Musician Jimmy Buffett Signs Deal With Wrigley-Backed Pot Company

On Sept. 11, Surterra Wellness announced a major licensing deal with Alabama’s most famed soft rocker, Jimmy Buffett.

According to the press release, the new line up of products from Surterra will be developed under Buffet’s longstanding and iconic Coral Reefer brand, most associated of course with the band that has backed him up on the road since 1974.

Jimmy, as he says he prefers to see his name in print, has always been entrepreneurial via his wide array of merchandise, restaurants and, of course, tequila. The Surterra effort will add a wide spread of therapeutic cannabis products and merchandise to his repertoire.

“Finally, ‘the time has come,’ as the Walrus said,” Buffett said in an announcement on the new line. “That time being the long overdue recognition of the numerous healing properties of cannabis.”

Buffett continued: “I have followed and studied with keen intensity the recent evolvement of the medical marijuana story and the path towards the simple common-sense conclusion that cannabis is good medicine and should be made available to all who need it. I feel that joining with Surterra, in the medical cannabis world, is the right place for Coral Reefer products to be.”

A big reason for the success of Buffett’s past endeavors has been his enthusiastic fan base. As touring musical acts go, the fan support behind Buffett is often said to trail behind only the Grateful Dead. But there were some years pre-Dead & Company that he might have been in the argument for the top spot.

Margaritaville Holdings CEO John Conlan handles much of Buffett’s businesses and said that the Coral Reefer cannabis products will focus on quality and “improving people’s lives.”

“We based our decision to work with Surterra in this new industry on the professionalism of its world-class management and commitment to quality and customer service,” Conlan said.
“Surterra shares our vision of creating a cannabis wellness lifestyle brand that improves the health of millions of people around the world.”

Conlan also reiterated his faith in Surterra corporate leadership.

“Obviously, with Beau Wrigley as chairman, Surterra possesses an understanding and capability for developing and honoring iconic brands,” Cohlan said.

Yes, those Wrigleys — the chewing-gum-famous family that jumped in the cannabis industry last month. They sent Beau, who has overseen the family’s flagship brand no less. Beau joined up with Surterra to chair the board after Wrigley’s Florida-based investment arm, Wychwood Asset Management, led a $65 million fundraising effort for the cannabis company.

“Jimmy and the Margaritaville team have built premium brands that are widely admired and recognized around the world,” Wrigley said in the press release. “They share a long-term commitment to consumers and quality that we espouse at Surterra and together we have the infrastructure and capital to support fast-growing, high-quality brands. We are thrilled to be partnering with them.”

Surterra will launch the collaboration next year. Things will kick off in Florida — we’ll take a safe guess it will be near Key West — and they are planning to expand to other states in the not too distant future.

Bergmann is already overseeing Surterra’s 10 dispensaries across Florida. They are currently cultivating over 300,000 square feet of pot to support the storefronts. The most impressive of the bunch is in Miami Beach, but they also have locations in Orlando and Tampa if you need to pregame before the Magic Kingdom or Busch Gardens. Either way, Margaritaville joints are likely going to be a thing.

TELL US, if you were a celebrity, what would you name your cannabis brand?