Jimmy McCune at Planet Nugg, the new cannabis dispensary.
Jimmy McCune, who helped fuel the growth of Long Island’s craft beer industry as a marketing and branding guru, has switched his focus to yet another up-and-coming industry on Long Island – cannabis.
McCune has launched his own digital marketing agency, Celestial Branding, and in addition to craft beer is now handling marketing for the new marijuana dispensary Planet Nugg to help spread the word about legal recreational cannabis products. McCune provided marketing and design services to Long Island’s first craft brewery, Blue Point Brewing, at its founding in 1998 until its sale to Anheuser Busch in 2014.
“When we launched Blue Point Brewing, there were only 370 craft breweries in the U.S. and today there are 16,000, with more than 50 breweries here on Long Island,” said McCune. “There are a lot of similarities between the current state of the cannabis industry and the humble beginnings of craft beer on Long Island.”
Planet Nugg opened in Farmingdale in September, becoming the third adult-use state-licensed cannabis dispensary to open on Long Island. Since New York State legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, only four towns on Long Island — Babylon, Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton — have opted in to allow sales through dispensaries. Shops recently opened in Southampton and Riverhead. Brookhaven expects to have cannabis dispensaries open by 2025.
A Long Island native, McCune received a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in communications from the New York Institute of Technology and began his career at Team Services in Woodbury, working with sports and entertainment clients. He also became New York State’s youngest college professor, teaching advertising and design at NYIT and Farmingdale State College.
In 2013, McCune joined EGC Group, Long Island’s largest marketing agency, and built and served as executive director of EGC’s Craft Beverage Marketing Division. The division provided a full range of services including visual ID and branding, package design, strategic marketing and promotions. In that role he also founded the Craft Beer Marketing Awards, a global competition that for the past six years has awarded trophies known as “The Crushies” to recognize the best marketing and design across the brewing industry.
Among McCune’s clients were craft breweries from across the country and the New York metro area, including Garvies Point and Captain Lawrence. He also worked with industry service providers such as global hop supplier Hopsteiner, logistics provider DHL, and equipment supplier Lotus Beverage Alliance.
McCune said he sees tremendous growth potential for Planet Nugg and other cannabis dispensaries and brands opening on Long Island. Planet Nugg’s 5,000-square-foot retail space sells a wide variety of marijuana organized by product categories such as flower, edibles, pre-rolls, concentrates, topicals, infused beverages, and accessories. The brand’s vibe is outer space and alien, with brightly lit glass cases that showcase the products and an attentive squad of knowledgeable budtenders, who receive extensive training on the products and their uses.
“Most of Planet Nugg’s customers are not looking to get high, they are looking for plant-based medicines to help relieve everyday health issues including chronic issues like pain management, insomnia, and anxiety,” said McCune. “Part of our marketing challenge is to educate the public on these uses to reduce the stigma around cannabis and promote the many health benefits associated with the plant when consumed responsibly and purchased in a clean, regulated environment.”
Planet Nugg has four partners – Dave Tubens, Walter Bonilla, Paul Doreste and Umberto Romero — all native Long Islanders and Latino business owners. Tubens, who is a chiropractor, qualified for Planet Nugg’s license through New York State’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program, which provides licenses to minority business owners who had a marijuana-related conviction, which he had as a teenager.
The partners purchased the building on Wellwood Avenue where Planet Nugg is located, which also includes The Cloud Lounge, a 5,000-square-foot event space with a heated outdoor patio area. Planet Nugg is using the space to hold educational forums for the community and host promotional events. On Dec. 10, The Cloud will hold an Opioid Overdose Responder Training hosted by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.
“As an owner of Planet Nugg, I’m extremely proud to hold this first-of-a-kind Narcan training at a dispensary to help our local community with the illicit drug epidemic,” said Tubens. “If we can save just one life then it’s all worth it.”
Planet Nugg recently started a cannabis delivery service and is planning to open additional locations to expand across Long Island, including in the towns of Riverhead and Brookhaven.
“We’re optimistic about the future growth of this industry,” said McCune, “and I’m so excited to be helping Planet Nugg lead the way.”
Planet Nugg is located at 2043 Wellwood Ave. in Farmingdale. For more info, visit planetnugg.com.
Bernie Kilkelly is the editor and publisher of LIBeerGuide.com.