2026 MJBizCon Innovation Awards Official Rules – Products Competition
After familiarizing yourself with the rules of the contest, you can begin the process to upload your MJBizCon Innovation Awards product entry. Click here to submit your entry.
Overview
The MJBizCon Innovation Awards (the “Contest”) Competition sponsored by Emerald (the “Sponsor”) honors exhibitors for superior products that fulfill the following criteria: meeting market need, technological advancement, merit, and innovation. If you are an exhibitor of MJBizCon 2026 that has unveiled or will unveil a new product between January 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027, that has not been previously entered, you’re eligible to enter the 2026 MJBizCon Innovation Awards Competition. It is an independently judged awards program recognizing superior products, and it is optional to participate.
Categories
We expect product- and people-specific awards in the following categories: *
- Equipment & Materials Technology Award
- Genetic Advancement Award
- Environmental Impact Award
- Manufacturing Excellence Award
- Packaging Ingenuity Award
- Lab Services Transformation Award
- Business Services Imagination Award
- Retail Experience Award
- Innovation of the Year
- Innovator of the Year
*The judges have the final say on the category awards and will reserve the right to assign products to specific award categories at their discretion. One winner will be selected in each category. Category winners will be eligible for consideration for the “Innovation of the Year” grand prize. Certain categories may not be awarded if, in the judges’ discretion, there are insufficient or ineligible entries. All judging decisions are final.
This page is to familiarize yourself with the rules of the competition prior to submitting your entry.
Timeline
The Contest will open at 8:00 a.m. EST on June 1, 2026, and will end August 7, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST (the "Entry Deadline"). All entries must be received by the Entry Deadline.
Fees
The competition fee is $0 per entry/product through August 7, 2026. Each product must have its own entry form. No refunds of entry fees will be issued.
Judging Criteria
Products must have been introduced to the market within the past 12 months or be scheduled for market introduction in Q1 2027. Prototype submissions are permitted. Entrants may only submit a single product with each entry, not a line of products spanning multiple categories. For example, a single cannabis strain available in multiple SKUs (e.g., different weights or packaging formats) would be acceptable, but a product line that includes flower, vapes, and edibles would not. Judges will base their decisions on criteria such as innovation, industry impact, functionality, market potential, originality, and user experience/design, each ranked on a scale from 1 to 5.
Jury Info
Entries will be judged after the contest is officially closed by a panel of industry professionals chosen by MJBizCon.
Winners Announcement
The winners will be announced onsite at MJBizCon 2026 in Las Vegas, December 1-4, as well as be featured on mjbizconference.com and mjbizdaily.com. All product submissions will be considered by MJBizDaily editors for future placement and/or promotion on mjbizdaily.com, in affiliated newsletters, or on social channels. There are no monetary prizes.
Rules
- Products must have been unveiled to the market between January 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. Products that have been submitted to past competitions will not be considered unless there has been a significant update, to be determined at the sole discretion of the judges.
- All questions on the entry form must be answered fully to help judges better understand the product and its innovation. Failure to complete required fields or submission of inaccurate or misleading information may result in disqualification. MJBiz reserves the right to request additional information, documentation, or clarification from entrants on a case-by-case basis.
- Entrants may submit forms for as many different products as they like, one category per product.
- All decisions made by MJBizCon are final.
- Professional-quality, high-resolution photography or videography (under 5MB please) must be submitted with each completed entry form. At least two color images of each product must be submitted, and up to five are permitted. Multiple views (other angles) and technical information/specification sheets are encouraged. You can upload .JPG .PNG .GIF files only. Each photo must be 300 DPI in resolution, and each image must be under 5 MB. By submitting photography, you are granting MJBizCon the right to publish it free of charge. Any photographer’s fees/usage rights are the responsibility of the submitter.
- By submitting photography, you (a) represent and warrant that you own the exclusive rights and/or have obtained all necessary third-party consents to submit such images for use, (b) grant Sponsor and its designees, licensees or affiliates a fully paid, worldwide license to use, distribute, display, reproduce, publish, republish and create derivative works of the entry in any media now or hereafter known, including but not limited to, print or digital publication in MJBizDaily or MJBizCon at no further cost and with no additional approval and (c) agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Sponsor and its partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors and representatives from any and all third-party claims, including but not limited to copyright claims, arising from the entry and use of any such images submitted in connection with the competition.
- Employees of MJBizCon and Sponsor, and each of their affiliates, subsidiaries and agents and their immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling and their respective spouses, regardless of where they live) or persons living in the same households of such individuals, whether or not related, are not eligible to enter. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age as of the date of entry.
- By participating, participants release and agree to hold harmless Sponsor, its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies and all of their respective directors, officers, employees, representatives and agents from any and all liability for any injury, loss or damage of any kind to persons (including, without limitation, death) or property, arising directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from or in connection with the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize, participation in this competition, or any competition-related activity. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, IN THE EVENT THAT THE PRECEDING RELEASE IS DETERMINED BY A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION TO BE INVALID OR VOID FOR ANY REASON, THE PARTICIPANT AGREES THAT, BY ENTERING THE COMPETITION, (I) ANY CLAIMS, JUDGMENTS AND AWARDS SHALL BE LIMITED TO ACTUAL OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS INCURRED, BUT IN NO EVENT ATTORNEYS’ FEES; AND (II) UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL ANY PARTICIPANT BE PERMITTED TO OBTAIN ANY AWARD FOR, AND PARTICIPANT HEREBY WAIVES ALL RIGHTS TO CLAIM, ANY OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.
- To be eligible for the MJBizCon Innovation Awards, companies must be contracted 2026 Exhibitors.
Entrants agree (a) to be bound by these Official Rules and (b) that the decisions of the judges and MJBizCon are final on all matters relating to the MJBizCon Innovation Awards.
Governing Law
By entering, participants agree that all issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participants and Sponsor in connection with the competition, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the State of California without regard to its conflicts of law provisions. All participants hereby consent to the jurisdiction and venue of the federal or state courts located in New York, N.Y.
Contest Sponsor
The Sponsor of the MJBizCon Innovation Awards is Emerald LLC, 100 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10005