Ali Bianco wants to elevate the cannabis world one pink pre-roll at a time. Since high school, she’s been sick of the stigma around weed and the idea that stoners are lazy and unkempt. Inspired by Blake Lively’s character smoking pink cigarettes in the 2011 film Hick, Ali decided to “make weed something beautiful” with a feminist kick.
Now, she’s the CEO and founder of Pinks, the “Canna Couture” brand created by women and for women who want a more sophisticated and feminine cannabis experience. “It’s a great smoke and a fashion accessory,” Ali says of her signature pink pre-rolls. Created out of the growing demand for high-quality and socially conscious cannabis, Pinks seeks to rewrite some of the old scripts about who uses cannabis and who it’s for. Committed to elegance and women’s empowerment, Ali also partners with BYG Growers of New York for their commitment to high-quality, organic cannabis and sustainable farming.
Pinks was born from an unlikely encounter—Ali met her first investor in the summer of 2022 when she spilled enough soy sauce on his pants to catch his attention. Though she was working as a waitress at the time, she knew she wanted to be a businesswoman, and when she told him about her plans to “dominate the legal cannabis market on the East Coast,” he was all in. From there, she sourced the perfect pink packaging and pink cones—surprisingly hard to find, she said, since she wanted her paper to be high quality, dyed with hemp oil, and not translucent. She rolled each joint herself, infusing some with her now signature rose petals for an extra special and euphoric high.
In addition to waitressing, Ali was also a performer and producer in the music industry, and when she launched Pinks, she got a lot of love and support from influencers in that community. Specifically, her friends Tiana Parker and Mariahlynn of Love and Hip Hop fame promoted Pinks, and Tiana’s then-husband Fatboy performed at Pinks’ launch party. “All the Love and Hip Hop girls were buying Pinks,” Ali says, and in turn, they were promoting her products to millions of followers on social media. “We got a lot of celebrity love.”
She cites another career turning point as the day Pinks got a dedicated celebrity locker at New York’s beloved Jue Lan Kitchen. Typically reserved for celebrities like Nicki Minaj, the lockers at Jue Lan aren’t offered to brands. However, when Ali gave the restaurant owner a pack of Pinks to try, he called her up the next day to say the classy pink cannabis had started a conversation with every single girl at the club the night before.
“He called them the ‘Chick Magnet’,” Ali laughs, which led her to a new marketing campaign idea: Real Men Smoke Pinks. “Pinks is about this girly-pop vibe, but it’s also about empowering other women,” she says, pointing out how, in the photo shoot, the man is on the ground while the woman stands tall over him. “To all the people who say Pinks is only appealing to girls, Pinks is appealing to everyone, including strong women like ourselves.”
“Hot men love Pinks immediately,” Ali laughs, speaking about the secure men who can “remove the misogynistic goggles and look at the bigger picture,” seeing the benefits and fun regardless of gender. “Men can be so scared to admit that they like the color pink, but it was actually a masculine color initially,” she says. “I love being able to go up to men and explain that [Pinks] is so much more than the color—it’s the mission and the purpose too. But also, it’s the perfect way to start a conversation with a girl.”
Men can be so scared to admit that they like the color pink, but it was actually a masculine color initially.
Earlier this year, Ali continued her creative, upscale marketing by launching the Pinks 420 Collection at an exclusive event at New York Fashion Week, where she welcomed 160 retailers, industry media, New York fashion influencers, and Vogue models. Next up, Pinks is partnering with Pretty Tokers for a product collaboration that’s especially close to Ali’s heart. “We’re launching a CBD-infused, water-based lube together and using it to advocate for survivors of sexual assault,” Ali says.
As an SA survivor herself, Ali developed incredibly painful vaginismus as a trauma response. “I had to go to a lot of pelvic floor therapy and [talk] therapy to rewire my body and brain to accept that sex is okay,” she says. This CBD-infused lube line helps “relax your muscles to make sex safer and more fun.” She wants these products to help not only fellow SA survivors but also members of the kink and BDSM communities.
Ali hopes to use this collaboration—and her favorite plant—to spread awareness about vaginismus and the aftermath of sexual assault. “I felt so alone when I first got diagnosed,” she says before she finally found a gynecologist who knew about vaginismus and offered trauma-informed care. “It felt so good to finally be understood and seen,” Ali says. “Now I’ve found a world of people who get me. I felt so alone, but nobody is alone in this world. You’re not the only person going through it, and you don’t need to suffer in silence.”
When asked about being a woman in the male-dominated cannabis industry, Ali lights up. “I love being a woman in a ‘mannabis’ world!” she says. “I’m really excited to be in this industry. If other girls want to join us, come join us.”
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