The cannabis industry has been cruising at light speed for close to a decade now and the inevitable turbulence can result in hastily made decisions and create unforeseen and unnecessary challenges.
As more and more opportunities arise in the growing space, and the East Coast explodes into Cannabis Country, mitigating mistakes and banking the new knowns is imperative to achieving startup success and sustainable growth.
The price compression that occurs in cannabis is like no other CPG industry because of the regulatory patchwork stemming from siloed state-based markets and the dynamics of market maturity in limited license states versus those without caps.
Being able to withstand these volatile and unpredictable market forces in a growing industry is hard enough without the supply and demand imbalance invariably forcing smaller operators out of business.
Maintaining a 30,000 foot view of the US MSO and SSO landscape is imperative as acquisitions alter the makeup of the emerging East Coast markets. Knowing where your cannabis company fits into the big picture is important for today but mandatory for the future.
Simply applying established principles and proven best practices from mature industries rarely works for highly volatile emerging markets like the cannabis space. The regulatory hurdles and municipality driven delays can be a death knell for undercapitalized operators that make any missteps.
Exponential growth may be a good problem to have, but it is still a problem, especially if it isn't even fractionally sustainable. What part of the hockey stick is your business on? Investors need a sure thing with bankable return and cannabis is inherently not that.
M&A has slowed but not stopped and when it ramps up again, acquistion targets are going to measured on more than just canopy size and retail revenue per square foot.
Are you exploring the way current and future strategies correlate with your current and future modeling? Are you positioning yourself to be
acquired? How do your long-term strategies incorporate eventual interstate commerce and/or US federal medical or adult-use legalization?
Call me because I can help you.
Even in the early stages of startup, any business directly or indirectly involved in the legal cannabis market can benefit from industry wide standards, best marketing practices and success stories amidst the chaos. Retail is tough no matter the vertical and cannabis just magnifies the pain points, especially on the edge of inflation > recession and
Where will your business stand in seven to nine years with the advent of "inevitable" full Federal legalization? Interstate commerce? Neither? Supply and demand are still in flux and Big Cannabis has yet to officially rear it's ugly head, but thoughtful business practices will always have a place in the evolution of the new cannabis economy.
The cannabis industry has flourished despite the lingering War On Drugs and incredible resistance to this day from narrow minded naysayers that still don't understand the irreparable harms created by the illicit market created and aggravated by the WOD and discrimination toward people of color in the first place. Cannabis culture has always enjoyed an underlying current of grassroots kindness and anti-capitalist sentiment, but now faces it's greatest challenges from a regulatory and corporate standpoint. Because cannabis is a crop, there is ridiculous pressure from Big Ag and, because it is a medicine, there is obviously extreme influence from Big Pharma. Big Tobacco sank their teeth in early enough to hedge their bets, but the recent vape crisis has upended that entire portion of the industry for the time being.
With New Jersey and New York adult-use both sadly celebrating surpassing 100 retails open for business, Connecticut struggling to roll out their markets, the East Coast is eager to see new markets start strong. Maryland is open and taxes are robust, but still with only their 100 medical dispensaries serving the adult-use market. Ohio seem poised to be robust early on with AU sales starting at 80+ locations in early July 2024. Pennsylvania and Delaware are closer than ever to retail sales with respective AU launches of 1/1/25 and 4/1/25 and the markets are only going to get more volatile, price compression more crucial and shelf space scarcer than ever.
Dealing with the inevitable compliance issues and other pitfalls of patchwork regulation makes having a professional cannabis consultant on your side a great step forward for your company and your brand.
For more information about greenco's cannabis consulting services, set up a short phone consultation now
All businesses do not function the same, even in similar industries and locations, though all can benefit from well-documented standard operation procedures of the most practically detailed nature and in accordance with industry best practices. Nowhere does this become more critical than when compliance it is of top concern, whether it be from a regulatory, safety, quality control, profitability or ethical standpoint. A properly optimized business workflow will incorporate all of these benchmarks from design to implementation to analysis and revision.
Using data-driven methodologies, SOP analysis and process improvement principles, any operation can benefit from the identification, mitigation and eradication of pain points. The bottom line is a smoother, healthier and more adaptable workflow streamlined to your specifications and your company culture. Whether you are Tier 2 Mixed Use cultivator, an urban dispensary in an oversaturated micromarket or a non-profit community cannabis alliance trying to coordinate lobbying efforts, you are not alone with your challenges and you are not without solutions.
For more information about greenco's cannabis consultation services,
