Richie Proud’s Post

#cannabisretailers Are You Ready for the Inevitable Market Shift? Operating a retail cannabis store is no walk in the park, especially in markets where competition is fierce and prices are being driven down. If your strategy is to reduce prices and offer discounts to attract customers, you're setting yourself up for failure. Being the second cheapest in town offers no real advantage. Thriving in a mature market requires a sophisticated approach and a well-crafted strategy. It demands an infrastructure that can execute and measure progress, coupled with the agility to pivot based on results. In new markets, it may seem easy – just stock your shelves and provide good customer service, and you'll do well. But don't get too comfortable. The market will inevitably shift as municipalities allow more stores and new areas open up. The ratio between canopy and stores will catch up, leading to oversupply and pushing prices down. This is a pattern that will unfold in most (all?) markets. The question is, will you be ready when it happens? At Ajoya Brands, we're launching management contracts to help retailers navigate this competitive landscape. Our experience in the Colorado market has taught us invaluable lessons, and we're ready to share our expertise with you. If you're entering a new market, it's best to get an early start and lay the foundation for long-term success. Don't wait until the market shifts to start thinking about your strategy. If you're interested in learning more about how we can help your cannabis retail business thrive, shoot me a DM. Let's discuss how our management contracts can put you ahead of the curve. #cannabisretail #cannabisindustry

Last week I posted about deal whack-a-mole that the cannabis industry faces. Some folks suggested that it's impossible to create differentiation in retail beyond price. While I understand the sentiment, if we're being honest slashing prices is one of the lowest effort, easiest things we do. Events on the other hand? Those can be taxing (hah, taxes. sorry.). You have to coordinate with brands, local vendors, the team, create all of the marketing assets, program the deals, manage inventory, plan day of ops, and....it just goes on and on. Are they worth it? I think so. Here's how we think about these events: Events = Community Building + Content Community Building = Word of mouth marketing + more content Content = SEO + fuel for the marketing machine Here's why the juice is worth the squeeze: – Makes an impression; Our team, our personality and the overall vibe IS an opportunity to show how we're different! - Building community relationships; these events allow us to connect with neighboring businesses and hang out with our customers. - Morale booster; our entire team unites for these moments, creating high energy and excitement that invigorates everyone involved. - Data Insights; where are people coming from, how many are new, which tactics worked, which brands and offers performed the best? You get it. - Content multiplication for future marketing Sure, we get deal-chasers (because–– surprise, we have deals) but.. these little events have now become a staple in how we do things. We call it "the embarc way". We have some great events coming up including an onsite activation at Cali Roots next weekend where we'll be bringing #cannabis sales and #consumption to another mainstream event. Enjoy this recap of our Fresno Shaw grand opening the other week. PARTY ON. 🤘 #cannabismarketing #cannabisretail #events

This year has been nothing short of remarkable for JARS Cannabis. Through our team’s collective efforts, we've achieved some incredible milestones:   🍃 We've proudly opened 7 more stores in Michigan during the last 12 months, demonstrating our commitment to increasing access to affordable cannabis products for all.   💪The grand opening of our 18th store in Wayland, MI now serves as a powerful symbol of growth – a direct result of the trust our customers and partners have placed in us.    💥 But our journey doesn’t end here… With the same collaborative spirit that brought us this far, we’re set on an ambitious path to open at least 2 more stores by the end of 2023. Together, we're turning dreams into reality, one community at a time.   🤝 And let's not forget the most valuable asset at JARS - our people! Our team in Michigan has grown significantly to reach 580 employees, each contributing unique passions and skills to shape a diverse, dynamic, and driven workforce.   This is the power of teamwork in action. It's not just about what we achieve; it's about how we achieve it - together, as a united force.   Teamwork has been the driving force behind our success at JARS. What are some of the most memorable team achievements you've been a part of, and how did they shape your journey? #Teamwork #MichiganCannabis #CannabisRetail

Get Ready To Roll: Old Pal Debuts In New York With Classic Flavors, Here's Where To Find It, read more on the latest from Benzinga by Jelena Martinovic. Features Rusty Wilenkin, Old Pal. #Cannabis #CannabisNews #NewYork #Market #Industry #BZCannabis.

Here's a little program we're working on at the KC Ad Club. It's going to be a blast! See you on April 11th. REGISTER HERE: bit.ly/bud2brandkc # # # From Bud to Brand: How Missouri Cannabis Marketers Cultivate Creativity Hosted by The Futures Group April 11, 2024, Studio Dan Meiners, 6pm-8:30pm 6:00 - 6:45 pm: Networking + Brand Fair 6:45 - 8:30 pm: Presentations + Panel Q&A Missouri's cannabis industry is booming. Even as more mature markets have seen declining sales in recent years, weed sales in the state continue to climb, closing out 2023 with a whopping $1.3 billion in combined medical and recreational sales. That's a boatload of green. Despite soaring sales, advertising regulations for cannabis products in Missouri have tightened, opening up a range of sticky challenges for marketers tasked with brand promotion and growth. Join us and our hosts, The Futures Group, as we dive into the Show Me state's complex, ever-changing cannabis market. Meet local industry insiders at our brand fair (sorry, no sampling – buzzkill, we know) followed by a panel of leading creatives who will share experiences and insights from their time in the canna-biz. Food and beverages to be provided by MNI Targeted Media @ Dotdash Meredith and Trabon Group. REGISTER HERE: bit.ly/bud2brandkc

Building STIIIZY in NorCal I remember back in late 2017/early 2018–before we created the merger known as Shryne Group—our Oakland-based company JBTB Holdings was the exclusive distributor for STIIIZY tasked with spreading the brand throughout the northern half of the state. While today that sounds like it would be the easiest task in the world, back then nobody had even heard of the brand once you got past Central California. Add on the challenge that STIIIZY has always had a distinctly Southern California vibe to it—for those who don’t know CA very well, NorCal might as well be a different state than SoCal. In cannabis in particular, the further north you go, the less interested they are in southern California brands and lifestyle. We struggled at first to get in the doors, experiencing the same issues as any other emerging brand does. It’s funny now, but I remember when our team presented to Harborside and they refused to bring us in because they were concerned about us being able to stay on the shelves. I don’t know the exact numbers but I’m sure STIIIZY’s DTLA store alone does exponentially higher volume than Harborside at this point, so a bit ironic in retrospect. Regardless, we ended up building our presence by taking a consultative/relational approach to sales rather than a transactional one. In particular, our original team of two—Kasia Harmata and Oliver Romano—would travel all over and spend significant time with not just the buyers, but their budtending teams as well, getting to know them and finding out what they NEEDED rather than just pushing what we had on them. They spent significant effort on shops they hadn’t yet gotten into, and then we spent even more effort once we got in. Lots of swag, budtender trainings, customer appreciation days, etc. I think this is important because nothing has changed. The transactional approach is typically ineffective and forces you to compete on price only. It’s funny because none of this stuff is groundbreaking and yet I see so many brands not doing it—or at least not effectively. This is underlined now that I am talking with lots of companies that are succeeding in cannabis about the things that are working for them. A common thread is that they’re partnering with their retailers and helping guide them to success, rather than just trying to dump product on them. Retailers like to buy from the brands they know like and trust—we all know this. But, when you look at your sales approach, are you explicitly building all three of these pillars? Sure, hit them up enough times and maybe they’ll know you. Will they like you though? How about trust? There are a ton of ways to address the other two elements, but I don’t see a lot of brands focusing on training their sales teams to do that. Sales leaders, is this something you focus on? If so, what efforts have worked for you—and what hasn’t worked so well? #cannabisindustry #salesdevelopment #marketpenetration

We can’t wait to reunite with clients and friends of Pepper at the UniPro Foodservice 2023 Fall Conference! UniPro’s been one of our most important and productive partnerships. In the past year alone, we’ve accomplished so much together: - More than tripling the number of members on Pepper, from 7 members at this time last year to 24 as of last week - Partnering with Syndigo and UniPro to make providing the best rich product content to your customers a low cost, plug-and-play experience - Shipping expanded product capabilities like track-my-truck, advanced promotional tools, multiple order guides, par levels, payment management portal, sales rep management portal, and retail product integrations developed in collaboration with UniPro members And we’re still just getting started… find us at our booth where we’ll be showcasing killer new features that are launching on Pepper very soon. We’ve always been about helping independent distributors grow market share, these feature additions will take that to the next level. If you’ll be in Dallas on October 16-18, let’s have a conversation about taking your business to new heights by working together. #UniProFoodservice #Ecommerce #FoodDistribution #Innovation #PepperEcommerce Ben Tedford Bowie Cheung Dave Devlin Derek Patterson Ed Delaney Erin Graham Louie Newton Monty Chellis Robb Meath Ron Vassallo Ted Leeson Wayne Harrison JR

It was January 2019 and I was just a guy with a dream in a dreary industrial building on a nowhere corner in Santa Ana. While I was stoked that the application I drafted won the merit-based comp for a dispensary license, I knew that it would only get harder. In cannabis retail, you face a murderer’s row of  challenges: I was entering a tight market with 20 other retailers clustered around our corner that had been operating for years. There were delivery services, the underground market, and the underground delivery services. You could buy weed just about anywhere in Orange County and all I had so far was a piece of paper and the six-foot hole in the floor that I had dug for new plumbing. I sat down on the dirt pile. I stared into that hole. It was my abyss. I kept hearing the same question in my head over and over… “Why should someone shop at your dispensary?” “Why should someone shop at your dispensary?” “Why should someone shop…” I went to bed thinking about it. I woke up thinking about it. The question yanked at the corner of my mind like a loose thread and threatened to unravel me. I knew if I couldn’t answer the question, I didn’t have a brand. And if I didn’t have a brand, there would be nothing to market. I would fail. Tropicanna was my answer to that question. The stories that follow in this book detail the real-world strategies I used to take Tropicanna from dead last to a top 5 OC dispensary with gross revenue of $15M+ a year. It will also include the complete marketing playbook Matthew Shterenberg and I have since developed at deeproots partners that has helped 60+ dispensaries grow revenue by $55M. If you really want to know “How to Sell Weed” in licensed retail, this is your “Field Guide” on how to make that happen. No Bullshit. No Snake oil. Just boots on the ground experience from a couple of guys who have actually made it happen, again and again and again.

ICYMI: Dope piece featuring Marino. client LeafLink projecting how much #cannabis was sold during #superbowl2024 week in #LasVegas. #LeafLink always has the best data and the best analysis thanks to Ben Burstein! If you're a reporter in need of #cannabiswholesale data, shoot me a DM. #cannabispr "With another Super Bowl in the books, let’s play post-game quarterback and review some interesting cannabis trends that led up to the most watched event of the year. The weeks preceding Sunday’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas will likely be the top-selling period of the year for marijuana retailers in the region, even outpacing April 20, according to forecasts from cannabis wholesale platform #LeafLink. According to LeafLink data from Jan. 21-28, marijuana retail operators in Nevada spent more than $3.5 million in wholesale purchases, a 67% jump from the prior week...Flower was the biggest driver with nearly 400,000 ordered units. The 67% increase compares with a 13% rise in Nevada wholesale purchases during the same week last year. It’s also significantly more than the 15% increase in Arizona wholesale purchases in January 2023, when the Phoenix suburb of Glendale prepared to host the Super Bowl last year." #cannabiscommunity #MarinoCannabis

Learn insider tips from sales expert, Ryan, on how dispensary owners can maximize revenue during 420. Watch the full video and implement these strategies into your plan this weekend! 😎 #SalesStrategies #BusinessGrowth #BusinessTips