The majority of dispensaries set aside one day throughout the work week to meet with vendors about their offerings. These days are invaluable for dispensaries to upgrade products and create new relationships or deepen established ones with their vendors. Whether you are looking to figure out which vendors you’d like to work with on CanIDeal or meet with in person during your next vendor deal, these tips will help you pick out an ideal partner to meet your cannabis needs.
Figure out which strains sell
Strains that already come with some brand recognition (like Blue Dream, White Widow, Pineapple Express, AK-47, etc.) tend to sell quickly because people know what the product does and have a familiarity with it. You can pretty much be sure that if you keep these strains in stock that they will be purchased. Name alone doesn’t guarantee quality, so be certain to check that as well — which brings us to our next tip.
Stock up on lab-tested product
A trustworthy vendor knows the importance of quality control. Many vendors will go through the lengths of testing their flowers prior to attempting to sell to retailers. Testing is mutually beneficial because it helps them justify their prices, while assuring the retailer that they are getting precisely what they are paying for and, more importantly, that their customers are.
If a product is advertised as a CBD or THC product then it needs to be what it’s advertised as along with giving users the dosage that it claims on the label.
Look for a vendor who trims properly
Neatly trimmed bud is necessary for the aesthetics of the product and in many cases, the function of the product. Make sure your vendors keep their flowers well-manicured. The last thing your customers want is a bunch of shake and leafy buds. If you end up having to re-trim units of bud then you’ve decreased your margins by having your time or that of your employees subtracted. All you should have to worry about after purchase is weighing the product and arranging it beautifully on the shelves to entice customers to buy.
Make sure they have a trail of happy customers
If their past customers rave about working with them, then that’s a good sign. But that also extends to their products — if word gets out that a particular strain they carry is incredible then that word of mouth marketing gets associated with your store when you carry that strain.
Don’t always assume the best…better safe than ripped off
Until that trust is earned and even then, weigh the product prior to the purchase. There’s plenty of honest money to be made in the medical and legalized recreational cannabis industry, but not everyone wants to gain it through honest means. If it turns out that the weight is on point, analyze the flower for ample shake, large stems, mold, and spider mites. Any of these problems can leave your customers feeling ripped off.
Deal with transparent vendors
This one’s pretty straightforward: Your vendor should give you full transparency about their products including information about their processes and practices, lab tests, samples, and access to tour their facilities. Ask for their grow methods and a list of the nutrients they use.
