\u201cIt\u2019s more about variety today,\u201d Hirschfeld said. \u201cThat\u2019s what you want. The market changes very quickly, so you can\u2019t sit on stuff. When we started, we were basically a water pipe\/bong show. At one point, it was 70 percent all water pipes; today, it\u2019s 20 to 25 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Known for its glass art, this month\u2019s Las Vegas CHAMPS also featured 39 of the best glass artists from 2021 who all competed in a glass-blowing competition called \u201cGlass Games,<\/a>\u201d which was set up in the center of the convention hall. <\/p>\n \u201cGlass Games started in 2009 to highlight the beautiful artwork and quality of American glass,\u201d Hirschfeld said. The winner will take home $10,000. <\/p>\n CHAMPS\u2019 dedication to preserving cannabis culture and celebrating the community\u2019s creativity is also evident. Whether you\u2019re working behind a booth or walking the floor, most everyone seemed to have a smile on their face\u2014happy to connect with new and old friends in the industry. <\/p>\n Sean Dietrich<\/a>, a painter\/illustrator out of Washington state, has designed the covers of CHAMPS Show Magazine<\/a> for three years now. He\u2019s been coming to CHAMPS for a decade to promote his artwork, and in that time, he says the biggest evolution he\u2019s seen is in marketing and branding, and how people have started having more creative approaches with their products.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a massively creative community,\u201d Dietrich said. \u201cI was worried it was going to go away, but I think it\u2019s going in the right direction. CHAMPS has been great at promoting that. They\u2019ve been very supportive of the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n For Dietrich, who\u2019s not a big social media person, CHAMPS is especially important for both product promotion and building connections with his target market. <\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s being able to interact with stores personally,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get to invite the shops into the booth so they can actually hold and touch the products.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to cannabis artists, a range of businesses flocked to CHAMPS, including cannabis, CBD, Kratom, Delta-8, nicotine and HHC brands. The introduction of new cannabinoids and smoking products was prevalent. <\/p>\n Longstanding lighter companies BIC <\/a>and Zippo<\/a>, historically associated with cigarette smokers, were also tapping into the cannabis market. In the background of BIC\u2019s booth, a commercial for their EZ Reach lighter featuring Snoop Dog and Martha Stewart ran on a loop. Meanwhile, Zippo promoted their relatively new butane inserts in an attempt to appeal to cannabis and cigar smokers preferring a \u201ccleaner\u201d tasting experience. <\/p>\n Todd Townsend, Director of Domestic Sales with Zippo, has been to four tradeshows in the past two weeks, and said CHAMPS has been the busiest by far. <\/p>\n \u201cThere have been a lot of first-time retailers we\u2019ve met with and been able to convert them to Zippo,\u201d he said, adding that CHAMPS is a great place for them to branch out and introduce the product to a new consumer group. <\/p>\n \u201cThe butane inserts are designed for alternative uses and play to this market very well,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re that retro product that\u2019s not disposable.\u201d <\/p>\n While Zippo and BIC are using CHAMPS as a way to break into the cannabis space, some others are more focused on connecting with existing clients and building brand recognition. Returning to CHAMPS for their eighth consecutive year, Futurola <\/a>released seven new products at the show and also offered demonstrations of their Cone Master 1500, an automated pre-roll machine. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a chance for us to really showcase products to the consumer market,\u201d said Bri Tolp, a Futurola Account Executive. \u201cWe\u2019re able to get in front of buyers and strengthen existing relationships and show new products we have.\u201d <\/p>\n The Denver-based Blazy Susan<\/a> team also seemed to be having a good time with their constantly packed booth, filled with both friends and clients. The company\u2019s brand manager, Zach Rudio, said he was excited to reconnect with clients and some of the social media influencers they work with.<\/p>\n \u201cCHAMPS is the best,\u201d he said. \u201cWe get to see everyone from a distribution perspective as well as influencers we work with. CHAMPS is a really good place for us to come and make connections.\u201d<\/p>\n Connections. Not just business transactions, but valuable relationships. That\u2019s perhaps the biggest reason why people keep coming back to CHAMPS trade shows, year after year. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been very fortunate,\u201d Hirschfeld said, clearly proud of how successful CHAMPS continues to be. \u201cI started in my garage in 1999, and it\u2019s been an incredible journey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Walking the aisles of the 23rd annual CHAMPS trade show in Las Vegas from Feb. 2-5, the consensus was clear among exhibitors and buyers: It was the busiest CHAMPS event yet, and it was a hit. Founded in 1999, the expo has certainly grown and evolved over the years, along with the larger public positive perception of cannabis and increasing wave towards legalization. \u201cWe\u2019ve been growing everywhere,\u201d said Jeff Hirschfeld, founder and owner of CHAMPS trade shows, which take place annually in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Denver, Orlando and Chicago. \u201cBesides the COVID year [2020], we\u2019ve never had a down… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4096"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4096\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/champs-returns-to-las-vegas-for-23rd-annual-show.jpg\")
<\/a>Preserving Creative Roots of Cannabis Culture<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/champs-returns-to-las-vegas-for-23rd-annual-show-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Businesses Branch Out, Reach New Consumers <\/strong><\/h4>\n
Building Connections<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/champs-returns-to-las-vegas-for-23rd-annual-show-2.jpg\")
<\/a>![](\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/champs-returns-to-las-vegas-for-23rd-annual-show-3.jpg\")
<\/a>