Zushi: The Ten Co., Blue Zushi & the Slawn Collab

How Zushi went from one strain to a whole family

A Zkittlez × Kush Mints cross from Staks and Gerry's The Ten Co. that grew into anime characters, sold-out flower and a collab with the London artist Slawn.

The Ten Co. started as a flower brand and grew into a whole world of characters, merch and collabs. In a few years its candy-and-gas cross, Zushi, went from a limited California drop to a name people know well outside cannabis, with anime characters, streetwear, rosin that sold for $500 a gram, and collabs running from Coi Leray to Slawn.

01Where it comes from

The Zushi story starts in Europe. Co-founder Staks came up in London, made his name in European cannabis and played a key role in bringing Cookies to Europe in 2014. His horticulture background was sharpened among the growers of Barcelona, where the focus was terpene profiles and concentrate-grade flavor.

His first venture was Team 10 Extracts. When Staks moved to the US in 2017, rosin was on the rise and the old BHO market was falling off, so he changed course. He dropped "extract" from the name, and The Ten Co. became a high-end flower brand. High Times later covered how he built a following in California.

02Enter Gerry

In 2019 Staks teamed up with Gerry, a creative director from San Jose with a background in sneaker culture and a role at Worldstar Hip Hop. The two met through music industry connections. Staks stayed on the flower, and Gerry took on the branding, the characters and the world around them.

We're not just throwing in cute extras. We're creating ecosystems. We're building worlds, lifestyles.

That approach set The Ten Co. apart from other top-shelf growers. The brand is vertically integrated and pairs European genetics with California flavor, wrapped in an anime look and a release model built on scarcity, where every drop is something to collect. The founders explained the strategy to Honeysuckle in one of the few interviews they have given.

03The Zushi cross

The flagship strain is a cross of Zkittlez × Kush Mints 11. Zkittlez brings the candy and fruit, and Kush Mints adds structure, potency and a cool, minty kush depth. It is an indica-dominant hybrid known for umami-rich flavor, dense colorful buds and THC that regularly tests past the mid-20s. Ten Co. eighths became some of the highest-priced flower in California and still sold out.

04The Zushi family

One strain grew into a cast of characters, each with its own product line: Blue Zushi, the candy-forward, pine-backed phenotype that became the face of the family; Yellow Zushi, citrus-bright with floral, sushi-like undertones; Pink Zushi, launched with Coi Leray; the deeper cuts Wasabi and Zoy; and Nozu, the top tier, built from the best batches across the lineup and packed as choice-only drops with sushi-chef presentation.

05Blue Zushi, spotlighted

Blue Zushi is the best known of the family. It keeps the candy brightness of the Zkittlez side, and the Kush Mints 11 adds a pine-touched, resinous structure. It took first place, Best Overall, at the inaugural Zalympix in Los Angeles. The first Blue Zushi rosin release was just 76 jars, and buyers paid $500 a gram.

06The collabs

The Ten Co. has used collaborations to build out the brand's world, and they are a big part of how a flower brand became a lifestyle one.

07Who is Slawn?

Slawn, born Olaolu Akeredolu-Ale in Lagos and raised in London, is one of the UK's most visible young artists. He works across skate culture, streetwear and fine art with bold, cartoonish, high-energy figures. He designed the 2023 Brit Awards statuette, the first Nigerian-born artist to do so, and has collaborated with Louis Vuitton, Trapstar and Dover Street Market.

Zushi and Slawn both run on limited drops and a strong visual identity, so the pairing fit. The collab puts Slawn's raw, colorful style on the packaging and the apparel, and it is the kind of piece we look for when we stock the shelves at 1321.

08Where it fits now

Zushi is a good marker for where cannabis culture is right now. People pay more attention to terpenes, provenance and the story behind a cut, and less to a single THC number. Zushi made people care who grew it as much as how high it tests, and we pick what goes on our shelves the same way. For another strain story with a disputed family tree, read our Toad Venom strain guide.

We don't sell flower, but we do carry the Zushi × Slawn collection in Venice, including the Catch the Wave tee and the zip-up. They are limited runs, and restocks are not guaranteed. More on Zushi at 1321 ›

This article is for education and entertainment. 1321 is an accessories and lifestyle shop and does not sell cannabis; we carry the officially licensed Zushi × Slawn apparel and accessories only. Strain lineage, potency, and effects vary by cut, grower, and batch. Cannabis is for adults 21+ where legal; effects described here are self-reported and are not medical advice. Please consume responsibly and never drive impaired.