Start a Cannabis Delivery Business in California

Starting a cannabis delivery business in California is a challenging endeavor. Nonetheless, with the right knowledge and measured approached, it can be achievable. Cannabis delivery is possibly one of the lowest barriers of entry into the legal cannabis market in California. Therefore, before making the decision to start a cannabis delivery business, it’s important to understand the laws in the region where you want to operate.

What is the first step in starting a cannabis delivery business?

The first step is to review the local laws in the area where you want to operate. For instance, the State of California gave local authority to municipalities to self-govern cannabis businesses so every city and county will have their own rules.

After you decide where you want your cannabis delivery business to be located in California, look up the local ordinances. If the city or county you are in permits cannabis delivery, request an application to apply for a cannabis delivery business. Also, you may need to find a compliant property that fits all zoning requirements. Then, see if the city can share with you a map of current cannabis business. In addition, check local zoning laws to help narrow down where a potential compliant property may exist.

How to market cannabis online

Cannabis delivery companies don’t always have a retail storefront where customers can come inside. Moreover, it’s important to understand how to market cannabis online. Honestly, the first and most important step is to create a listing on Weedmaps. Many cannabis consumers use Weedmaps to find their products.

Other online listing sites include:

• Yelp
• Google
• Leafly
• Yellowpages
• Local newspaper

How to sell cannabis online

Once customers find you, it’s important to have a system to capture those leads and follow up with a sale. Likely, the first thing you’ll need is a website to host a menu. Luckily, Weedmaps does provide a menu but having your own website will help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and keep the customer experience on-brand.

We recommend Tymber to build a website for you as they have lots of experience in the cannabis industry and building cannabis websites.

Managing cannabis inventory

With many moving parts to a cannabis delivery business in California it’s important to manage inventory. After lots of research, the best solution we’ve found for inventory management of a cannabis delivery business is Blaze. They offer a variety of delivery-centric solutions at an affordable price.

Managing delivery logistics

Managing delivery logistics is a very important part of any cannabis delivery operation. Firstly, you’ll want to be able to keep track of your drivers. You’ll also want to manage customer expectations of estimated arrival times. Secondly, the best solution we have found is OnFleet. OnFleet is the best delivery logistics software company on the planet. OnFleet powers millions of deliveries for top companies and an out of the cannabis delivery space.

Finding what products to buy

Once you get your cannabis delivery business license, it will be important connect with vendors. The vendors will stock your virtual shelves with the best cannabis products that consumers want to buy. Therefore, you can reach out to brands directly or you can use a marketplace like Leaflink. 

How to compete with retail cannabis stores

The biggest advantage that cannabis delivery companies have over brick and mortar stores is the ability to delivery anywhere in the state of California. Unfortunately, retail stores typically only serve people within a 2 mile radius of their store.

Lastly, expand out from your home base slowly as you do not want to overextend your staff and have delivery wait times become too long. Look into Search Engine Optimization and other Weedmaps listing pins to help expand your reach into new territories.