FortuneX: How an Athlete Programme Became a Positioning Play

Cannabis has been stuck in the same tired narratives for decades. Medical. Niche. Countercultural. Pick your stereotype.

Fortune Flavours wanted to flip that script entirely. So we created FortuneX, an athlete programme that positioned cannabis not as an escape, but as fuel for performance, creativity, and courage.

This wasn't a sponsorship play. It was a brand positioning play. And it changed everything.

The Challenge

When Fortune Flavours came to us, they had quality CBD products in a crowded market. Every brand was either clinical and medicinal or leaning into stoner culture. There was no space in between. No brand saying what athletes, creators, and risk-takers already knew: cannabis can be a performance tool.

The opportunity was right there. Reframe cannabis from counterculture to performance culture.

The Unlock: Backing the Brave

We uncovered Fortune Flavours' rallying cry: cannabis as power, not stigma. The tagline "Fortune Favours The Brave" became more than words. It became the foundation of their entire positioning.

Cannabis is the flavour. Bravery is the ingredient. Together

hey unlock greatness.

From that insight, FortuneX was born. Not a typical athlete sponsorship programme, but a cultural platform backing world-class athletes who embody courage at the cutting edge of their sport. Skiers, surfers, boxers. All united under one idea: Fortune Favours The Brave.

Building a Cultural Platform

We brought on athletes with genuine stories. James "Woodsy" Woods, a freeski world champion and three-time Olympian who came from the unlikely slopes of Sheffield to the top of his sport. 

Tony Laureano, seven times the youngest big wave rider in the world to be nominated for the WSL Big Wave Award. Athletes who actually use the product and live the ethos.

These weren't just paid endorsements. These were partnerships with people who actually used the products and embodied the brand's ethos.

Then we took it further. We made Fortune Flavours the official partner of Jib League, a game-changing freeski competition founded by legends like Woodsy, Øystein Bråten, and Ferdinand Dahl. 

Jib League ditches rigid judging for jam-style sessions where skiers vote for the best performances. It's about style and creativity. Less pressure, more flavour.

The events rolled out across iconic locations: Innsbruck, Sugar Bowl California, Norway. Identity systems, content, and on-site experiences made the brand impossible to ignore. 

Fortune Flavours wasn't just sponsoring these events. They were part of the culture.

The Result

The FortuneX programme transformed Fortune Flavours from a CBD newcomer into a lifestyle brand with a global reach. Recognition across Europe. Partnerships delivering cultural credibility. Visibility in four countries. And a foundation for future growth.

By positioning cannabis through the lens of elite performance and creative courage, Fortune Flavours moved into territory competitors couldn't follow. You can't fake this positioning. You either back real athletes doing real things, or you don't.

Today, they continue to expand with the FortuneX roster and global events, keeping the brand at the heart of extreme sport and cannabis culture.

What This Unlocked

Fortune Flavours didn't try to out-compete existing CBD brands on product or price. They changed the conversation entirely, positioning cannabis through performance culture instead.

That shift gave them something no competitor could replicate: credibility with athletes, creators, and risk-takers who see cannabis as fuel, not escape.

This is what we call Blue Ocean Branding. Finding a story and space only you can own, then building a brand world around it that competitors can't follow you into.

Brand stops being decoration and becomes a growth lever. Not by being louder. By being different in a way that actually matters.

See the full project: Fortune Flavours Case Study