Page 47 - BusinessWest July 11, 2022

Budzee
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ken, but also because the Cannabis Control Commis- sion has historically been methodical when issuing licenses, said Perrier, adding that this bridge would eventually be crossed.
The partners also needed a location, and realized that they actually had one in property that Perrier owned in Easthampton that was ideally situated less than a minute from an exit onto I-91, positioning the company to deliver to the four counties of Western Mass. and beyond.
They also needed software for taking orders, vehicles, specialized equipment, drivers (a challenge when all companies are looking for help), and a sys- tem for safely getting products into those vehicles and then into the hands of customers.
All those hurdles were cleared early this year, and the company commenced deliveries in early April. Most of these have been in and around Spring-
field, but there have been some farther east; the ter- ritory attached to the license is essentially everything west of Worcester. And the two-person teams (one drives, the other brings the items to the door) are delivering the full spectrum of products, from flowers to edibles to accessories.
Deliveries come on three levels: ‘express’ (within two hours, but usually less than that); ‘same day,’ where the customer picks a time slot, and ‘sched- uled,’ where the customer picks the day and time.
Thus far, business has been good, but the ven- ture is still very much in the ramping-up phase as awareness of the service builds, the public becomes more comfortable with the notion of having can- nabis delivered to their doorstep, and it understands (at least with this company) that delivery is not more expensive than going to the dispensary.
“There are people who can’t drive to a dispensary. Meanwhile, even though cannabis is legal in this state, there is still a stigma out there; some people don’t want to be seen in dispensaries. There’s still a great many people who want to be home, and they like the convenience of things being delivered to them.
And there are obstacles to building this aware- ness, they said, adding that state and federal laws limit where and how such a venture can advertise its products and services. For example, cannabis com- panies can only advertise on vehicles that can prove that 85% of their audience is 21 or older, said Perrier. Meanwhile, because cannabis is still illegal federally, such platforms as Google, Instagram, and Facebook “won’t take our money,” he noted, adding that televi- sion stations will not take it, either. They can’t even advertise on the vehicles delivering the products — those must be unmarked for, presumably, security reasons; this is a cash-only business.
“You’re really handicapped in how you can adver- tise,” said Polatol, adding that the company is using some billboards and a digital campaign to draw people to the Budzee website. But that’s just half the battle. Once there, consumers need to become com- fortable with the products and procedures, and place
orders.
Despite these challenges, the partners believe
they have the right concept at the right time, and as awareness and comfortability grow, they will achieve the volume they need to be profitable.
“Once Budzee becomes known as a household delivery option for cannabis, things will snowball and we’ll get bigger numbers,” said Polatol. “And we’re seeing that right now; the numbers are going up every week, and we’re getting a lot of regulars.
“There are some people who can’t leave their house for health reasons, and they’re ordering from us three times a week,” he went on. “They love it, and it’s rewarding for us; it’s a model that’s working.”
At present, the company is making maybe 20
to 30 deliveries a day on average, he said, with the goal being to take that number past 100. Other goals are to go statewide (more licenses will be needed for that) and then perhaps to other states, he told BusinessWest.
Budding Proposition
None of that will be easy, of course. But as these partners have shown, they are willing to assume chal- lenges and clear some high hurdles to get where they want to be.
And right now, they are where they want to be — the first to be out the door (and to your door) with delivery of cannabis products.
They know that it will take some time to scale up, as Polatol noted, and reach the volume level they need to be successful, but they believe they have a model that works and a foundation to build on. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
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BusinessWest
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JULY 11, 2022 47