How can multistate operators (MSOs) develop a genuine cannabis flower brand when the interstate transport of THC is prohibited?
If a brand promises uniform quality, how does an MSO guarantee that a gram of Sour Diesel sold at their California dispensary is the same quality as the Sour Diesel sold at their Maine dispensary?
Given the unique status of legal cannabis affairs, I don’t believe it’s possible.
In theory, an MSO could take advantage of the gray areas in the law that allow for the “immaculate conception” of starter plants, where regulators temporarily turn a blind eye to the sourcing of a company’s starter seeds, cuttings, and plants.
This way, MSOs could ensure the distribution of the same genetics to each state’s production facility. Even though this sounds promising, it’s where the real challenge of consistent flower quality begins.
Most MSOs gain market share by purchasing licensed cultivation businesses in the states where they want to operate. This results in acquiring a myriad of different production facilities, equipment, processes, and growers. Consistent cultivation protocols are unlikely with so many variables, and tearing out each grow site and rebuilding cookie-cutter facilities is not always feasible.
Even with identical genetics, the truth is that what is being grown in two different states is not the same product. The same cannabis variety will produce different levels of active ingredients when grown under different conditions.
How is this possible? The devil is in the cultivation details.
A variety’s genotype is the genetic makeup of that plant. It’s the plant’s DNA. The genotype is the same whether it gets shipped to California or Maine.
How the plant is grown will influence how these genes are expressed. Unless these plants are cultivated the same way under the exact same conditions, the expression of these genes is sure to be different.
For example, Strawberry Cough grown in California will test differently for THC and terpenes than the same Strawberry Cough grown in Michigan. It might be close, but it’s not the same. Can you imagine buying Coca-Cola that tastes slightly different in each state?
Given the sheer number of variables, it’s unreasonable to expect an MSO to offer brand consistency when it comes to dry flower sales.
So, what’s an MSO to do? Is this cultivation conundrum necessarily a bad thing? What can MSOs do to build brand loyalty?
Until federal law allows for the country-wide distribution of THC-containing cannabis, customers in different states will never receive the same product.
What MSOs can do is concentrate on the consistency of factors that they’re legally allowed to control, such as:
1. The in-store experience.
MSOs can ensure that each location offers the same store branding and friendly service. Delighting customers isn’t something that should differ state-to-state.
2. Edibles, topicals, and manufactured products.
Most cannabis-infused products can be produced to exact specifications because they follow a recipe. Cannabinoids and terpenes grown onsite can be added or removed to create consistent products in each state.
3. A reputation for great strains.
Rather than aim for consistency of varieties in each state, MSOs should earn a reputation for offering consistently excellent cannabis flower, period. When the Sour Diesel is available, it should be amazing. When the Wedding Cake is available, it should be amazing. And the Sour Tangie? You guessed right: it needs to be amazing.
Customers won’t experience dry flower consistency across all states where the MSO does business. Still, they should be confident that they’ll walk out of that dispensary with a winner, regardless of what state they’re in.
Furthermore, MSOs can start taking steps now to prepare for consistent dry flower branding under federal legalization.
Spoiler alert: it’s not by consolidating all their cultivation efforts into one massive grow site.
Combining a multistate cultivator’s efforts into one mega-production facility is sure to increase consistency, but it may not be the kind of consistency that customers are seeking. Merging small craft grow operations into one large unit runs the risk of dumbing down quality to the point that no one wants to buy the product.
Instead, MSOs should maintain their production facilities in each state but grow particular varieties at specific sites. For example, the Blueberry Muffin would be grown in Maine, the OG Kush in California, and the Zkittlez in Michigan.
Then, each batch is divided up and shipped across the country. This way, customers will receive the exact same product regardless of the state of purchase.
Multistate operators must be careful that their efforts to establish a cultivation footprint in every state doesn’t work against them. The attempt to homogenize offerings and cultivation protocols runs the risk of driving down quality without ever achieving the goal of a desirable cannabis flower brand.
Until federal law allows for the interstate transport of cannabis flower, MSOs are better off focusing their energy on creating identical in-store experiences while growing the very best varieties for each site.
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