Tag Archives: retail

What Your Dispensary’s POS Data Doesn’t Tell You About Your Customers

By Tony Ciovacco
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A dispensary’s point-of-sale system keeps the most complete record in the building. It knows the SKU, price, discount, time of day, the budtender who rang it up, and, if the customer is enrolled in loyalty, who they are and how often they return. For inventory, reorders, promotions, and compliance reporting, that record is exactly what an operator needs.

It also ends when the repeat-purchase decision begins.

Whether a customer comes back is not settled at the counter. It is settled hours later, at home, when the product either does what the customer bought it for or does not. The receipt captures the transaction in detail but nothing about the outcome. Most customer retention strategies rely on the first record and guess at the second.

 

What the POS Actually Knows

Cannabis POS and loyalty platforms are good at recency, frequency, and spend. They can tell you who has not been in for 30 days, which categories a customer buys, and what basket size looks like by daypart. Layer in a loyalty program and you can attach points, tiers, and targeted offers to all of it.

Every one of those signals describes behavior. None of them describes experience. A repeat purchase is an outcome, and the POS records the outcome without its cause. That distinction sounds academic until you look at two customers with identical receipts.

 

Two Identical Receipts

Consider two customers who buy the same product on the same Friday afternoon, at the same price, with the same loyalty discount. In the POS, they are the same row.

The first bought it to unwind after work, and it did exactly that. She will be back next week and will probably ask for it by name. The second bought it for the same reason and spent the evening restless and unsettled. He will not complain, ask for a refund, or leave a review. He will quietly try another store next time, or come back to yours and pick something different with no record of what went wrong.

Nothing in the transaction data distinguishes them. A recency report will flag the second customer only after he has already gone, and by then the reason is unrecoverable.

 

Why the Label Does Not Close the Gap

The obvious objection is that product attributes should predict experience. If a store knows what it sold, it knows roughly what the customer felt.

The research suggests otherwise. A 2022 analysis of commercial cannabis across six U.S. states found that the common labels attached to products, including indica, sativa, and hybrid, do not consistently align with the products’ measured chemical profiles. Potency is not a reliable proxy either. In a University of Colorado study, participants assigned to higher- or lower-THC flower and concentrates showed very different levels of THC in their blood, yet the researchers concluded that differences in short-term subjective effects “did not track specifically with strength of the cannabis consumed.”

Add format and the variability widens. An edible, a vape cartridge, a tincture, and a pre-roll can produce different onsets, durations, and experiences for the same person. The label describes the product. It does not describe what happened to the customer, and it was never designed to.

 

A Structural Gap, Not a Missing Feature

The temptation is to treat this as a software problem: add a survey, add a rating field, buy another dashboard. But the gap is structural. The experience happens off premises, and after the sale, in a window no retail system observes. It varies by person, product, and format, so you can’t infer it from the SKU. And the only bridge most stores have, the budtender who remembers what a regular said last time, is the least durable asset in the business. When that employee leaves, the store loses the knowledge of why its best customers come back.

That is the real cost. Operators do not lack data. Their data answers questions they don’t need answered and says nothing about the one that drives retention.

 

What Operators Can Do Now

None of the following requires new software, and most of it can start this week.

Ask the after-sale question on purpose. When a known customer returns, the most valuable thing a budtender can ask is how the last purchase worked for them. Make it a standard part of the second visit, not an improvisation.

Record the answer in a structured way. A free-text note that says “liked it” is nearly useless at scale. Three fields are enough: what the customer wanted from the product (sleep, relief, focus, socializing, unwinding), whether it delivered (yes, partly, no), and the format they used. Most POS and CRM systems already have a profile notes field for this.

Recommend in outcome language. If the counter conversation starts with how the customer wants to feel rather than with THC percentage or strain type, the follow-up question has something to measure against. “Did it help you unwind?” is answerable. “Did you like the 28 percent?” is not.

Read basket changes as a signal. A customer who switches categories or brands every visit may be exploring. They may also be searching for something that works but can’t find it. Without the experience data those two customers look the same, and only one of them is at risk.

Make the knowledge outlive the employee. Whatever staff learn about why a customer returns belongs in the system, not in one person’s memory. Turnover is a fact of cannabis retail. Losing your retention intelligence every time someone quits does not have to be.

Where state rules permit follow-up outreach, build it around the experience, not the discount. A message that asks how a product worked earns information. A coupon earns a transaction and teaches you nothing.

 

The Second Question

The receipt will always be the best record of what sold. It will never tell you why someone came back. Operators who build that second record, one structured conversation at a time, will understand their customers in ways transaction data alone cannot, and they will see churn coming while there is still time to act.

 

Inventory Is the Biggest Cash Flow Problem in Cannabis

By Pam Chmiel
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All roads in cannabis retail lead back to inventory.

Retail cannabis operators across the country are being squeezed by razor-thin margins, declining cash flow, and a growing inability to pay vendors on time. The culprit is often not weak sales or lack of demand. It is mismanaged inventory.

Inventory is the foundation on which the entire business is built. It is the single biggest driver of cash flow, profitability, and retail performance. Yet many retailers are still carrying too much product, reordering too late or too early, and failing to connect inventory decisions to merchandising, promotions, sell-through, and actual consumer demand. Brands feel the impact too. They cannot accurately forecast production, plan manufacturing schedules, or maintain healthy warehouse levels when retailers are not managing inventory effectively.

Excess inventory locks up cash, slows vendor payments, compresses margins, and creates pressure to discount. Too little inventory creates out-of-stocks, lost sales, frustrated customers, and strained brand relationships. In either scenario, poor inventory management undermines every other part of the business.

Many cannabis retailers are far exceeding the 30-day product turnover goal needed to keep cash flowing and inventory fresh. Some operators are sitting on more than $150,000 in overstock every month, cash that could otherwise be used to pay vendors, invest in marketing, open new locations, or strengthen operations.

 

The Buyer Problem

Even seasoned buyers from more mature industries struggle with the unique challenges cannabis brings to retail: adjusting consumer preferences, fast-moving product trends, oversaturated categories, an overwhelming number of SKUs, regulatory complexity, and shelf life concerns. A product that sold well six months ago may suddenly stall. Yet many retailers still make purchasing decisions based on instinct rather than data.

In alcohol, grocery, beauty, and traditional CPG, Inventory is managed by a team. Retailers have buying offices staffed with merchandise planners, category managers, inventory analysts, and purchasing executives, each role designed to optimize assortment, forecast demand, improve margins, and keep inventory moving.

Cannabis rarely operates that way.

In many cases, retailers hand the buyer role to a senior budtender or owner because “they know weed.” But knowing cannabis and managing millions of dollars in inventory are two very different skill sets. The buyer is responsible for purchasing, forecasting, menu management, vendor relationships, promotions, cash flow, and category strategy. It is one of the most important roles in the business, yet in cannabis, it is often treated like an afterthought.

Without formal inventory training, many buyers reorder based on instinct or a walk through the vault to see what looks low. The result is overstock in some stores, out-of-stocks in others, and cash trapped in products that are not moving.

 

Inventory Is Frozen Cash

Every product sitting in a vault, warehouse, or on a shelf is money that cannot be used elsewhere. Overstock creates a domino effect: vendors get paid more slowly, retailers face pressure to discount, margins shrink, and products age on the shelf.

The fix starts with insights around sell-through. Buyers need to define the sell-through rate for every category and use that data to guide purchasing cadence decisions. Track daily, weekly, and monthly changes in consumer demand, then connect that sell-through data to reorder timing, manufacturing timelines, warehouse inventory, and future promotions.

The goal is to maintain the right amount of inventory, at the right time, in the right store, in the right category.

 

Don’t Fall for the Discount Trap

When retailers or brands are overloaded with inventory, the first instinct is often to discount. That instinct is expensive.

A product that is not moving gets marked down. The retailer then spends money to promote the sale. Loyalty rewards or additional discounts get layered on top. By the end, the business has sacrificed margin in three different ways: the discount itself, the cost of marketing the promotion, and the cost of loyalty incentives. Repeated discounting also trains customers to wait for deals and lowers the perceived value of the product.

In many cases, the product may not have needed a discount at all. It may have been priced incorrectly, merchandised poorly, buried on the menu, or placed in the wrong store. Without understanding why a product is not moving, retailers often reach for cutting the price.

 

Diagnosing Slow-Moving Inventory

Before cutting the price or discontinuing an item, retailers and brands need a framework for diagnosing why the product stalled.

Start with the purchasing decision. Was the category already overcrowded before the product arrived? Many retailers continue adding nearly identical products to saturated categories without asking whether there is room for another option. Take sleep gummies: how many SKUs making the same promise does one store really need? The issue may not be that the product is bad. The issue may be that too many similar products are competing for the same customer.

Next, examine merchandising. Was the product placed where shoppers could actually see it? Did it have the right shelf placement, signage, and number of facings? A quality product can easily disappear if it is buried in the vault, hidden on a bottom shelf, or missing from the online menu.

Pricing is another common culprit. A product priced too high relative to competitors loses ground in saturated categories. A product priced too low may unintentionally signal lower quality or leave no room for future promotions.

Education also matters. Budtenders remain one of the strongest influences on purchasing decisions in cannabis. If staff do not know the product, do not understand its differentiation, or are not confident recommending it, the product will not move.

Before taking action, retailers and brands should ask:

  • Is the product priced correctly?
  • Is it merchandised properly and visible on the shelf and menu?
  • Is it consistently in stock?
  • Are budtenders recommending it?
  • Is the category already overcrowded?
  • Is the product in the wrong store or market?
  • Does the consumer understand why this product is different?

Only after answering those questions should a retailer decide whether the product deserves less shelf space, a new strategy, or removal from the assortment.

 

Fewer SKUs, Better Performance

More products appear to create more choice and more opportunity. In practice, too many SKUs make inventory harder to manage, confuse the consumer, and weaken overall performance.

As the assortment expands, inventory becomes fragmented across dozens of products. Retailers place smaller orders for each SKU, slowing sell-through and increasing the likelihood that products sit on shelves too long. Cash gets spread across too many items while budtenders struggle to stay knowledgeable about an ever-growing menu.

The strongest operators regularly review their assortment and make difficult decisions about what deserves to stay. At least once a month, retailers should evaluate:

  • The top 20 percent of SKUs driving the majority of revenue and margin
  • The bottom 20 percent of products that are not moving
  • Redundant products in oversaturated categories
  • Products that no longer reflect consumer demand
  • Items that consistently require heavy discounts or promotions to sell

The goal is not to carry fewer products for the sake of simplicity. It is to build a more intentional assortment that supports stronger sell-through, healthier margins, and better cash flow.

 

Inventory Should Match the Store, Not the State

One of the biggest mistakes cannabis companies make is pushing the same assortment into every location. Even stores a few miles apart can perform very differently.

One store may attract price-sensitive shoppers looking for value flower, high-potency products, and lower-priced concentrates. Another may cater to consumers seeking wellness-oriented products, premium edibles, beverages, or topicals. Tourist-heavy markets often support more novelty products and a wider assortment. Neighborhood stores typically perform better with a smaller, more focused selection.

Yet many operators still purchase inventory at the state or company level and push it out uniformly. This approach will leave one store overloaded with products that are not moving, while another runs out of what its customers actually want.

The best retailers build inventory plans at the store level. They look at what is selling in each location, which categories are gaining momentum, what price points resonate, and how quickly products move in that specific market. Inventory planning should reflect the realities of each store, not a one-size-fits-all strategy.

 

The Metrics Every Retailer and Brand Should Track

Inventory management cannot rely on a buyer’s gut instinct. Retailers and brands need a consistent set of metrics to understand what is moving, what is slowing down, and when to reorder.

Days of supply on hand measures how long the current inventory will last based on the current rate of sales. Carrying 60 days of inventory in a category that only needs 30 ties up cash unnecessarily. Carrying less than a week’s worth risks stockouts before the next delivery.

Sell-through rate tracks how quickly products move after arriving in the store. A product may sell well eventually, but if it takes too long to move, it still creates a cash flow problem.

Velocity shows how many units of a specific product sell over a given period, daily, weekly, or monthly. Tracking velocity by SKU identifies which products deserve additional inventory and which should be reconsidered.

Reorder cadence reveals patterns in purchasing behavior. Understanding how frequently products are reordered makes it easier to forecast demand, avoid stockouts, and plan more accurately.

Out-of-stock frequency flags when high-performing products repeatedly sell out, signaling lost revenue and potential customer churn to competing brands.

Aging inventory should be monitored closely. Products that sit too long become harder to sell and typically end up discounted.

Gross margin by product is often overlooked. Some products generate strong sales but deliver weak margins once discounts, promotions, and loyalty rewards are factored in. Others sell more slowly but are significantly more profitable.

Promotional lift measures whether a sale or campaign actually increased sell-through or simply subsidized purchases that would have happened anyway.

These metrics should be tracked by individual store, by category, by SKU, and before and after promotions. That is how operators begin to understand what is really driving performance and where inventory decisions need to change.

 

AI, Forecasting, and Predictive Inventory Management

Advanced analytics and AI tools are helping cannabis companies move from reactive inventory management to predictive planning. Instead of only looking at what sold last month, these systems identify patterns and forecast what is likely to happen next.

AI can help retailers and brands:

  • Predict which products are beginning to lose momentum
  • Forecast future demand by store and category
  • Flag stores that consistently order too late or overbuy
  • Detect accounts most at risk of going out of stock
  • Recognize shifts in consumer preferences before they become obvious
  • Determine which promotions are actually driving profitable sales
  • Improve delivery routes and distribution planning

For example, a product may still appear healthy on the surface, but its weekly velocity may have started declining across several stores. Predictive tools can flag that slowdown early, giving the retailer time to adjust pricing, merchandising, or purchasing before the product becomes dead inventory.

 

The Retailer-Brand Relationship: Stop Operating in Silos

Many inventory problems happen because retailers and brands are not sharing enough information.

Retailers often know exactly which products are slowing down, which stores are running low, and which categories are overperforming. Brands may know when production capacity is tightening, when a new product launch is coming, or when a supply issue could affect future inventory. Too often, those insights stay separate. Reorders happen too late, overstock builds in one location while another store runs short, and both sides end up reacting instead of planning.

The strongest operators are moving toward a more collaborative approach. Instead of communicating only when there is a problem, retailers and brands should regularly review:

  • Sell-through by product and location
  • Reorder timing before inventory becomes critical
  • Upcoming promotions, seasonality, and new product launches
  • Which stores or accounts are likely to need additional support

A retailer may see that a particular product is suddenly accelerating in one region. A brand may know that a production delay could create shortages in the coming weeks. Sharing that information earlier allows both sides to make better decisions.

 

What Best-in-Class Inventory Management Looks Like

The most sophisticated cannabis operators treat inventory as a strategic function, not a back-office task.

A best-in-class retailer or brand:

  • Reviews inventory performance every week
  • Removes or reduces slow-moving SKUs every month
  • Maintains leaner inventory levels instead of stockpiling product
  • Forecasts demand by individual store, not just by state or region
  • Aligns purchasing, merchandising, and promotions
  • Uses sell-through and velocity data to guide decisions
  • Works closely with key retail or brand partners
  • Identifies problems before they become costly
  • Treats inventory management as a leadership responsibility

The goal is not simply to keep shelves full. It is to keep the right products in the right stores at the right time, while using as little working capital as possible.

 

Inventory is one of the biggest levers cannabis companies have to improve cash flow, margins, and overall performance. The tried-and-true systems from more mature industries exist and are ready to be adopted. Operators that put them to work to right-size costs and protect margins will be the ones best positioned to survive and grow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An MSO’s Perspective on the New York Market

By Pam Chmiel
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At the recent Business of Cannabis event in New York, Robert Sciarrone, Chief Revenue Officer at Curaleaf, shared an MSO’s insider view on why he believes New York is poised to become the best cannabis market on the planet.

Sciarrone began by reflecting on his early years as a cannabis-focused venture capitalist. Through his firm, Measure 8 Partners, he has deployed more than $550 million across 20-plus cannabis companies globally, including dispensaries, delivery services, and technology platforms, with investments spanning California, Arizona, Nevada, Canada, and Europe.

After joining Curaleaf two and a half years ago, recruited by Executive Chairman Boris Jordan, Sciarrone transitioned from investor to operator, now overseeing revenue across 18 states in both retail and wholesale. He admitted the operational grind has given him a new respect for the business side of cannabis, but emphasized that passion for the plant and its customers remains the heart of the industry.

Looking back on the “freewheeling” investment era of 2019, when $100 million deals were being done daily, Sciarrone contrasted that speculative period with today’s market. “California’s day is over,” he declared, suggesting that the West Coast market’s oversaturation and regulatory struggles have created space for New York to lead. With its cultural influence, economic strength, and growing consumer sophistication, Sciarrone believes New York can set the standard for how cannabis culture and business shape the global industry.

As a born-and-raised New Yorker, Sciarrone expressed deep pride in being part of that evolution: “It’s my passion to be here and watch this market unfold.”

 

Curaleaf’s Early Bet on New York

Sciarrone highlighted Curaleaf’s early commitment to the New York medical market. The company was among the first Registered Organizations (ROs) to invest heavily in infrastructure, opening four medical dispensaries and building a state-of-the-art cultivation facility in Ravena, just south of Albany, in 2018. “It’s one of the nicest cultivation centers I’ve seen,“ he said, noting that Curaleaf “believed in New York early.”

However, as the state prepared to transition to adult-use, Sciarrone recalled a divide that formed between corporate medical operators and new entrants under the CAURD program. “The market was divided, and it never should have been,“ he said. Fragmentation, he argued, weakened the industry’s collective voice at a time when it needed to work together to navigate taxes, regulations, and constant policy changes.

Today, Sciarrone sees signs of progress. “The market is starting to slowly come together,“ he said, adding that Curaleaf’s approach in New York is focused on wholesale partnerships with other retailers.

He also acknowledged that Curaleaf had to earn back credibility on product quality. “When I came in, Curaleaf didn’t have a lot. People probably remember that our product quality was lacking,“ he admitted. Like many MSOs in the early days, Curaleaf had relied on scale and storefronts to drive sales. But as the market matured, so did the company’s mindset. “We’ve had to think critically about our brands, about what we’re putting in the jar—the genetics, the nose, the story,“ Sciarrone said.

 

“We’ve had a complete 180 in Curaleaf’s journey, and it started with our efforts in New York.”

 

As operators unite around shared goals of keeping stores open, expanding access, and stabilizing supply, Sciarrone said New York’s cannabis industry is beginning to find its footing. He believes collaboration between the different groups has made it one of the fastest-growing and healthiest markets in the country.

 

“If we stay the path,” he concluded, “New York will be the biggest cannabis economy in the United States.”

 

The Potential of New York Brands

Sciarrone also shared his perspective on the potential of New York cannabis brands. He noted that while West Coast brands were once expected to dominate, consumer preferences differ by region. New Yorkers are proud of their local products, and homegrown brands have a strong story that resonates with consumers, budtenders, and store owners.

 

“California brands have cachet, but we have our own stories to tell in New York,“ he said.

 

While the consistency and quality of California brands give them an advantage in some markets, Sciarrone believes that as New York cultivators and operators collaborate, local brands will thrive. He highlighted that formulated products, such as edibles and beverages, may be one area where California brands see success, but in flower, New York brands have the edge.

 

“The more that cultivators open up their doors for brand partnerships, the more opportunity there is for some really great brands to merge, and we will see true New York brands make a run at it,“ he said.

 

Track and Trace, the Illicit Market, and the Path Forward

Sciarrone also addressed the upcoming New York track-and-trace system, expected to be implemented in early 2026. He sees it as a crucial step for a fair and regulated market. “Anybody operating in New York or any regulated market should be operating with a license,“ he said. Without track and trace, unlicensed operators have easy access to the market, avoiding taxes and regulations, which undermines legitimate businesses.

The system, he explained, will provide relief to licensed operators, including microbusinesses, microprocessors, and outdoor farms, by helping them move products more efficiently and transparently. It will also give consumers confidence in the origin and safety of the cannabis they purchase. While he acknowledges that some will try to work around the system, he emphasized that track and trace is a necessary step toward maintaining a healthy, fair, and thriving market.

 

“Listen, it’s a step in the right direction,“ he said. “It will help us keep a really great economy going and prevent giving people a free swing in the market.”

 

Price Compression and Market Equilibrium

On the topic of pricing, Sciarrone noted that predicting supply and demand in New York is challenging. The market is growing rapidly, but price compression is a reality in a sector where cannabis prices are not regulated. “Price is going to come down,“ he said, and any market that expects stable high prices has never existed because supply, investment, and competition constantly influence it.

He emphasized the importance of building confidence among local operators. Micro and outdoor farms in New York are producing good-quality products. As the local supply base stabilizes without too much out-of-state competition, operators may feel more comfortable investing in cultivation and expanding capacity. “We’re hopeful that people will see it as investable,“ he said. Curaleaf itself continues to invest carefully, weighing expansion decisions against market uncertainty. Stabilization of supply, he believes, will ultimately support a healthier, long-term market.

The Hemp Equation

Sciarrone also addressed the emerging hemp space, where Curaleaf has begun experimenting with beverages and a small retail presence in Florida. While he does not oversee the hemp business directly, he emphasized its significance and complexity. The hemp market has reached $30 billion in value, growing faster than the regulated cannabis channel. It is widely available in convenience stores and major retailers, which means it is attracting new consumers who might otherwise enter the regulated market.

 

“The hemp channel is stealing our new customers,“ Sciarrone said.

 

Many consumers who are trying cannabis for the first time are turning to hemp beverages and edibles instead of licensed dispensaries. Large investments and strong lobbying by farmers have accelerated this growth, creating a reality that cannot simply be legislated away.

Sciarrone believes that the regulated and hemp industries will eventually converge, whether through national or state-level licensing. Curaleaf’s strategy is to understand the hemp market while protecting the regulated channel, where its distribution assets and customer relationships reside. “We will fight to make sure we protect the regulated channel,“ he said, noting that brand work and product development, particularly in beverages, are ongoing priorities to maintain market share.

How Cannabis Brands Plan To Drive Retail Sales in 2026

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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Retailers are not in the business of building brands. They are in the business of selling products. The most effective way to earn buyer attention is still the same: proven sales velocity paired with brand awareness that brings customers through the door.

Retail Is the Battleground

Brendan McKee, co-founder of Massachusetts dispensary Silver Therapeutics, wants brands to fully commit to retail partnerships. “Brands that we have in store and collaborate with in more meaningful ways share dedicated emails and social posts with their customers,” he said. “For new store openings and operating locations, brands bring in food trucks, pop-up materials, merch giveaways, and product discounts.” The store also offers co-branded print and digital ads from brands to amplify collective reach. “It is a beautiful thing when brands show up for our teams and retail locations. We are always better together,” added McKee.

Jesse Tolz, VP of Marketing at Gotham dispensaries in New York, agrees that experiences leave a deeper impression than discounts. “The most effective strategic partners invest in experiences that build brand awareness,” he said. “Product collaborations and experiential activations consistently outperform traditional promotions because they create emotional attachment rather than relying solely on transactional incentives.”

Tolz pointed to an upcoming event built around Gotham Goods’ line of body and home essentials, anchored in the idea that ritual is a catalyst for connection. The Feb. 10 launch will introduce the collection through an immersive evening of scent discovery and product sampling at Gotham Gallery in Chelsea, Manhattan.

For Monica Olano, founder of Cali Sober Market in Louisiana, the most powerful in-store marketing tactic is still human-to-human connection at the point of sale. “On any given day, I can predict which SKUs will move best based on who’s working, because they believe in those brands and understand the ingredients and effects,” she said. “Brands that treat getting on the shelf as the finish line will stall. The ones that win treat it as the starting point by investing in staff education, relationships, and ongoing presence.” When employees become believers, they don’t just drive sales; they become advocates.

 

How Brands Are Showing Up at Retail

As the industry matures, consumers are increasingly walking into dispensaries with specific brands in mind. Still, standing out remains difficult in a crowded market when everyone basically sells the same thing and competes on the same promotions. In categories where vapes and gummies are largely built on distillate and flavor innovation, brands cannot afford to let their marketing guard down. Should brands focus on multiple marketing levers or execute a few tactics really well? What’s the best way to impact the customer’s experience?

For Olio, a Colorado-based craft brand focused on live resin and rosin, driving retail sales starts outside the dispensary. Chief Marketing Officer James C. says his team prioritizes education-forward social settings, such as crafting sessions, recurring community events, and terpene pairings, that allow consumers to engage with the brand in a relaxed, hands-on environment. According to James, these experiential activations consistently outperform in-store pop-ups when it comes to creating first-time buyers.

At Alibi, budtenders are the focal point. “They are the ones guiding the purchase, so when they truly understand the product and the story behind it, sales follow naturally,” said Marianne Cursetjee. The brand invests heavily in budtender education, both in person and online, ensuring staff are eager to recommend Alibi on the floor.

Ryan Hunter, Chief Revenue Officer at Colorado-based Spherex, agrees that budtenders are the true gatekeepers. He warns that a single recommendation at the counter can change a shopper’s decision instantly. A budtender who recommends your product or wears your logo, he said, is worth more than any billboard.

Hunter added that the smartest teams show up consistently in dispensaries, but not through flashy pop-ups that reach only a handful of shoppers. Instead, they invest in long-term retail partnerships, supporting staff with simple gestures like lunch, swag, or operational support. “An effective cannabis marketing program supports the entire funnel,” he said, “from first awareness through repeat purchase.”

Carol Tyson, the Director of Marketing for Jaunty, a leading New York producer, emphasized their efforts to increase basket size in stores.

She said, in 2026, brands need to think less about one-off moments and more about creating repeatable levers that actually help retailers sell more product per visit. “For us, education and visual merchandising still matter—but only if they’re directly tied to increasing basket size and brand recall,” she said.

“Budtenders are our first customers. When they understand how a product fits into a consumer’s routine—whether that’s daytime focus, social use, or winding down—they’re better equipped to recommend complementary products and build a multi-item basket. That’s where in-person education still wins,” adds Tyson. “It’s not just about sampling; it’s about giving budtenders the language and confidence to upsell thoughtfully.

On the merchandising side, shelf space is incredibly competitive, especially in New York. So they invest in displays and menu placements that work harder—clear visual cues, simple product architecture, and messaging that helps consumers quickly understand the brand and what to add next. “When a display helps a consumer self-navigate or sparks a conversation that leads to a second or third item in the basket, that’s when marketing dollars are actually doing their job,” she explains.

Tyson believes the brands that will win in 2026 are those that align their marketing with retail outcomes—sell-through, basket size, and repeat purchase.

David Paleschuck of the Branding Bud Consulting Group agrees that retail success comes from orchestration, not isolated tactics. “There is no single tool, tactic, or growth hack that drives retail success on its own,” he said. “The real power comes from linking systems together to create relevance.”

By aggregating location data, weather patterns, local events, holidays, calendar timing, and past purchase behavior, brands can trigger messaging that feels timely rather than promotional. A rainy weekend, a local concert, or a replenishment window can all inform what gets promoted and when. “In 2026,” Paleschuck said, “the brands that win at retail will not be the ones with the cleverest campaign. They will be the ones that turn multiple data points into offers that feel personal, contextual, and genuinely useful.”

 

Consumer Insights: Where Brands Are Winning and Falling Short

No amount of marketing will generate repeat purchases if the product fails to meet consumer expectations. But across markets, consumer feedback also shows that winning brands are delivering on quality and consistency.

To understand how legal cannabis is landing with consumers, we reviewed discussions and reviews across Reddit and Yelp in California, Colorado, and New York. While criticism is common, particularly around flower quality and potency accuracy, positive feedback reveals clear opportunities for brands that get the fundamentals right.

In California, where consumers are arguably the most discerning, experienced shoppers consistently reward brands that prioritize flavor, smoothness, and strain integrity. Craft flower brands known for terpene-forward profiles and clean smoke are frequently praised, especially by consumers who say they are willing to pay more for products that taste good and deliver quality. Edibles also perform well in the state, with gummy brands earning praise for reliable dosing, consistent onset, and pleasing flavor profiles.

Colorado consumers are more divided, particularly around flower freshness and potency labeling, but positive feedback emerges when quality expectations are met. Consumers routinely praise dispensaries and brands that offer fresh product, clear lab results, and honest potency claims. When products deliver as advertised, shoppers are quick to leave high ratings and recommend them to others.

In New York, where the legal market is still maturing, consumers are vocal about shortcomings but equally clear about what works. Edibles receive some of the strongest praise, especially when effects are consistent, and labeling feels accurate. Shoppers also respond positively to well-curated retail experiences, knowledgeable staff, and brands that feel intentional rather than rushed to market. Even as flower quality remains a common complaint, consumers note that when they find a product that hits properly, they remember the brand and actively seek it out again.

Across all three states, consumers showed they will make repeat purchases when brands deliver a fresh, crafted, quality product. While marketing, activations, and retail partnerships are essential, they only work when the product experience hits home.

 

The Cannabis Retailer’s Survival Guide to 2026

By Pam Chmiel
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2025 saw most businesses scrutinizing their operations to trim margins and survive the tumultuous market. 2026 is about digging deeper to uncover hidden costs that will further improve their bottom line.  

Tom Zuber, partner at Zuber Lawler, led a panel discussion at the recent IgniteNJ event, where experts offered advice on margin discipline and where to cut costs.

 

What to Consider When Entering A New Market

Trent Woloveck, Chief Strategy Officer at Jushi Holdings, says retailers entering a new market must evaluate three core cost centers: labor, compliance, and real estate.

Operators should closely analyze traffic patterns, peak hours, and staffing models to understand true operating costs and potential revenue. Retail, he notes, is a people-centric business where customer experience cannot be sacrificed, even in a margin-compressed environment.

Engaging with local authorities and community leaders is essential for educating lawmakers and shaping favorable, reasonable legislation. Woloveck emphasizes the importance of being a responsible operator so that regulators do not feel as though the sky is falling simply because they legalized medical and/or adult-use cannabis.

When it comes to real estate, Woloveck stresses the importance of a “main on main” location with high traffic counts, adequate parking, and strong signage, while keeping rent between 3% and 5% of total projected revenue as a benchmark for profitability. He acknowledges that securing prime locations remains one of the harder costs to control, largely because many landlords near malls or carrying mortgages on their properties are still unwilling to lease to cannabis operators. Woloveck is optimistic that federal rescheduling will expand that pool of willing landlords, increasing supply and putting downward pressure on rents. He draws a parallel to COVID-era lease concessions that proved beneficial for operators in markets like Virginia.

 

Battling Price Compression

While retailers are combating price compression that is driving down basket size, Travis Scadron, EVP at Surfside, suggests other ways to increase margins by passing merchandising costs onto brands and monetizing the real estate on your website. He cites Amazon as an example, noting that 68% of the profit on Amazon’s e-commerce platform comes from advertising sales. He stressed the importance of pushing the right products at the right time and with the right pricing.

Trip McDermott, COO of Verano, a vertically integrated operator, says the company is seeing margin erosion across all areas of the supply chain. He specifically pointed to cultivation, noting that labor prices are rising, as are input costs such as salts, nutrients, and coco. On the retail side, he said labor costs are also increasing, compounded by mounting pressure to discount.

“So, there’s erosion happening everywhere, but it’s where you can control part of that erosion, which is going to be around reducing turnover of your employees, trying to get more out of them, continuous training so you’re not having to rehire, improving efficiencies so that you’re getting more units per head out of all those employees,” he advised. “Automate where you can without sacrificing quality, and really look into the data to understand where there’s opportunity for improvement,” he added.

McDermott highlighted extraction processes as an area where costs are easily overlooked. Operators who are not capturing data on their extraction yields may be quietly eroding their margins without realizing it. Key questions to ask include: What are your inputs? Is it trim or flower? What are the yields on the other end of the extraction process? “I would say that’s an area for improvement, a lot of operators should really focus on,” said McDermott. “Capturing that data is not only important for fully understanding your cost of goods, but it also adds up to a lot of money at the end of the day.”

 

Customers First

Krista Raymer, Chief Strategy Officer at C3 Industries, cautions operators against cutting costs in areas that directly impact the customer experience. In a market where a core group of loyal customers drives the bulk of transactions, she argues that retaining existing customers is just as important as acquiring new ones. Labor reductions, shifts in inventory assortment, and changes to the marketing mix can all have unintended consequences for the in-store experience if not carefully considered in advance.

 

The Hidden Risks of Inventory

On the inventory side, Raymer warns that carrying costs can quietly balloon as operators chase newness and freshness to satisfy customer demand, which does not always align with how quickly the product actually moves. Maintaining analytical control over inventory is critical to avoiding dollars tied up in slow-moving product. Tom Zuber echoed the point, noting that buyers need to stock what actually sells and not be influenced by vendor friendships. If a brand does not meet customer expectations, it will sit on the shelf as dead weight, becoming a direct drag on the store’s bottom line.

Verano’s McDermott adds another dimension to the inventory conversation, pointing to product costing at the facility level as one of the most under-invested areas in the industry. He argues that implementing an ERP system to accurately understand the true cost of producing each product is foundational to becoming a fully dialed-in operator. The process is not easy, but McDermott says it will identify weaknesses and pinpoint where products are underperforming, providing direction for SKU rationalization. Without that level of product cost of goods, he warns, operators are likely working from their gut, which is further off than they realize.

 

Flexibility and Market Pivots are Key

Woloveck notes that rather than spreading thin across many markets, Jushi has shifted its strategy toward going wider and deeper in select states, pulling back on store expansion after a 40% increase in store count and redirecting dollars toward cultivation buildouts in high-opportunity markets like Virginia and Pennsylvania. He noted that this “concentrate and win” approach has become a common strategy across both public and private MSOs.

On vertical integration, the panelists offered contrasting views. Verano’s McDermott says that being vertically integrated in New Jersey has been an advantage, allowing the company to capture margins at every stage and bring new products to market where it can be more price-competitive in the wholesale space, particularly as newer brands use price as a competitive weapon.

Raymer says the company assesses each operation state by state and that vertical integration is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. In New Jersey, C3 operates without vertical integration, and Raymer says that works because it allows them to experiment with the market without operational pressure. In Missouri, by contrast, the company is fully vertical, targeting a set percentage of its own product through retail. As wholesale costs evolve and markets mature, she suggests the evaluation around vertical integration will continue to shift. “It just depends on where the state is, both from a cost to produce, as well as what the wholesale costs look like within that market,” she said.

 

Looking at Product Margins From Different Angles

Raymer says C3 Industries looks at inventory and assortments within a state and then by store to identify where there is room to push on margin or negotiate costs based on factors like sales velocity. The company uses markup strategies based on how quickly a product moves through the environment, focusing on total margin dollars rather than margin as a percentage.

Woloveck has observed a notable consumer shift toward larger units, with customers trading up from eighths to quarters or ounces on flower, and vape formats growing from 0.3 grams to 2 grams. Larger pack sizes lower the cost per unit and improve overall margin dollars, even if total unit count decreases. He stressed that every state, and even a city or jurisdiction within a state, requires its own distinct strategy.

 

 

 

 

New York’s Cannabis Boom Is Real, But So Are the Risks

By Hirsh Jain
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The Most Exciting US Market 

No cannabis market in the United States has experienced a more compelling growth trajectory over the past two years than New York. After a halting and often-criticized launch, the state’s legal adult-use market has accelerated at an unmatched pace. 

In 2023, New York generated a paltry $100 million in legal cannabis sales, far short of its expected market potential of (at least) $5 billion. In 2024, that figure expanded to approximately $900 million, nearly a tenfold increase. By 2025, sales climbed again to almost $1.8 billion, nearly doubling year over year.

Looking ahead, cannabis sales have the potential to approach $2.5 billion in 2026, reinforcing New York’s position as the most exciting growth market in U.S. cannabis. But rapid growth at the market level does not guarantee success for individual operators. 

In fact, the very forces driving New York’s expansion are also introducing a set of structural risks that cannabis businesses must be prepared to navigate.

Growth Fueled by Store Proliferation, and the Consequences

New York’s sales surge has been driven primarily by the rapid expansion of retail access. At the start of 2024, the state had approximately 50 licensed dispensaries open for business, far too few to adequately serve a state with a population of 20 million people.

By the end of 2024, that number had grown to more than 275 dispensaries, more than a fivefold increase. That torrid growth continued the next year; by the end of 2025, there were more than 525 dispensaries open in New York. Projections suggest the state will have more than 750 licensed stores by the end of 2026.

This dramatic increase in storefronts has undeniably improved consumer access, grown the legal market, and helped displace illicit sales. But it has also begun to strain retail economics. According to the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), annualized retail sales per store declined from roughly $5 million in Q3 and Q4 of 2024 to approximately $3.8 million in Q2 and Q3 of 2025. 

Whether this decline persists remains to be seen. And it may be that there are other factors besides additional dispensaries driving the reduction in per-store sales. However, the recent decline has been significant and suggests that competition on a per-store basis may be intensifying faster than demand is growing.

If so, the implication is clear: simply opening a dispensary is no longer sufficient for financial success in New York. Retailers now face a much more competitive environment in which weak business practices, poor inventory management, undifferentiated product selection, or subpar customer experience can quickly threaten viability. 

The next phase of New York’s market will reward operators who invest in brand, service quality, and customer loyalty, and punish those who assume market growth alone will carry them forward.

Supply-Chain Risk and the Danger of a Credit Bubble

Notably, retail pressure may not stay confined to the retail tier. As some New York dispensaries struggle to maintain margins and cash flow, downstream effects are already emerging. In some cases, retailers have fallen behind on payments to distributors and manufacturers, creating stress across the cannabis supply chain.

The industry has seen this movie before. In California, the collapse of distributor HERBL in 2023 sent shockwaves through the market, leaving cultivators and manufacturers with millions in unpaid receivables. Many of these businesses ended up folding along with HERBL.

Perhaps this is too alarmist. New York, one might argue, is not California. But the risk is analogous. Some distributors in New York are already reporting difficulties collecting from retailers, raising concerns about a potential credit bubble forming beneath the surface of the market’s headline growth.

As such, all participants (retailers, distributors, brands) need to exercise caution in choosing partners, setting payment terms, and managing credit exposure. Growth without discipline can quickly become destabilizing, especially in a young market where balance sheets are still fragile. 

At a minimum, New York operators should monitor the OCM delinquency list, also known as the “C.O.D.” (cash on delivery) list, to identify businesses that have failed to pay suppliers on time and help ensure they do not become entangled with business partners that are not creditworthy.

Discounting Comes With Rules

In November 2025, New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) approved updated marketing rules that allow dispensaries, for the first time, to offer traditional retail promotions, including discounts, coupons, loyalty programs, reward points, bundled pricing, and temporary sales. As they face increased competition, New York retailers may attempt to remain competitive through this newly allowed practice of discounting. 

But discounting in New York is far from a free-for-all, and operators who misunderstand the rules risk costly compliance violations. For instance, cannabis products may not be sold below their “market value”, defined as the minimum retail price, set at 1.5 times the wholesale price paid by the retailer for the discounted product. 

In addition, when a product is discounted, the retail excise tax must still be calculated on the pre-discounted price. If a $10 item is discounted to, say, $8, the excise tax is still applicable to the pre-discounted price of $10.

This requirement means retailers must ensure their POS systems are properly configured to handle discounted pricing without underpaying taxes. This is a nontrivial operational challenge for businesses already stretched thin.

The Illicit Market Still Looms Large

Even as the legal market grows in New York, the continued presence of unlicensed cannabis retailers remains a major threat to legal operators. Illicit stores continue to siphon demand, depress legal prices, and undermine the regulated market’s ability to fully realize its potential. 

By the OCM’s own admission, enforcement against illicit cannabis operators stalled in 2025 – with just 2,017 “enforcement actions” undertaken in 2025, compared to 5,215 such actions undertaken in 2024. 

The OCM has cited the completion of a well-funded 2024 multi-agency enforcement task force as a key reason for the dip in enforcement in 2025. This lack of enforcement against unlicensed activity helps explain much of the 25% decline in annualized retail sales per store – from $5 million to $3.8 million – that occurred in New York in 2025.

Given this concerning reality, legal operators must immediately press policymakers, particularly Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, to enforce existing laws against illegal cannabis sales. Such a commitment was glaringly absent from Governor Hochul’s “State of The State” address on January 13th, where other cannabis priorities were mentioned but New York’s growing illicit cannabis market was not.

And the case for enforcement should not be framed solely as an industry concern. Under the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), passed with much fanfare in March 2021, legal cannabis tax revenue is earmarked for non-profits, community organizations, and social programs. And so, any lapse in enforcement that politicians enable directly jeopardizes those commitments.

Legal cannabis businesses should be proactive in communicating this message, in partnership with the local non-profits and social organizations that depend on cannabis tax revenue. Working together, these parties should make clear that enforcement against illegal activity is essential to delivering on the social justice goals that political leaders like Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani so frequently and poetically invoke in their discussion of cannabis policy on the campaign trail.

And they should make clear that rhetoric alone is not enough from politicians. They must insist, vocally, that sustained enforcement is the only way to protect the legal cannabis supply chain and the long-promised public benefits tied to it.

METRC, Product Inversion, and the Integrity of the Supply Chain

Another looming challenge is the continued risk of product inversion, cannabis from outside New York entering the legal supply chain. This threatens compliant operators, particularly in-state brands that are already operating with limited capital and thin margins.

The ongoing implementation of METRC, currently being challenged by a recently filed lawsuit, is essential to protecting the integrity of New York’s market. But it must be handled carefully. 

Going forward, the state needs to provide operators, especially smaller ones, with adequate guidance, training, and technical support to comply with the METRC system. A chaotic or poorly supported rollout could disrupt the supply chain and inflict irreparable harm on businesses that are attempting to follow the rules.

At the same time, indefinite delays in METRC implementation would prove problematic. Without a fully operational track-and-trace system, bad actors will be able to continue to invert illegal product and legal operators would be disproportionately harmed. New York must thread the needle: implementing METRC effectively, without perpetual delay, while ensuring it does not become another unintended obstacle to legal commerce.

In addition, S.8951, a bill recently introduced by Senator Jeremy Cooney, can also help keep illicit cannabis out of New York’s regulated market. As the Empire State Green Standard Alliance, which advocates for New York cannabis consumers, has noted, the bill clearly defines cannabis inversion, makes it explicitly illegal, and backs enforcement with real consequences, including major financial penalties, license revocation, lab accountability, personal liability for responsible executives, and strong whistleblower protections.

Taken together, these measures, if successfully implemented, can help address the inversion that has tainted New York’s legal cannabis market.

A Market Worth Betting On, With Eyes Wide Open

The growth in New York’s cannabis market over the past two years has been extraordinary, and the runway ahead remains long. But this is no longer a market where every operator will rise with the tide. The next phase will separate disciplined, well-capitalized, customer-focused businesses from those unprepared for competition, compliance, and financial pressure.

For operators willing to navigate these challenges thoughtfully, New York remains one of the most important cannabis opportunities in America. For those who mistake growth for inevitability, it may prove far less forgiving.

Treating Cannabis Like A Fine Wine

By Sean Creamer
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The experience in both wine and cannabis starts with ritual: swirling, inhaling, letting heat or air coax the plant’s chemistry to life. Where wine has long relied on sommeliers to guide that moment, cannabis has spent decades without an equivalent voice to explain how cultivation, curing, and preparation shape what a consumer feels.

The emergence of the Ganjier is an attempt to fill that gap. Created by a group of cultivators, hashmakers, historians, and retailers, including figures like Kevin Jodrey, Swami Chaitanya, Nick Tanem, and Derek Gilman, the Ganjier Council is designed to professionalize cannabis evaluation and service. Think of it as the cannabis world’s version of the Court of Master Sommeliers: a certification built around sensory training, product knowledge, and the language needed to communicate quality.

Reverence for process is exactly what the Ganjier certification program aims to formalize. Kevin Jodrey, the renowned cultivator and original architect of the curriculum, describes Ganjiers as interpreters. “Ganjiers fit into the conversation as translators, somebody who clarifies language, so that when you say something to me, and I say something to someone else, it means the same thing.” It mirrors the work of sommeliers, a comparison Jodrey makes explicitly: “That’s really what sommeliers do, they translate wine into language that allows people to understand what to expect.”

As legalization accelerates and price compression pushes products toward uniformity, this shared language, the ability to turn sensory experience into common understanding, may be cannabis’s most powerful differentiator.

 

Meet the Experts Teaching the World to Taste Cannabis like Fine Wine

The modern Ganjier began as something far more personal. Jodrey recalls its earliest moment taking shape at home. “The Ganjier was invented in my kitchen. My son came up with the name, he said, ‘Dad, you’re a Ganjier, you’re a cannabis culturalist. You’re all things cannabis.’” What started as a family nickname soon resonated more widely. As legalization gained momentum, Green Flower founders Max Simon and Derek Gilman approached Jodrey with a proposal. “They came to me and said, Hey, Kev, we have an idea that we would like to create a program that highlights the nuances of cannabis in a way that allows the complex world to be brought to light so that customers, new people, consumers can see the picture in a way they haven’t.”

Shaping that clarity took work. Over several years, Jodrey and a team of eighteen practitioners debated how to define cannabis quality in a way that could stand the test of time. “It allowed the 18 of us, over the course of  7,000 hours in a multi-year period, to brawl it out and determine how to look at something in an objective manner. It was an idea of how to create cannabis connoisseurship that has a hundred-year life.”

Tanem, a California-based hashmaker and founding Ganjier Council member, remembers how the Council ultimately formed around that mission. “Derrick Gilman collected a number of us professionals that had skill sets in different areas throughout the industry, from breeding to cultivation to the law to history to extraction, you name it. The goal was to cover all bases via a program that would teach what quality is in cannabis. “People don’t really know how to assess quality, and so that’s a big part of what the Ganjier does,” said Tanem. “We really give a full background of the industry, from cultivation to law to the history to extraction to customer interaction protocols, etc.”

The path cannabis is now traveling mirrors the evolution of other connoisseur markets. Jocelyn Sheltraw, founder of The Budist, a cannabis scoring and education platform, notes that wine, beer, and coffee all matured through codification. “It’s just understanding how other connoisseur markets have evolved, and really studying the history of how consumers come to appreciate products. Whether you look at wine, beer, or coffee, they all use the same 100-point system created by Robert Parker in the late 1970s and early 1980s.” 

She emphasizes that no scoring system gains traction without guidance for interpreting it. “It took the Sherpas, it took the educators to translate that to consumers across all of those industries.” Competitions and community forums also played a role. “Competitions were a major part of drawing light on quality, and the oldest wine competition in the United States actually dates back to the 1850s.” 

Cannabis is now following the same arc, with its own judging culture, from legacy region cups to large-scale events like the upcoming MJBiz Con awards on December 2nd-5th, which bring brands, cultivators, and reviewers under one roof to evaluate products on shared terms. Cannabis connoisseurship is now entering that same phase: a shift from tradition held in pockets to a shared, teachable system of evaluation. The Ganjier is its first attempt at building a unified language.

Training and the Craft of Evaluation

If the origins of the Ganjier reflect cannabis culture’s past, the curriculum represents its future. The program is designed to function much like formal wine education, combining sensory discipline, technical learning, and service training. Students work through extensive online modules and then take part in in-person instruction led by multiple council members with different palates and professional backgrounds. 

Tanem describes the value of that diversity. “Students who come through the Ganjier program not only do two days of in-person training, but they also do anywhere from two weeks to two years of online training where they go through all of the different aspects of the industry.” Once students come out for the in-person class, there are four or five instructors or council members who provide different opinions and education. “For instance, from Swami [Chaitanya], who wants a smoother smoke and a well-cured product he calls vintage, to people like myself who have the ears to the streets,” said Tanem. “We have a lot of council members that are in retail today, in cultivation, in extraction. Having that variation in how we present what quality is, because quality can be subjective.”

A major part of that training is undoing the industry’s fixation on THC percentage. “We teach away from promoting high THC products,” Tanem says. “People want the highest THC, and we really want to educate people against that. We talk about the other volatile compounds, from sulfurs to esters to terpenes. There is a lot more to cannabis than just high THC numbers.”

The structure for this deeper analysis comes through the Systematic Assessment Protocol, or SAP, the sensory backbone of the curriculum. Jodrey explains it as a guided way to evaluate cannabis in stages. “The SAP is basically a digital scorecard with criteria that, when you touch the category, allows you to understand what this category is and how we look at it.” First up, according to Jodrey, is aroma, followed by appearance, then combustion or flavor, and then experience. The approach distinguishes between objective traits and subjective preferences. “Very volatile cannabis indicates good storage and good production,” he notes. “But a variety with low aroma might be perfect for someone who lives with their family, and the smell of pot offends them.”

Even outside the formal Ganjier curriculum, people who cultivate, process, and evaluate cannabis are running into the same limitation: combustion obscures the very subtleties the SAP is designed to measure. Former cultivator and current PAX Labs VP of Marketing Justin Tacy says this was a constant frustration long before he ever entered the device world. 

“As a cultivator, it was always frustrating to have people take what I spent years and years developing and just throw it in a bong and rip the whole gram in one go,” said Tacy. “That gives you the psychoactive effects, but it doesn’t really give you appreciation for the nuances around different terpenes and flavors.” 

Glassware and devices in cannabis are a crucial vehicle for connoisseurship. The same way wine glass design affects aroma delivery and perception, the tools used to consume cannabis can either sharpen or blunt the sensory experience. 

“It [dry air vaporization] really allows you to taste the genetics the way the cultivator intended, and pick up some of those more nuanced effects that only come from vaporizing certain terpenes versus combusting them,” Tacy noted. 

The point underscores a larger shift within cannabis connoisseurship, which is how you smoke matters. Just as glassware shapes how wine expresses its structure, the way flower is heated determines which compounds rise to the surface and which are muted or lost. That emphasis on controlled, repeatable sensory experience is exactly what the Ganjier SAP aims to formalize. 

“Wine is picking up complexity and notes and creating identification so people can understand,” Jodrey says. “We provide that, but we also provide other factors that wine does not have, which are the sustainability of aroma and penetration of aroma.” 

Behind the scenes, the Council built the curriculum piece by piece. “We broke this thing into pieces: cannabis science, law, history, retail, cultivation.” The team then went and found the people who fit into all those pieces, enabling the creation of the curriculum. “The Ganjier is a book; we all wrote a couple of chapters each in this book,” said Jodrey. “We created a common respect that was collaborative, and it was a golden time to create a language that we knew would hold up.”

That language now feeds into the broader connoisseurship ecosystem. Sheltraw describes the relationship between the Ganjier program and consumer platforms like The Budist. “Ganjier is the educational platform, equivalent of the sommelier program. Budist is the commercial platform where you apply that knowledge. Budist would then be the Wine Advocate, or Budist would be Vivino.” She emphasizes the importance of consistent judging methods. 

The SAP supplies the structure behind those evaluations. “With the SAP, there are 50 different data points. You are looking at trichome density, bud texture, and the complexity of flavors and aromas. Just to assess one flower can easily take over an hour.” And at the consumer level, the system becomes more approachable. “At Budist, we still use that same 100 point system, like all of these other major industries, but simplified for consumers. There are really four key attributes: aroma, appearance, flavor, and effect.”

Together, these elements turn the Ganjier curriculum into something much larger than a training course. It is a shared methodology, one that moves cannabis evaluation away from potency myths and toward a transparent, structured language of quality.

How Ganjiers Will Reshape Retail, Cultivation, and Brand Strategy

The rise of the Ganjier is beginning to reshape how cannabis is bought, taught, and experienced. What started as a sensory certification is now influencing every corner of the industry, from retail counters to events to tourism. 

“We are now having Bud Bars at weddings and events instead of alcohol bars, where Ganjier would be the budtender at a Bud Bar at a wedding,” Tanem said. “We are also seeing Ganjier in so many different spaces and aspects of the industry from buyers for dispensaries to QC to the head of distro, the head of sales departments, lead cultivation techs, and femmers [A femmer is someone who carries out the processes used to create feminized cannabis seeds, typically through controlled stress techniques, colloidal silver sprays, or silver thiosulfate (STS) applications that suppress male flower development.].  Tanem notes that recreational smokers and industry participants want to become Ganjiers for a whole host of reasons. 

As such, the credential has begun to create its own global community. “Every single time I go out in the field, whether I am in Hawaii or Barcelona or Berlin or Thailand, I will pull up at an event, and there are other Ganjiers there, and it is a congregation. They know each other; they can build from that,” Tanem says. These gatherings reinforce a shared standard, which then filters back into consumer education.

But even as connoisseurship gains ground, most consumers still operate via narrow decision-making looks built around potency, price, and whatever happens to be familiar. Without time or instruction at the point of sale, people default to what they know, a pattern that obscures the meaningful aspects of quality. Tacy, who spent a decade cultivating flower before joining PAX, sees this as one of the industry’s largest hurdles. 

“The market rushed to easy-to-understand numbers, high THC, weight, and maybe the color of the product, ” said Tacy. “Those are driving a lot of the industry versus what’s the value and experience you’re getting for that dollar.”

The point echoes what Ganjiers confront daily: as long as potency remains a stand-in for quality, the nuances cultivators labor to express remain out of reach for consumers. 

Jodrey frames the market context driving this need for guidance. Disposable income controls the purchase. Ninety to ninety-five percent of all purchases in cannabis are fundamentally price-driven,” he said. Education becomes the tool that helps consumers choose based on fit rather than strength or discount. Retail environments are already adjusting. “What you have to do is create a situation that lets people feel relaxed, and Ganjiers help you understand what is available in the world of cannabis so you can make better choices. That changes entire businesses,” said Jodrey. 

This vision aligns with the broader consumer landscape that Sheltraw sees emerging. “It will be very similar to what we see in wine. You are going to see your Ganjier working at cannabis retail, and as tourism evolves, you will see Ganjiers at farms educating consumers.” That presence will be omnichannel. “Wherever the consumer is, whether it is digital, social, dispensaries, or farms, we are going to see Ganjiers assisting customers.” Consumer knowledge is limited, and people are doing what they’ve done in the past; consumers are purchasing based on price point and THC level. Professional evaluation helps bridge that gap, and brands are beginning to realize that connoisseurship can also be a strategy. “Brands in cannabis recognize that this can be the impact of what we are doing to get out of this price and potency trap,” says Sheltraw. 

In a market where sameness is easy and differentiation is hard, the Ganjier offers something rare: a way to raise the value of cannabis through understanding, story, and experience.

Cheers!

The same rituals that open a glass of wine or a jar of cured flower remind us that tasting is as much interpretation as it is sensation. 

As cannabis moves from prohibition to professionalism, the Ganjier represents the shift from novelty to craft, from a scattered vocabulary to a shared one. Nick Tanem sees that future taking shape as new markets mature and consumers search for guidance on quality. Kevin Jodrey frames it even more directly. 

“The Ganjier is just really meant to create a language, fundamentally a language, that everyone speaks from store to store. So that when you say a strain does this, it translates to that somewhere else. It is language. It is understanding.” In that understanding lies the foundation of cannabis connoisseurship espoused by the Ganjier Council.

Get your Ganjier certificate here.

Hear more from Kevin Jodrey on the Inovating Cannabis Podcast.

Hear more from Nick Tanem on the Innovating Cannabis Podcast.

 

Target Just Opened the Door — Is Your Brand Compliance-Ready for Mass Retailers?

By Pam Chmiel
2 Comments

Will Target’s move to sell THC drinks be the catalyst the industry needs to push for higher standards?

Target’s decision to start selling hemp-derived THC beverages marks a major milestone for the cannabis industry and a reality check for brands hoping to follow. Selling into mass retail is not just about scaling production or packaging appeal. It requires proving that your product meets the same safety and manufacturing standards as food, pharma, and cosmetics.

As Darwin Millard, Technical Director at CSQ Certification, explains, “Retailers like Walmart and Target protect their liability by only buying from GMP-certified producers. That certification is their shield.” Without an accredited Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) certification, cannabis brands may not make it past the first round of vendor qualification.

The cannabis industry has traditionally operated in a silo, selling B2B to other licensed operators that rarely demand third-party certifications. Mass retailers operate differently. They rely on accredited certification programs to verify every layer of the supply chain, from ingredient sourcing to packaging. This mitigates risk and ensures traceability if something goes wrong.

Many hemp brands rely on co-manufacturers already bottling for alcohol and alternative beverage industries, but those manufacturers are often not GMP-certified for cannabis products. Existing food safety schemes, such as SQF or BRC, do not yet recognize cannabinoids as approved ingredients. Target may have overlooked this gap when approving its current selection of hemp beverages, but this is likely to be addressed going forward.

Target’s move could push the entire cannabis supply chain to adopt GMPs to protect consumers and ensure consistent quality. As Millard warns, “It could be the thing that gives our industry its biggest black eye if something goes wrong, or the moment that raises the bar for safety and quality once and for all.”

 

What It Takes To Get GMP Certified

GMP certification is a rigorous, multi-step process that demonstrates a company’s commitment to verified quality and safety standards. While companies may perform internal audits or have business partners review their processes, the most widely recognized and trusted method is third-party certification.

Third-party certification involves an independent organization auditing every aspect of your operation to ensure compliance with established GMP requirements. This provides a clear, objective verification that processes, documentation, and product handling meet global standards.

Not all third-party certifications carry the same weight. Accredited certifications are independently verified by an external authority and recognized internationally as meeting stringent standards for quality and safety. Unaccredited certifications, in contrast, may offer internal assurance but generally do not hold the same credibility with regulators, retailers, or international partners.

For brands targeting mass retail or global trade, third-party certification serves as proof that safety, traceability, and quality standards are adhered to.

 

What Compliance Looks Like

Not only does the cannabis industry need to embrace standards for scaling to mass retail, but it also needs to embrace standards for global trade. That includes accredited GMP certification rather than a certificate from an unverified auditor.

Cultivation falls under Current Good Agricultural Practices (GACP), ensuring that every stage of plant growth and harvest meets rigorous safety and quality benchmarks.

Effective cultivation standards cover both indoor and outdoor grow environments and include strict protocols for:

  • Water quality and irrigation management
  • Equipment sanitation and maintenance
  • Crop protection and propagation materials (including clones, seeds, and tissue culture)
  • Temperature and atmospheric control during drying and curing

Once plants are harvested, the process transitions from GACP to GMP standards, marking the shift from cultivation to manufacturing. “Harvest is the hard line,” says Millard. “Once you start to process the plant in a controlled environment by trimming, curing, or packaging, you’re operating under GMP.”

The CSQ Cultivation program also covers flower handling, grinding, and pre-roll production, but stops short of infused or extracted products. When it comes to post-harvest remediation techniques like irradiation, CSQ doesn’t explicitly prohibit them but requires detailed, documented procedures.

“We treat drying and curing like refrigerated or frozen food storage,” Millard explains. “There are specific temperature and environmental conditions that must be maintained to preserve product safety and quality.”

In the extraction process, standards define best practices for processing and handling cannabinoid materials. Standards cover everything from raw extracts, such as live resin or rosin, to refined materials, including distillate or purified cannabinoids. They also include formulation, risk assessment, and allergen implications for products intended for inhalation, ingestion, or topical use.

 

The Last Mile: Warehousing and Distribution

Once cannabis products leave the manufacturing facility, maintaining safety and quality becomes the responsibility of distributors and warehouse operators. Mass retailers will expect vendors to follow the same high standards throughout storage and transit as they do during production.

Controlled storage environments are a requirement for ensuring product preservation. Temperature, humidity, and atmospheric conditions must be monitored and documented to preserve volatile compounds in concentrates, infused products, and THC beverages, similar to perishable food or beverage items.

Proper warehousing protocols also protect against contamination, degradation, and liability. Companies that can prove systems for handling, tracking, and storing products across the supply chain will have a competitive advantage with mass retailers.

 

Retail Responsibility: Preserving Quality and Mitigating Liability

Once cannabis products reach the retail shelf, the responsibility for maintaining safety and quality shifts to the retailer. Like perishable foods, cannabis products can degrade if not stored under proper temperature, humidity, or lighting conditions. For high-end concentrates or infused products, even minor lapses in any of these factors can significantly impact potency, consistency, and the overall consumer experience.

If products degrade, retailers could face legal liability or incur costly recalls. In some cases, manufacturers may prove that products left the facility compliant with Certificate of Analysis (COA) standards, but without proper storage at the retail level, those standards cannot be maintained.

Standardized operating procedures (SOPs) for storage, handling, and temperature monitoring remove liability from the retailer and make sure consumers receive the quality product they are promised. Batch records, documented storage conditions, and adherence to best practices allow them to demonstrate that they took all reasonable steps to maintain product integrity.

High-end extractors and other manufacturers often worry that retail infrastructure is not yet equipped to handle sensitive products. Improper storage can result in financial losses and reputational damage. Embracing certifications and best practices will become increasingly essential as the industry matures and customers demand higher quality.

Consumers expect cannabis products to be safe, consistent, and accurately labeled. Maintaining quality throughout the supply chain ensures that products match what is promised. Otherwise, what reaches the shelf may be nothing more than THC content with degraded flavor, aroma, or texture, far from the intended experience.

 

Raising the Bar For Cannabis Quality

Target’s entry into hemp-infused beverages marks a turning point for the cannabis industry. Success in mass retail requires rigorous quality standards, including GMP and GACP practices, temperature-controlled storage, and documented SOPs, to protect consumers and retailers while preserving product quality. These practices position brands for mass retail and prepare the industry for international trade, where standards are even more stringent.

Dive deeper into standards with Darwin Millard on the Innovating Cannabis Podcast.

Can NY’s Legal Stores Compete with an Eight-Billion-Dollar Illicit Market?

By Pam Chmiel
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The recent Business of Cannabis Summit in New York City brought together industry professionals at the trendy Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, for a day focused on tackling the cannabis industry’s toughest challenges: price compression, retail survival, and the slow but steady shift from legacy to legal markets. The conversations offered a candid look at what it takes to survive and thrive as New York’s regulated cannabis industry matures. Many speakers agreed that while consumer demand is there, the framework that supports retailers is still developing, creating a volatile environment.

Joanne Wilson, owner and CEO of Gotham Dispensaries, offered a candid take on the current retail climate, warning that now is not the time to buy when asked about future expansion plans. “The market’s going to fall,” she said, predicting that many New York dispensary owners, especially small operators who invested personal and family funds, will face financial hardship as taxes and operating costs outpace returns. “It’s really… the whole thing is just a shambles,” Wilson added. Many panelists throughout the day were blunt about their dissatisfaction with the Office of Cannabis Management’s rollout of the New York market. Several attendees said they remain hopeful, but stressed the need for more consistent enforcement and clearer rules of engagement for retailers and brands.

David Vautrin, CEO of Fluent, echoed her caution, advising new entrants to start small. “Go for a smaller space,” he said. “A lot of folks went big in the beginning, and the overhead is enormous. Your costs are only going up while your margins are going down. The tax situation is grim.” With sales volume softening and price compression tightening profits, Vautrin said retailers must operate lean and avoid getting “too far over your skis.”

Vautrin points to being brand-centric. “Because we’re restricted to three adult-use stores, our biggest opportunity has really been in wholesale,” he said. “Our wholesale business is growing very rapidly, and we’re servicing a few hundred customers already.”

From a retail perspective, Vautrin said success stresses the importance of having the right SKU selection to build sticky customer relationships. There is a dizzying number of strains available. “Retailers need to have a great menu, a good variety, and a very well-educated team in order to sell these products and help move people up the value chain,” he said. His team partners with SeedTalent to train budtenders so they can serve as informed guides for consumers, ideally emphasizing terpene profiles and product effects, not just high THC numbers.

 

Has the Market Reached Its Limit?

“I think we’re there,” said Wilson. “And what’s equilibrium anyway? In ten years, maybe, but five years from now you’ll see a lot of large brands—maybe Gotham will be one of them.” She went on to explain her vision for a balanced ecosystem similar to other mature retail sectors. “There will always be large department-store-style dispensaries, but you’ll also have smaller neighborhood shops, like the local wine or nail salons, where you know the owner and just need something quick. That’s where we’ll end up in terms of balance.”

Wilson said the illicit market remains a major issue. “Every cop in New York City knows where these underground places are, and they have to be stopped, because that’s business they’re taking away from us,” she said. “If you’re going to grow a business, then give us the tools to grow a business. If they did this in the tech industry, you wouldn’t have the big tech companies you have today. They would have all walked away.”

Vautrin countered that true equilibrium is still a long way off. “We’re far from that stage,” he said. “We haven’t even captured a material chunk of the illicit market yet. In the long run, it’s going to be a branding game—brands that can build authentic relationships with customers will end up winning.” He pointed out that “gummy consumers tend to be the most loyal because they want to repeat that experience, while flower consumers tend to be the least loyal because of the variability,” suggesting that future growth will depend on how brands educate and build brand awareness.

 

Bridging Legacy and Legal Markets

Vladamir Batista, co-owner of Happy Munkey dispensaries, offered a more optimistic take, praising the OCM for creating “bridges instead of moats” that allow legacy operators like himself to enter the legal market. “New York has created a program where somebody who was in the illicit market can create a brand, open their own dispensary, and come to the legal market,” Batista said. “I’ve already seen that happening with people I know, and it’s going to continue.”

New York’s legal market has generated around $2 billion in revenue so far this year, and many at the summit predicted the illicit market could be $4 billion. Batista thinks it’s far higher than official estimates and is worth $8 to $10 billion. “New York City is the highest-consuming cannabis city in the world,” he said. “I keep my ear to the ground, the legacy market is definitely shrinking—it’s not as conducive as it once was because price compression in the legal market also drives down prices in the illicit market.”

He believes that as more legacy creativity and customer loyalty migrate to the regulated space, the industry will strengthen rapidly. “As more of that creativity crosses over to the legal market, more consumer emails and databases will get converted to the legal market. It’s going to get really robust, really fast,” Batista said.

Despite acknowledging challenges, he credited the state for giving social equity entrepreneurs a chance to participate. “Without programs like this, you’d lose the battle against the legacy market every time,” he said. “At the end of the day, they’ve been around for 80 years. You’re not going to overtake them—you can only embrace them and help them cross over.”

The State Of New York’s Cannabis Industry 2025

By Pam Chmiel
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Jason Ambrosino, a disabled Army veteran and founder of Veterans Holdings, entered the New York market in 2019 under the state’s hemp program with the goal of cultivating and manufacturing cannabis. But despite holding a 5,000-square-foot indoor cultivation license, he decided not to build out his facility. The reason, he says, is simple: “The registered organizations (ROs) in New York State own the flower industry. They own it. You’re not going to break in.”

Ambrosino explained that the state’s vertically integrated ROs, many of which started as medical operators, dominate the adult-use flower market with massive 100,000-square-foot indoor canopies and the ability to negotiate favorable energy rates. “The number one driver of indoor flower price anywhere is electricity cost,” he said. “Where I am in New York State, it’s 23 cents a kilowatt hour. The ROs can negotiate directly for 7, 8, or 9 cents per kilowatt-hour because of their size. There will never be a day when I can operate in the market alongside them, because it costs me twice as much to grow as it does them.” He said that disparity makes small-scale cultivation unviable for most new entrants.

Ambrosino estimates that it could cost him roughly $600 per pound to grow cannabis, while the ROs can do it for about half that. “You don’t really think about it until you end up paying for a license, only to find out the utility prices are so high that you can’t make it work,” he said.

He believes the state’s adult-use rollout created an illusion of opportunity for small hemp farmers and microbusinesses. “They used the illusion of inclusion to gain public support,” he said. “They built protections that were meant to keep ROs out for three years to create a level playing field, but these protections were stripped away after enough lobbying dollars were spent.”

According to Ambrosino, large operators pressured lawmakers by withholding financial commitments to social equity programs until they received favorable terms. “They held them hostage,” he said. “They told lawmakers, ‘We’re not going to pay you any of that money until you give us a more favorable law.’ So, they changed it.”

The result, he says, is a market where ROs hold most of the canopy, while smaller cultivators face high costs, limited access, and few realistic paths to profitability. “Right now, microbusinesses are structured for failure,” Ambrosino said. “They’re trying to sell flower at $60 when dispensaries can get indoor-grown product from ROs for $30 or $35. You can’t compete with that.”

Mismatched Policy, Manipulated Data, and a Market Set to Run Dry

Ambrosino says the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has failed to recognize the growing imbalance between large registered organizations and small cultivators. “The data OCM puts out is very manipulated and questionable,” he said. “They conflict with what they report from one day to the next. One day, there’s not enough canopy, the next day, there’s too much. It’s all over the place. They’ll show you all the potential canopy of adult-use license holders, but the reality is 80% of them aren’t growing, or they’re only using part of their allotted space. Meanwhile, the ROs are operating at a massive scale.”

He believes this disconnect has led policymakers to think there’s an oversupply problem when in reality there’s a shortage of affordable biomass. “OCM looks at flower canopy, not biomass canopy,” Ambrosino said. “We don’t have enough biomass to produce distillate, and distillate is what sets the price for everything.”

Ambrosino, who sits on the board of the Association of New York Cannabis Processors, says the solution starts with expanding outdoor cultivation. “We’ve been lobbying the state to raise the outdoor cap from one acre to five,” he explained. “They keep saying there’s enough canopy, but that’s not true if you want a functioning processing and manufacturing sector.”

He also believes OCM steered small farmers in the wrong direction. “They convinced these guys to grow indoors when they had no capital to begin with,” he said. “Outdoor grows are cheaper, more sustainable, and can produce terpene-rich material that’s perfect for extraction. Giving up those outdoor licenses was the worst thing they could have done.”

Ambrosino sees the industry’s structural problems fueling a deeper issue: product inversion. “Inversion is like a cancer tumor,” he said. “Everyone — dispensaries, processors, cultivators — is supporting it. If OCM just cuts it out overnight, the market will bleed to death. We have to shrink the tumor first. The only way to do that is to expand cultivation enough that it doesn’t make sense to invert.”

Licensing Gridlock and Market Whiplash

Dispensary operators say New York’s market isn’t just constrained by bureaucracy, it’s tangled in its own rules. Jon Paul Pezzo, owner of NYC Bud dispensary, believes the state’s proximity restrictions have unintentionally frozen the licensing process. “You have a lot of people that are holding proximities because they’re in the December queue or they just have a proximity,” he explained. “Some may have abandoned their license or run out of money, but those spots are still locked up. That means someone with an actual license can’t move forward.” Pezzo said that while rolling out the market slowly may have helped at first, the process has caused problems on all sides.

Now that the agency is considering waiving its 1,000-foot proximity rule to allow more dispensaries to open, Pezzo worries it’s too soon for such sweeping changes. “The industry isn’t even five years old,” he said. “Let it play out before you start rewriting the rules. If we had known these laws would change this quickly, maybe we would have invested differently.”

He added that while OCM claims to solicit feedback from operators, the process feels one-sided. “I’ve been to many OCM meetings where everyone’s frustrated, and the regulators just sit there getting yelled at,” he said. “At some point, they just shut down. I don’t think they’re really listening to logic.”

The Data Gap: METRC, Testing, and a Lack of Standards

Ambrosino believes New York’s lack of standardized testing and tracking has left the industry vulnerable to chaos. “If you want a juicy nugget, I’ll tell you where to look,” he said. “It’s in the testing, and it’s in the labs. If you dig deep enough, you’ll find that all of our labs are invalid because they were supposed to be updated by Wadsworth Labs, the state police lab that never got the equipment. Because of that, every lab is operating under its own standard. There’s no standardization between labs, and nobody knows.”

That lack of consistency, he warns, could have far-reaching financial consequences. When potency-based taxes were imposed, each lab’s different results meant the state effectively collected taxes on unverified data. “Don’t be surprised if people start demanding money back for what they overpaid in potency taxes,” Ambrosino said.

A long-promised track-and-trace system could have helped prevent some of this disarray, but the rollout has been repeatedly delayed. After three years, the agency now says METRC will finally be implemented in January.

Jon Paul Pezzo says the delay has left retailers struggling with manual systems that are prone to human error. “In a perfect world, this should work like a supermarket—product comes in, product goes out, and it’s all scanned into one universal system,” he explained. “Instead, we’re manually entering everything, and that leads to mislabeled products and bad data. For something that’s a controlled substance, that’s unacceptable.”

He believes a fully integrated METRC system could finally bring order to the process. “You’d have cultivators logging shipments, dispensaries scanning them in, and all the details automatically syncing,” Pezzo said. “It would make everyone’s life easier and protect the business as a whole. I just don’t understand why it’s taken this long.”

The Hemp Loophole is Undermining New York’s Legal Market

“The entire industry is using the hemp loophole,” Ambrosino said, describing a troubling double standard: OCM forced him to remove hemp-derived products from his website even though the regulations permitted out-of-state sales for products under the .3% threshold, while companies like Sluggers continue to sell high-potency “THCA hemp” products directly to New Yorkers online.

“This stuff they’re calling hemp, it’s not hemp, it’s marijuana,” he said. “We have to be smarter. It’s deceptive, and it’s hurting the legal operators who are trying to play by the rules.”

Ambrosino says that without proper lab oversight and product tracking, hemp-derived cannabinoids like THCA are slipping through regulatory cracks, further undermining the licensed market.