Staff
The Fresh Toast reported that it has had 11 days of unprecedented traffic with Saturday setting another huge single-day record. The company’s publisher JJ McKay said that he is expecting a 10-15% increase this month. “We have rocketed on Alexa, Amazon’s digital tracking service, and surpassed High Times globally as well as maintaining our lead in the US.”
The company stressed that its traffic was organic and not purchased. Some cannabis websites have recently seen their page views plunge as paying for traffic became unsustainable.
PostMedia out of Canada said that The Fresh Toast was their number one cannabis content partner. McKay said that it was the largest mainstream voice in cannabis. “Weedmaps, Leafly and High Times all focus on the stoner/connoisseur – roughly 19% of the market and we have the other 81%,” he said.
Last month the cannabis media company launched an updated, fresh site. McKay said that the company had moved into the dominant consumer and medical marijuana media position in Canada and have laid the framework in the United States. “Once the new site “settled in, it started roaring with traffic,” McKay said, adding that the new platform allowed the company to enhance advertising income and, in April the company would begin posting sponsored content. “With the updated site, we will be able to take advantage of Apple’s (AAPL) new focus. Currently, we are a lead cannabis channel on Apple News,” McKay said.
The Fresh Toast stated that from its data sources it strongly appeals to 71% of the market and moderately appeals to another 10%. “19% of the heavy cannabis users may read us for fun, but maybe not for knowledge,” said McKay. “The flip can be said for the more weed-centric sites like Weedmaps, Leafly, Herb, etc. with them appealing to 19-26% of the market.”
In addition to providing general cannabis news, The Fresh Toast has a partnership with physicians and medical professions and positions the website to be the “medical information source for mainstream physicians and doctor’s offices in the US and Canada” recommended by physicians in clinics and offices around the country. The Fresh Toast also has a continuum of care for medical marijuana use overseen by a doctor, giving readers a journey from learning about cannabis and their illness, reading patient stories, and ending with how to use the product and where to purchase.
Capital Raise
With equity funding, we will be profitable within a year and highly profitable within two years. Investors/champions include a former Dan Nordstrom, Carolyn Kelly (former president of the Seattle Times), Glenn Johnson (former EVP/ President Alaska Air Group), Denny Post, and a host of other blue-chip names. Some investors have chosen to remain private.
