Epican jumps on board with Xodus

The carnival season has begun, and Jamaica’s first legal cannabis outlet, Epican, is ensuring that it is part of the excitement.

“As Epican continues to evolve as a brand, so does Xodus. With that evolution comes greater growth and improvement; we see this as a step along our upward trajectory,” Jermaine Bibbons, head of ­marketing at Epican, disclosed.

“Carnival is a celebration of ­culture, an explosion of colour, and an expression of freedom. This is at the heart of Epican’s brand identity. We are elated to be on board with Xodus’ premium band, Envy, ­especially with the fusion of the genres of soca and dancehall in recent years. Dancehall and Jamaica are synonymous, and so are dancehall and cannabis,” he added.

Carnival in Jamaica now boasts a mix of genres, with something for everyone. Kamal Bankay, co-chairman of the Sports and Entertainment Linkages Network TEF and chairman of the National Carnival Committee in Jamaica, echoes similar sentiments. He believes that the uniqueness of Jamaica’s carnival has created growth across different sectors, which has increased Gross Domestic Product and has allowed for Brand Jamaica to be on a wider scale globally and internationally. He emphasised the tremendous increase in growth within the tourism sector as visitors from all over the globe want to experience something outside the box, “not like the Trinidad carnival product”.

“This era of social media has many persons viewing the photos of our carnival on Instagram and Facebook. It looks exciting, and so, they want to experience it for themselves. Jamaicans and foreigners can be more involved as the festival doesn’t cater to a niche market anymore, and so the experience is adjusted to ensure everyone is satisfied,” Bankay said.

Epican has been in ­operation for approximately a year, and Xodus has been operating independently (of its parent, Dream Entertainment) for the past two years.

“It’s a win! Epican and Xodus are super excited about this partnership,” Bibbons ended.

Xodus’ ultra-premium section, Envy, will boast a ‘Go Green with Envy’ truck sponsored by the highly publicised cannabis ­company, which will also be one of the many retail outlets for Xodus tickets. In March, the Xodus showroom will see Epican doing various ­activations in anticipation of the road march.

The cannabis outlet will host its own carnival event at its premium lounge in the Marketplace, Kingston, as part of Jamaica’s 2019 carnival offerings.