A new brand has entered the chat, and its focus is on the Latino consumer and their intrinsic part of modern cannabis culture.
“Latinos are driving so much of today’s economic growth, especially in one of the country’s fastest growing industries – cannabis,” says Jesús Burrola, CEO of Posibl and the co-founder of Humo. “We’re excited to bring our community a brand through which they can identify — and our broader cannabis community — the highest quality, sustainably grown flower at an affordable price.”
Humo Brand Partner Susie Plascencia, who is also the co-founder of Mota Glass, founder the grassroots organization called Latinas in Cannabis, and a former cannabis journalist, spoke with me on the cultural significance of her new venture Humo, the company’s nostalgic, unique strains, and what it means to give back by funding expungement clinics through The Social Impact Center.
Tell me about Humo: what is its mission, what are the ethics and the ideologies of the brand?
Susie Plascencia: Humo is a cannabis company that is committed to the Latino community. We are a Mexican-owned brand and we are aiming to create space for Latinos in an industry that has historically caused harm to Latinos in the past.
Latinos have been in the industry for decades, we’ve been here: as growers, budtenders, managers. We’ve never gotten the representation we deserved.
You don’t see Latino culture represented on shelves. Latinos hold a ton of buying power right now, we are responsible for $1.7 trillion in buying power in the U.S. Our perceptions are changing in regards to our views on cannabis. Latinos are the ones pushing for legalization among our communities. What’s happening I think is, many Latinos are going to college, finding those careers we are passionate about. We are making more money and investing in brands that speak to us and speak to our demographic.
Humo is coming at a perfect time. ‘Latinos are represented finally,’ has been the common feeling, when they hear about, when they see it. Finally there is something that speaks to us and represents us. We’ve arrived. It’s a great feeling to have this impact.
I love the design and the branding is gorgeous. What was your process and inspiration for the creativity and the colors of the Humo brand?
We really wanted to make sure we were iconic from the get go. The H from the Humo is becoming as iconic as the “Cookies c”, that’s my goal. It spoke to the longevity we are hoping to achieve with the brand. Longevity was at the core. We wanted it to be simple, clean, iconic from the get go. We wanted to align ourselves with branding that those in the latino community are familiar with: the Topo Chico, the Coke, lean into the image that the community accepts so we can convey that trust early on.
Regarding our colors, we are looking to stand out, to start strong, we have that strong red. We want to stand out on shelves but it also tip-toes on our heritage, the strong red seen in so many of the Latin countries’ flags.
What are some of the strains/genetics on the Humo lineup?
I’m actually really excited about the strains. The main strategy we took is, I wanted to make sure there is a story that is in every aspect of the brand. We are launching with 7 strains. One of them is the Pastelito, which means ‘little cakes’ in Spanish. This is an indica-dominant hybrid strain. The terpene profile is very vanilla, nutty, sweet, creamy. It’s a cross between Wedding cake and Gelato. These strains are really well-known, they’re kind of legendary. When people hear Wedding Cake, they know that flavor profile and know what to expect. It gives people a way in to what the feeling is that you will receive and also the terpenes and flavor profile.
Another one that has been a show stopper at presentations, when I bring out the Limonada, it has been really powerful. A cross between Pink Lemonade #2 and the Huckleberry Soda. A lot of people are familiar with Mexican Coke, and we also have Mexican Limonada. It’s a little bit more tart, a little more sweet than a lemonade. When I smoke this strain, when I read the terpene profile, there is a lot of limonene, a lot of citrus, sativa characteristics you can expect. It also gives you an in to our culture and what’s unique about it.
I’m really grateful we have this strain because it’s honestly really hard to grow this strain. You need to have a deep knowledge about growing, that’s what great about our parent company Posibl. With their agricultural background, they’re able to grow the most complicated strains. This is one that requires the most care to it. It’s a show stopper with gorgeous purple nugs, a really great scent to it.
Pulque is named after the Aztec drink of the Gods. It’s over 2,000 years old, it’s a Mexican kombucha-style drink. This strain is a cross between GMO Cookies and Lemon OG. When I sampled it, wow, does this pack a punch. It was really strong, really potent high. When I read more about it and experienced it, I thought, this is a Pulque. It wakes you up. This smoke is so pungent. It’s our highest-testing strain. When people smoke these, they have been learning about their own Latino culture. That has been impactful for me. Those are 3 strains Im really excited to educate about. The names have duel purpose, you get a glimpse of what cannabis means to Latino culture.
Jamaica, it’s actually a hibiscus drink thats used in a lot of Latin cultures and in Mexican culture. This is a sativa-dominant strain with dense buds. It’s a cross between an OG Kush and a Strawberry Diesel. I love this strain for those who know the Agua Frescas: it’s sweet and herbal.
Another hybrid is called La Novia, which means ‘the girlfriend.’ It’s a blend between Wedding Cake and the Mendo Breath, two legendary strains. The Mendo Breath has so much history in NorCal. It’s an indica-dominant hybrid with a bold flavor profile. We called it the girlfriend because it’s a familiar strain that you can depend on. This is appealing to those who want to smoke something familiar.
The Cajeta strain is like a Dulce de Leche, but it’s made with goat’s milk. It’s super creamy, super delicious. When I was a little girl, we had a tub of it, and I would climb up there and get it and eat spoonfuls of it. You could put it on pancakes, on waffles, or just eat it from the fridge. It’s delicious, creamy. I smoked a blunt of it to the dome to experience it and it was so smooth and creamy, flavor profiles of Vanilla and Carmel. It’s a cross between the OG KB and the Mendo Montage. I’m really proud about this strain, the naming nailed the way you’re going to experience it. It’s a bit of nostalgia. Cajeta is a little bit special and I think other people have their own fridge story as well. It means something to them. To see it represented in cannabis is so special on different levels.
El Patron, is so ideal for daytime. If you like sativas, this is our highest-testing sativa strain we have. This one is for the worker bees who love to work while smoking, entrepreneur, canna bosses. It’s called El Patron which means ‘the boss,’ it has spicy, earthy tones, with a hint of tart lemon.
The genetics are so important. We are the farm, we are Posibl’s in-house brand. So we have consistency and more strains. We also get to drop joints soon, so we are really excited for that.
And what are your favorite strains to smoke personally, does it depend on your mood?
For me, it depends on my mood, what I’m doing, the time of day. Because lately, if I have to do some creative work, I’m going El Patron. Because that strain has the ability to get you to focus on whatever you’re doing. If I’m having a light morning and I’m taking my dog Taco out for a walk, I’m going with the Limonada because it’s a lighter sativa that makes me so happy. If it’s mid afternoon, I’m going for Cajeta, I’m going for hybrid in the afternoon. Come evening time, I want to smoke Pulque, let’s get to bed. Most consistently, I want to say Cajeta has been my go-to. At the end of the day it’s so smooth. It’s so creamy and carmel-y. I will smoke it anytime.
I know you’re on shelves in California: do you want to expand Humo’s footprint in the state, or are there other states/marketplaces you are eyeing to enter in the future?
Oh yes, we are going National. Humo is going National. The Latino population is nationwide, and so are we. We are taking it slow focusing on California first, but we have aspirations of Humo being a nationwide lifestyle brand. Cannabis is a lifestyle. Part of our brand includes the clothing I was wearing at the event, it’s a lifestyle. Latino cannabis consumers, you have a brand that will help you identify, and help you destigmatize cannabis within your family, your community, and within yourself. We want to give them a brand to help them live in their truth as a cannabis users. That’s the power of this brand, it’s awakening people.
I co-own Mota Glass, a Veteran and Latina-owned glass company. It’s focused on protecting local glass blowing. Someone bought a bong from us and I went to personally deliver their new bong. He was like, oh thank you so much. I also want you to know I went to LA cannabis and I asked them to carry Humo. I want you guys to carry Humo. It’s so beautiful to see our community is responding to us already.
What has been missing from representation in the cannabis culture?
People are hearing, they’re ultimately reacting. When you support Humo, you’re supporting more diverse ownership in cannabis. We are also women-led, I am part owner of this brand. I’m leading marketing, sales. You’re supporting women in cannabis, Latinas in Cannabis, something I’m very passionate about. My passion is providing dream cannabis jobs for people of color, for women of color. Through Humo, Mota glass, we want to help repair the War on Drugs through action.
Action means, creating more jobs. Normalization and true acceptance is coming over time, but through career opportunities is how it’s going to happen the most. I got to share with grandmother. I’m grateful careers are the way in to really normalize it and accept it. My grandmother seeing her face when I got to show her the front page of the la times, i was like I have a career in this. That’s all they want for us. Cannabis did this for me. Through Humo, this is how we are creating real change. We are supporting farmers up in Salinas through greenhouse growing, it allows for year-round grows, year-round career opportunities for local farm workers. It aligns so much with what i believe in.
The amazing nonprofit you’re donating to is called the Social Impact Center, I understand this is the first time they’ve ever worked with a cannabis company. Tell me a bit about that organization and why you want to support its work in the community?
We are working with The Social Impact Center. We are so proud to contribute meaningfully to their transformative mission. They're leading with education, and we’re excited to support their mission. They specialize in education in cannabis, bilingual education. That’s so important for legalization, for destigmatization, to have an organization that focuses on education first is key to starting this repair on our community. They do a lot of education, they work with UCLA Canna Club, USC Canna Club. We have some other USC alums on Poisibl’s team. One of the things that I was really drawn to is the fact that they put on expungement clinics. Expungement clinics are key when we talk about doing meaningful work in the community, repairing the War on Drugs. It starts with meaningful action. It often starts with a job. They don’t want a handout, they want a job to be able to earn it themselves. Because of over criminalization targeted towards people of color, many people of color are unable to get meaningful job opportunities because of their record. We are starting with jobs first empowering you to really take care of your own family.
That experience was invaluable to me, I took that to cannabis. Careers in cannabis are the start of destigmatization , normalization, and also dignity. We are supporting and sponsoring Expungement Clinics. Felicia Carbajal is one of the cofounders of The Social Impact Center, she’s one of the leaders here. She’s someone who’s been in cannabis since the 90’s, she’s been through a lot. She talks about her journey on the Lady Buds documentary, she’s one of the 5 women profile in this doc. She’s very careful on who they align with in cannabis brands because they’re not new. She’s been around. She was like, yes, no questions. It was a Latina power moment, a Chicana power moment. This is an organization that deserves it. Their work is changing lives. Their work is so impactful to LA’s cannabis community. It’s a genuine partnership.
