One small step for man, one giant leap for cannabis edibles
Space Food Sticks – the tasty cylindrical protein snacks that captured the public imagination in the 1970s – are back with an out-of-this-world twist: THC.
The release of infused Space Food Sticks represents the first time a classic American brand has entered the booming recreational cannabis edible market.
Fifty years ago, Pillsbury created Space Food Sticks for Apollo 11 astronauts to be eaten with their helmets on. A commercial spin-off was billed as the world’s first “astro-snack” and it became a lunchbox favorite, developing a cult following before disappearing from grocery store shelves in the 1970s.
The new iteration of Space Food Sticks is a joint venture between The Vivid Team of Denver, Colorado, and New York-based Retrofuture Products who are dedicated to relaunching legacy brands in the emerging cannabis edibles market.
“I was looking to bring back an iconic snack from the space age,” explains Eric Lefcowitz of Brooklyn, NY based Retrofuture Products, “and Space Food Sticks have a truly unique history.” Previously Lefcowitz marketed a non-psychoactive version of the chewy treats before pivoting into the uncharted territory of cannabis branding.
“Very few brands in cannabis have established themselves as trustworthy,” says Steffen Weck, co-president along with Jessica Cristadoro of the Vivid Team. “And we have a track record of being trustworthy with decades of experience developing mainstream CPGs. So we leapt at the chance to apply that to Space Food Sticks.”
Now marketed as “the Original Buzz” and available at both recreational and medical dispensaries in Colorado, Space Food Sticks will soon be going nationwide in legal states. “We are fielding calls from all over the country. That’s a result of brand equity as well as a growing public interest in a healthier alternative in edibles and we provide that,” explains Cristadoro.
Interest in all things space has surged thanks to Elon Musk’s Space X, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Horizons and Richard Branson’s Virgin Intergalactic. “We hope they’ll get served as inflight snacks,” Lefcowitz says.
About The Vivid Team (TVT)
Born and raised in the Consumer Products Goods (CPG) industry, The ViViD Team has successfully created and launched 1000’s of products. The ViViD Team brings the highest level of expertise to the cannabis industry, by combining the rigors of food science, engineering knowledge, and culinary creativity. Based in Denver, Colorado, The ViViD Team’s new EpiCenter / Accelerator is designed for rapid creation and commercialization of Food, Beverage, Cosmetic, and Cannabis products.
About Retrofuture Products
Founded in 2001, Retrofuture Products is a Brooklyn-based specialty-foods company known for reviving classic brands such as Space Food Sticks and Astronaut Ice Cream. Aztec Roots, their new line of probiotic traditional Mexican tepache drinks, will be available nationally in Spring 2022.
SOURCE The Vivid Team