist stokes a culture of connoisseurship, blending industry insider knowledge with appreciation of cannabis in its many modern forms.
“The entire cannabis community—consumers and businesses alike—greatly benefit when multiple points of view are celebrated and everyone has the opportunity to share their unique voice and experience,” said Jocelyn Sheltraw, Co-Founder & CEO. “We’ve brought together a team of expert ‘Budists’—including certified Ganjiers, cannabis cup judges, journalists and connoisseurs—who all have an incredible breadth of knowledge to contribute. We empower consumers to learn from them and share their own experiences, giving brands valuable insight into consumer preferences.”
Led by Sheltraw and Claudio Miranda, two industry leaders rooted in the California cannabis community, Budist serves as a welcoming place for consumers to learn from cannabis experts, discover products and share recommendations in a safe and transparent environment. It operates with a dual rating system akin to entertainment and film sites where reviews by professional critics and the general public are aggregated and shared.
Just as those aggregators disrupted the monopoly held by professional movie critics and gave a voice to everyday moviegoers, Budist is democratizing honest assessments of cannabis products. It is a transparent platform where critics are known within the industry as subject matter experts and have a background in cannabis advocacy, journalism and connoisseurship. Reviews of established brands within the California market are presented in comprehensive long-form, while detailed biographies of expert Budists are showcased on the app. This transparency is essential in circumventing the anonymity that drives trolling on other platforms and fostering the sense of community necessary to catalyze the premiumization of cannabis brands and products.
About Budist
Budist is the world’s first social review platform for the cannabis industry, empowering both consumers and professional critics to rate cannabis products using a 100-point system. Just as travelers, foodies and moviegoers use review sites to guide their purchase decisions, the Budist community shares trusted reviews across all major product categories for personal health, wellness and recreation. Editorial content celebrates the brands, producers and regions that define California’s cannabis culture and heritage. Each user brings unique perspectives and qualifications to the community, helping to ensure that people from all walks of life find the best cannabis products for their particular needs. The Budist app is available on the App Store and Google Play, and is currently accepting reviews for products sold through licensed California retailers, with more states to come online in the near future. Learn more: budist.com
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