Leaf Trade partners with some of the biggest names in the cannabis industry. Through our close working relationships, we’ve identified five major trends happening in cannabis operations on both the retailer and cultivator side that are helping cannabis companies expand their footprint.

  • Focusing on key customers
  • Streamlining business strategy & product
  • Consolidating technology
  • Partnering with competitors
  • Selecting the right tech

I’m going to expand on each of these items to provide you with actionable takeaways you can implement to improve your cannabis operations.

Focus on Your Key Customers

Identify who your key customers are and create your experience around them.

Consumers shop at a variety of stores because there isn’t a single store out there that can meet all of their needs. Take time to learn about your audience, who they are, and what they want, and build a vision for the type of cannabis experience you want to create for them.

Consider Whole Foods and Target. Consumers shop at both Whole Foods and Target, not either or exclusively. This is because each store meets their different needs. Keep this in mind when crafting your cannabis business experience.

To compete in the cannabis industry you need to find a way to stand out and tailor your experience around your customers and the potential gaps in your local market. Identify differentiating points from your competition and fulfill your consumer’s needs by filling gaps in desired product or creating a unique experience that stands out.

We all go to stores for different reasons — you just have to give your consumers that reason to come to you.

Streamlined Business Strategy & Product

Streamline your business strategy and product offering to have a greater chance of creating something great consumers want.

If you have a smaller grow house, try to focus on creating 1-2 great cannabis products vs. trying to create 15+. This way you can be specialized and focused. Crafting 1-2 amazing products is an easier way to stand out and you’ll have greater chances of creating a product other stores want to stock and consumers want to buy.

A great example of a company doing just this is Grön. Grön is a women-led cannabis business that creates handcrafted cannabis-infused edibles. They have put their focus and energy into making first-rate edibles and have built an amazing brand identity around their products. Instead of trying to master vapes, drinks, oils, etc., they honed in on creating edibles and the end result speaks for itself.

Having a specialized product allows you to develop a stronger, better product to generate more demand.

Consolidated Technology Stack

Consolidating your tech can help you save on operating costs and work smarter.

Having too many tech products means you’ll need to hire people who specialize in each product. This can be hard to manage and isn’t cost-effective for a growing business.

Another issue you face with too many technology platforms is a fragmented system. Systems that don’t talk to each other leave room for manual error and valuable time spent reconciling data to get the information you need. Tech is there to be a helping tool, not a maze. Your systems need to talk to each other so you can do your best work and focus on growing and scaling.

Streamlining down to just a few really great tech systems can optimize your operational efficiency. There are a lot of great tools out there where you can do more with less and significantly cut back on how much tech is needed to run your business.

Partner With Your Competitors

Partnering with your competitors gives you both a greater chance of succeeding.

Take Pepsi and Coca-Cola as an example. These two competing brands both have their own stores, but still, sell each other’s products. Because they know when they work together, they can produce more profit.

Working together can help you and your competitors succeed. People like variety, and having a wider selection by carrying your competitor’s products is a good thing for everyone.

Working together can allow you to be more agile and adaptable. Share products, share insights, and promote each other’s business. When we work together we all have a better chance to succeed.

Select the Right Tech

Be selective and smart about the tech you choose

There are a lot of tech platforms out there, make sure you do your research so you know exactly what you’re getting. Your tech systems should work together and allow you to do your job better. If you’re using a system that makes it harder to do your job, it might be time to switch platforms.

Your tech provider should be a partner to your business and care about your success, when in the demo phase ask questions about continued support. If you find a tech solution isn’t doing what it was promised to do, evaluate if there is a better option out there.

Improving Your Business Operations

Partnering with the biggest names in the cannabis industry and being an active member of the cannabis community we were able to identify these five trends in cannabis operations. If you’re able to start implementing these tactics today and learn from what the MSOs are doing, you have a greater chance of being able to successfully expand your business.

Just remember:

  • Focus on your key customers and develop an experience they will love.
  • Streamline your business strategy & product to keep focused on creating something great.
  • Consolidate your technology services and make sure these systems are talking to each other.
  • Partner with your competitors and work together instead of against them.
  • Select the right tech that will you succeed and do your job better.

Are you a wholesaler who wants to start selling on Leaf Trade? Schedule a demo.

Want to get started buying on Leaf Tade? Create your free retailer account today!