Writing for BOXHOT

Known in the cannabis space for its bold, in-your-face visual identity, BOXHOT lacked the same consistency and memorability in its voice. This long-term initiative focused on clarifying and formalizing the brand’s verbal strategy to ensure a cohesive experience across all touchpoints regardless of who was writing. From social captions to campaign copy and product listing descriptions, the work aimed to repair tone drift, create a trainable brand voice true to BOXHOT’s rebellious and nostalgic identity, and strengthen audience connection and commercial wins.

Company: Motif Labs (Organigram)

Brand: BOXHOT

Art Direction (Copy): Hilary Lucio

Copywriting: Hilary Lucio

Strategy: Amanda Boltë, Josh Teitelbaum, Hilary Lucio
Get weird with it. The BOXHOT voice is cheeky, playful, and edgy with hints of nostalgia peppered in. Avoid sounding too corporate or stiff, especially when writing product descriptions. When writing for BOXHOT, the key is to explore how close you can get to the line of “going too far” without actually stepping over it. Take chances, be bold, and have fun. That’s what BOXHOT is all about.

The biggest challenge this project presented was infusing the rebellious BOXHOT personality with an approachability that was waning after a period of tone misuse. It was critical to maintain a boundary-pushing personality without crossing into crassness or audience alienation while working to repair the damage to brand perception and customer experience. As we ramped up the use of clever innuendo, flavour-forward language, and nostalgic 80s cultural references to set the BOXHOT voice apart from the crowd, this also created its own set of challenges through Health Canada’s strict content regulations. Navigating compliance while preserving the subtlety of the nostalgic nods and playful tone required careful, strategic language choices.
Beginning with an audit of the existing language to pinpoint what felt too aggressive, corporate, or unapproachable, the tone was then reworked to reflect BOXHOT’s core spirit: fun, chill, inclusive, and peppered with 80s nostalgia. To keep the rebellious edge without crossing into crassness, playful language tools like alliteration, double entendres, and clever wordplay were employed in conjunction with loose pop culture references to craft cheeky, memorable phrases that resonate with the BOXHOT demographic. Close collaboration with Regulatory Affairs was key to finding the sweet spot between amused recognition and compliance — a benchmark that guided the tone and kept it fun without crossing any lines.

Language Scales

Language scales offer clear, consistent guardrails for tone — making it easier for any contributor to quickly understand and apply the brand voice across touchpoints.

Emoji Scale

Measures visual flair through emojis, symbols, and icons.

Use your words

✏️🔥🌶️⭐️👽

Spice Scale

Tracks use of innuendo, profanity, and provocative language.

Saintly

Rated R

Technical Scale

Captures complexity, jargon, and technical phrasing.

Academic

Layman

Brevity Scale

Defines how short, punchy, or detailed the language is.

Less is more

More is more

Playfulness Scale

Gauges personality, humour, and playful energy.

Play it cool

Goofball energy

Formality Scale

Measures professionalism versus casual, conversational tone.

All business

All party

Product Description System

A product description system ensures scalable, consistent copy across product families — freeing writers to focus on unique SKU stories that build loyalty and excitement. Samples are drawn from a wider portfolio.

Family Descriptions: BOXHOT 1000 510-Thread Vapes

Used for family assets where multiple SKUs are shown

Short Description: With 1000 mg of THC and some of the purest cannabis distillate available on the market, our signature vapes stand out with their exclusive, oversized hardware, ensuring optimal performance for substantial, satisfying hits.

Long Description: With 1000 mg of THC and some of the purest cannabis distillate available on the market, our signature vapes are made with exclusive, oversized hardware, making them optimal for big, full hits. Best of all, BOXHOT vapes are produced using industry-leading CO2 extraction and refining processes and feature a custom blend of expertly infused botanical terpenes.

Strain Description: Sub Zero

Used in conjunction with family descriptions when multiple SKUs are shown

This arctic hammer strikes with tangy and floral flavour, rounded out by creamy notes for the ultimate brain freeze.

SKU Descriptions: BOXHOT 1000 Sub Zero Vape

Used for SKU-specific assets and for provincial listings

BOXHOT 1000 Family + Sub Zero Strain Descriptions

Short Description: This arctic hammer strikes with 1000 mg of THC and tangy, floral, and creamy flavour notes for the ultimate brain freeze.

Long Description: BOXHOT 1000 PRESENTS: Sub Zero, a 1.2 g indica 510 vape with a colossal 1000 mg of THC and some of the purest cannabis distillate available on the market. Tap into the ultimate brain freeze and chill out with this arctic hammer strike of tangy and floral flavour rounded out by creamy notes. All BOXHOT vapes are made with exclusive, oversized hardware, making them optimal for big, full hits. Best of all, BOXHOT vapes are produced using industry-leading CO2 extraction and refining processes and feature a custom blend of expertly infused botanical terpenes.

Family Descriptions: Highlighters All-in-One Vapes

Used for family assets where multiple SKUs are shown

Short Description: A hefty dose of THC, high-purity distillate, and bold flavours from botanical terps all wrapped up in a badass USB-C rechargeable all-in-one that won't run out of juice before you do.

Long Description: BOXHOT PRESENTS: Highlighters all-in-one 1.0 g vapes, featuring a colossal dose of THC and some of the purest cannabis distillate available on the market. All Highlighters are equipped with rechargeable USB-C technology, so they won't run out of juice before you do.

Strain Description: Lemon CKS

Used in conjunction with family descriptions when multiple SKUs are shown

Dig into this tart slice of citrus sunshine, filled with zesty lemon and a cloud of creamy flavour to top ‘er off.

SKU Descriptions: Lemon CKS Highlighters

Used for SKU-specific assets and for provincial listings

Highlighters Family + Lemon CKS Strain Descriptions

Short Description: A tart slice of citrus sunshine filled with zesty lemon and a colossal dose of THC, this USB-C rechargeable sativa all-in-one is topped off with a cloud of creamy flavour.

Long Description: BOXHOT HIGHLIGHTERS PRESENT: Lemon CKS, a 1.0 g sativa all-in-one vape featuring a colossal dose of THC and some of the purest cannabis distillate available on the market. Dig into this tart slice of citrus sunshine, filled with zesty lemon and a cloud of creamy flavour to top ‘er off. All Highlighters are equipped with rechargeable USB-C technology, so they won't run out of juice before you do.

Family Descriptions: Diamond Doobies Infused Pre-Rolls

Used for family assets where multiple SKUs are shown

Short Description: Go frost yourself with these duos of iced-out pre-rolls, infused with a terp-boosted liquid diamond blend and coated in crushed diamonds for a massive hit of potency and flavour.

Long Description: Go frost yourself with BOXHOT Diamond Doobies infused half-gram pre-rolls. These duos of iced-out pre-rolls are infused with a terp-boosted liquid diamond blend then coated in a layer of crushed diamonds to deliver a massive hit of potency and flavour.

Strain Description: Code Blue

Used in conjunction with family descriptions when multiple SKUs are shown

Brace for the sweet release with a steady blue razz rhythm and a burst of fruity flavour to kickstart your tastebuds.

SKU Descriptions: Code Blue Diamond Doobies

Used for SKU-specific assets and for provincial listings

Diamond Doobies Family + Code Blue Strain Descriptions

Short Description: Crushed diamond coated and infused with a liquid diamond blend, these hybrid pre-rolls release a steady blue razz rhythm and a burst of fruity flavour to kickstart your tastebuds.

Long Description: Go frost yourself with BOXHOT Code Blue Diamond Doobies infused half-gram pre-rolls, a sweet release with a steady blue razz rhythm and a burst of fruity flavour to kickstart your tastebuds. This iced-out hybrid duo is infused with a terp-boosted liquid diamond blend then coated in a layer of crushed diamonds to deliver a massive hit of potency and flavour.

Family Descriptions: Whipped THCa Diamonds

Used for family assets where multiple SKUs are shown

Short Description: Crystal whip them taste buds with super pure, butter-smooth THCa diamonds boosted with botanical terps to deliver a one-two hit of flavour and potency.

Long Description: Blast to the future with BOXHOT Whipped Diamonds. Super pure THCa diamonds are converted to a butter-smooth consistency and boosted with botanical terps to deliver a one-two hit of flavour and potency. Add this next-gen heavy hitter to a dab rig and crystal whip them taste buds.

Strain Description: Tangerine Scream

Used in conjunction with family descriptions when multiple SKUs are shown

Brace for the sweet release with a steady blue razz rhythm and a burst of fruity flavour to kickstart your tastebuds.

SKU Descriptions: Tangerine Scream Whipped Diamonds

Used for SKU-specific assets and for provincial listings

Whipped Diamonds Family + Tangerine Scream Strain Descriptions

Short Description: Crystal whip them taste buds with super pure, butter-smooth THCa diamonds, terp-boosted to deliver a one-two hit of potency and citrus-berry flavour.

Long Description: Blast to the future with BOXHOT Tangerine Scream Whipped Diamonds, a blazing behemoth that comes alive with good citrus vibrations and a touch of berries and tropical fruits. Super pure THCa diamonds are converted to a butter-smooth consistency and boosted with botanical terps to deliver a one-two sativa hit of flavour and potency. Add this next-gen heavy hitter to a dab rig and crystal whip them taste buds.

Now that you talk the talk, let’s walk the walk.

Jump to the BOXHOT Highlighters project