Wake and bake typically implies getting really high first thing in the morning, but a partnership between two startups suggests a pairing of cannabis with another plant: coffee.
Seth Rogen — actor, producer, ceramics enthusiast — founded Houseplant in 2019 with Michael Mohr and screenwriter Evan Goldberg. The lifestyle brand offers cannabis and home goods, including ashtrays, vases, sake cups, and candles.
Houseplant’s latest venture is a collaboration with flash-frozen coffee startup Cometeer on two roasts: an Ethiopian medium roast called “Been There Done That,” and a Mexican dark roast called “Get Roasted.”
Not a bad move…
… for Cometeer, which hit several snags, including slowed subscription growth, in recent years. The partnership could open up a new market for the startup.
Rogen told The Hustle that the Houseplant team had enjoyed Cometeer as customers, and that when thinking of new ventures, their thoughts turned to coffee.
“Every morning, [my wife and I] make coffee and sit and smoke a joint together,” Rogen said. “It really allows you to be very stoned, yet very alert, which is a fantastic combination.”
A casual glance…
… at Houseplant’s products reveals a curated aesthetic that’s less ‘90s-era bong rips, more functional art.
Rogen said that earlier in his career, he was tasked with selling projects he didn’t believe in.
“I feel like I was misrepresenting my own taste and my own creative aspirations, which is not fun. And so in my movies, I started to just basically never do anything that I didn’t love,” he said. “It’s exactly the same thing with Houseplant — as long as we’re making stuff we love, selling [it] is actually fun and easy.”
This kind of higher-end branding — often targeting cannabis connoisseurs who wouldn’t identify with pop-culture stoner stereotypes — has become more common as legalization has pushed the plant from a taboo to something people can openly consume, even with their morning coffee.