TORCHES

Building New York's brightest retail experience.

Brand Creation:

Active Positioning
Visual Identity
Verbal Identity
Art Direction

NEW YORK, LIT DIFFERENT

THE CHALLENGE

Legalization opened the doors. Everyone rushed in. What followed? A wave of dispensaries that felt interchangeable. Boring. Or worse, cliché. We had the bones. The famed Nat Sherman Townhouse on East 42nd. A block from Grand Central. What was needed was clarity. Conviction. A voice that could live up to its ambition. Because this wasn’t about opening a shop. And turning a retail footprint into “an institution waiting to be born.”

HOME OF THE ENLIGHTENED

CREATING THE ACTIVE POSITION

Torches (a name we coined for them) didn't want to pull any punches. "We say what we mean and we mean what we say. Spoken like a true New Yorker.” That became the foundation. The manifesto says it all: “WE BELIEVE in taking your pleasures seriously. WE BELIEVE in having high standards—for weed, friends, and bagels. WE BELIEVE in plenty. Of opinions and ambition.” We needed to create a place, and a brand, that offered liberty and lightness for all. Old World sensibility. New World efficiency. Torches became more than a dispensary. It became a standard. A home for the enlightened. 

MORE THAN A STORE

BRAND ACTION

We built a brand system that could hold culture. From the Torches wordmark and NYC lockup to the torch flame icon, every element carries weight. The voice does the same. “WELCOME TO THE PARLOR. A place to spark your senses." Not just a consumption lounge. A space to indulge, enjoy, and unwind among friends, new and old. We built an experience sttrategy filled with listening parties. Tastings. Workshops. City guides. A roster of events offering more than a few ways to light up. Every touchpoint reinforces the promise: “YOUR SOURCE FOR A LIT LIFE.” Torches didn’t enter the category quietly. It showed up like a New Yorker. And started lighting the way.

“Finally time to exhale (or inhale if so inclined)”

—ARNOLD COHEN, CLIENT