Beyond the Bud: Cannabis Design and Branding With Autumn Karcey

Join Michele Ringelberg and Olivia Johnson in today’s episode of Marketing That POPs as they host Autumn Karcey, the Founder and CEO of Cultivo, Inc., to discuss building a scalable and sustainable cannabis business. Autumn shares her journey from garage grower to processing facility owner, shifting cannabis trends, and her vision for future industry standards.

Autumn Karcey is the Founder and CEO of Cultivo, Inc., a cannabis design consulting firm specializing in high-performance cultivation facilities. With over 20 years in the industry, she led projects across 20 US states and three countries, focusing on permit acquisition, cultivation, and environmental optimization. In 2020, Autumn launched Artemis CoPack, a 67,000-square-foot manufacturing facility producing tech-driven cannabis products. She also manages two sun-grown farms and three in-house brands, including Smugglers, Cali Girls, and Artemis Farms.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

• [2:30] Autumn Karcey debunks the myth that growing high-quality cannabis at home is easy
• [4:20] How Autumn began cultivating cannabis under California’s Proposition 215
• [6:31] Autumn’s early lessons from growing cannabis 
• [12:00] Key environmental and sustainability considerations in facility design
• [16:03] The origin story behind Artemis CoPack and insights into its large-scale drying and processing facilities 
• [20:48] Marketing strategies and over-emphasized trends in cannabis cultivation
• [27:48] Innovation, growth, and regulations: the future of the cannabis industry
• [30:54] How Autumn markets and differentiates her cannabis brands

In this episode…

With public perception, inconsistent regulations, and a lack of consumer education impacting the cannabis industry, building a cultivation brand seems risky. How can you produce high-quality cannabis at scale, stand out in an oversaturated market, and maintain sustainable practices?

As a cannabis cultivation and facility design expert, Autumn Karcey emphasizes experience, innovation, and practicality. To produce high-quality cannabis at scale, brands must maintain environmental precision — from proper HVAC planning to climate-controlled drying facilities — and adopt automation to increase efficiency without sacrificing quality. Autumn also recommends leveraging authentic storytelling, maintaining hands-on control of your brand presence, and building strong industry relationships. Additionally, brands should educate consumers on dosing and terpenes, shifting the focus away from THC percentages and toward more personalized, effective experiences.

Join Michele Ringelberg and Olivia Johnson in today’s episode of Marketing That POPs as they host Autumn Karcey, the Founder and CEO of Cultivo, Inc., to discuss building a scalable and sustainable cannabis business. Autumn shares her journey from garage grower to processing facility owner, shifting cannabis trends, and her vision for future industry standards.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Michele Ringelberg on LinkedIn
• Olivia Johnson on LinkedIn
• ThrivePOP
• Autumn Karcey on LinkedIn | Instagram  
• Cultivo, Inc. 
• Artemis Copack: Website | Instagram

Quotable Moments:

• "Cultivating on any level takes a unique attention to detail; that’s either inherent or it’s not."
• "Back in those days, cannabis was worth up to $6,000 a pound, so you individualized everything."
• "I guess I don’t really know how to do small; it’s not in my nature."
• "Everything’s a hybrid unless you found that plant growing in Afghanistan and it hasn’t been touched."
• "Your network is your net worth, and I have a pretty big network."

Action Steps:

1. Prioritize environmental precision in facility design: Proper HVAC planning and climate control are essential for maintaining crop quality and reducing costs. Over-engineering or under-engineering systems can drastically impact efficiency, energy use, and final product consistency.
2. Automate repetitive cultivation and processing tasks: Leveraging automated irrigation, trimming, and packaging systems frees up time and reduces costly human error. This allows teams to scale operations without compromising quality or increasing labor overhead.
3. Educate consumers on terpenes and dosing: Moving beyond THC percentages helps customers find products that truly fit their needs and experience levels. Proper education also reduces the risk of negative experiences that can turn new users away.
4. Invest in scalable post-harvest infrastructure: Building high-capacity, climate-controlled drying and trimming facilities ensures the flower retains its quality during peak harvest periods. This is especially critical in outdoor grows where timing and volume are unpredictable.
5. Take a hands-on approach to branding and marketing: Managing social media and brand messaging directly helps maintain authenticity and builds community trust. In a crowded market, personal storytelling and transparency can set a brand apart.

Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by ThrivePOP, the #1 cannabis marketing agency for B2B and B2C companies. 

We are a women-led team of strategists, graphic designers, social media specialists, and web developers who work with dispensaries and cannabis service businesses to implement marketing strategies in a regulated industry. 

ThrivePOP creates unique marketing campaigns to inspire, create, and grow cannabis-focused businesses.

To learn more, visit https://thrivepop.com/ or book a meeting with a dedicated marketing strategist at https://thrivepop.com/contact-us.