Candy Industry Senior Editor Liz Parker was recently able to talk to Kristi Palmer, co-founder, Kiva Confections, about its cannabis-infused edibles, its new packaging, and what's next for the brand.

In 2010, a young cannabis-loving couple set out on a mission to create a better edible experience for legal consumers. Scott and Kristi Palmer were inspired by a visit to a local chocolatier and soon started crafting the first Kiva Bars in their home kitchen.

Today, the company is proud to employ 400+ passionate people and has added Terra, Petra, Camino, and Lost Farm to its family of premium cannabis products.

Liz Parker: Can you tell me a little about Kiva Confections and how it got its start?

Kristi Palmer: Kiva Confections was started back in 2010 when my husband and I set out on a mission to create a better edible experience for legal consumers. We were inspired by a visit to a local chocolatier and soon started crafting our first Kiva chocolate bar right in our kitchen at home in the Bay Area. Today we’re one of the most recognized edible brands in cannabis with our award-winning family of Kiva bars, Camino gummies, Petra mints, Terra bites, and Lost Farm gummies and chews. Customers can find our products throughout thousands of dispensaries in CA, AZ, NV, MO, MI, IL, OH, OK, MA, and HI.

LP: What is new for the company in terms of confectionery cannabis edibles?

KP: Kiva is always innovating and expanding. 

With Lost Farm, we are always releasing exciting limited edition strain and flavor combos for our fans- and we are currently expanding the line to include solventless live rosin options in addition to our 100% live resin-infused edibles. We recently did a great collaboration with the skateboarding and lifestyle company HUF with formulations and designs that honored two cities near and dear to both of us- San Francisco and Los Angeles. We are delighted to bring this collaboration to Illinois in April, where Lost Farm won “Best Gummy Edible” in the Budtender’s Choice Awards. 

For Camino, we recently launched our newest Camino Sours flavor, Strawberry Sunset, which boasts an indica-like ‘Chill’ effectre and a refreshing strawberry citrus flavor. Next up for Camino, we have our 2023 Passionfruit Punch “Pride” gummies. Originally launched in 2019, Camino Pride has become one of our most-anticipated limited edition products. In the last five years we have donated over $200,000 to various LGBTQ+ charities. This year we will be hyper-focused on local organizations in the states Camino Pride will be sold in- California, Michigan, Ohio, Massachusetts, Arizona, and Nevada. It’s incredibly exciting to be bringing this passion project to so many new consumers and to be promoting diversity, inclusion, and equality on a national scale. If that wasn’t enough, there’s even more exciting news coming for Camino which I can’t disclose just yet- but stay tuned.

We recently launched a 4/20 Special collaboration with our favorite West Coast burger chain Fatburger and created the first-ever Cannabis Ketchup, which has been wildly successful. Kiva x Fatburger Cannabis Ketchup is Kiva’s very first ‘canndiment,’ features 10mg of THC per packet, and is available solely in Los Angeles. The partnership between the two national brands continues our mission of pioneering innovative, yet everyday products that pave the way for cannabis normalization. 

LP: Can you speak a bit about the updated packaging for your Bars, Camino Gummies, and Terra Bites, and what makes it more sustainable than previous packaging?

KP: We’ve just gone through an exciting rebrand with Camino to really highlight the effect consumers are getting with each flavor. They will also have sleeker and slimmer packaging moving forward that is highly portable and great for on-the-go. These tins and the Terra Bite tins are fully recyclable. Our Kiva bar cartons are not only recyclable- they are fully compostable since 2020. Finding sustainable childproof packaging is a big challenge in the cannabis industry, but we are committed to doing our part where and when we can.

LP: What’s next for the company for 2023 or beyond?

KP: We’re also hard at work gearing up for our New York debut. We have lots of fans in New York and are excited to finally be there for them. We’ll be introducing our Camino and Lost Farm brands first. We always have new states and new products up our sleeve- so make sure to follow us on Instagram @madebykiva and sign up for our newsletter at kivaconfections.com to get all the latest edible updates!