In less than a decade, Gilbert “Berner” Milam Jr., has turned his COOKIES brand into a half-a-billion dollar a year enterprise. He isn’t a tech mogul turned cannabis enthusiast. He doesn’t come from a long history of money or connections. Berner is a hard-working rapper and former budtender who loves weed.
Berner started his cannabis career working in dispensaries in the San Francisco Bay Area and quickly became the go-to connection for rappers seeking luxury buds. Berner once hand-delivered a five-foot-tall plant to Wiz Khalifa during a live set. The stunt made an impression. It wasn’t long after that Khalifa signed Berner to his record label, Taylor Gang Records, in 2012.
A year later, he trademarked “COOKIES SF” as a manufacturer of t-shirts and sweatshirts, which allowed him to hang a trademarked sign outside his dispensaries. Since cannabis is federally illegal, and you can’t process a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a federally illegal substance, this was the only way to prevent others from using the name and profiting off his work. This clever maneuver was a pivotal step in Berner’s success.
His dominion over one of America’s favorite strains allowed the brand to gain global prestige. It’s available in eight medical reported his Los Angeles dispensary on Melrose can earn upward of $450,000 in a single day. Berner participated in a fireside chat during the Clio Cannabis Awards ceremony held at the Winter Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference & Expo, detailing his climb to prominence alongside friends and fellow musicians Run The Jewels. To discover what combination of drive, innovation, and ingenuity is required for such a meteoric rise, we spoke with Berner from his San Francisco recording studio.
