Smokiez/Spinellos deceptive cannabis gummies labeling…not cool man.
- Collin Christenbury
- Feb 21
- 1 min read
How does Smokiez Spinellos advertise “NO HFC” on the front of the box…
…but list corn syrup as the first ingredient?
That is deceptive labeling. Full stop.
You cannot position yourself as clean and premium while leading with the very ingredient family you’re trying to distance yourself from.
Consumers are not stupid.
I work retail. I watch the buying behavior in real time.
Customers pick it up.
They read it.
They hesitate.
They put it back.
And then they grab Tastebudz.
Same price.
Rosin-based.
Clear labeling.
No ingredient gymnastics.
This is not a formulation issue.
This is a messaging integrity issue.
If you want to say “no high fructose corn syrup,” say that clearly.
Don’t build a halo around the claim and then lead with corn syrup and hope people won’t notice.
Because they do.
And here’s the part that should concern leadership:
People are actively talking about this in store.
They are switching brands because of it.
And there has been zero response from Smokiez Handcrafted Edibles.
Silence reads like avoidance.
If there is a legitimate explanation, share it.
Educate the consumer.
Own the nuance.
But ignoring it while competitors quietly gain shelf preference is not a strategy.
Transparency builds loyalty.
Half-clarity erodes it.
Smokiez, what’s the explanation?
Because your customers deserve one.
Although both are made from cornstarch, these two syrups should not be confused with the other. In fact, high fructose corn syrup is made from regular corn syrup. Think of high fructose corn syrup as the highly processed and altered child of corn syrup.
For corn syrup, the glucose gets extracted from corn, then made into a syrup by using boiling water. Put simply, corn syrup is essentially just liquid glucose.
High fructose corn syrup doesn't stop there. The glucose from the cornstarch gets converted into fructose after exposure to enzymes, thus resulting in a different, much sweeter product. Manufacturers of HFCS can control the sweetness level by limiting the amount of fructose converted. This is why you can find…