Running a dispensary is hard work. Especially in the state of Oklahoma. But it’s not like you need us to tell you that.
Retail in any sector is brutally competitive. But when it comes to the newly legalized cannabis market in Oklahoma, the sooner state brings a new meaning to the term “competition.”
With a population of less than 4 million, Oklahoma has more than 2,300 licensed dispensaries. Although Oklahoma has a high proportion of residents with medical cards — almost six percent of the population has a medical marijuana card — the ratio of retail-store to customer is still a very large ratio. In fact, Oklahoma has the second highest amount of stores-to-people ratio (called a per capita ratio). Only the state of Oregon has us beat on dispensaries per capita, and they have some of the oldest medical and recreational markets.
So being a retail store in Oklahoma is tough business. On top of competing with other stores, you have all the regular responsibilities of running a successful retail operation: managing inventory, finding trustworthy supplies and building those wholesale relationships.
In this article, we want to touch on how to gain and maintain valuable relationships with trustworthy wholesalers.
Tips when shopping among cannabis growers in Oklahoma
You need inventory for your store, and primary among medical marijuana inventory is cannabis flower. Flower still is the most popular product in Oklahoma dispensaries, and that trend will not change for a while.
So you need a reliable supplier of flower. Here are some things to look for:
Look for reliability in your Grower
You need a reliable supplier of flower. You are looking for a grower who has a variety of strains and a steady supply.
Some grows harvest seasonly, such as out-door grows. Then there are green house grows which use lights and sometimes even furnaces to operate year round, using light deprivation techniques. Then you have indoor grows which in theory can operate year-round. However, not all indoor grows are in “perpetual harvest.”
An indoor grow that is set up for “perpetual harvest” has created a system where they are harvesting on a non-stop, year round cycle. This could be weekly or bi-weekly, or every 10 days, etc. This is achieved by having multiple grow rooms, with each room either ahead or behind the other in terms of flowering maturity. This way, the flowers are ready for harvest in one room, then a week or two later another room, and so on.
A grower with a perpetual harvest operation will be able to steadily supply you with flower.
The problem with growers who do not harvest perpetually
The problem with using a grower who does not harvest perpetually is that they do not have a steady supply of flower. It could be once a year outdoor or twice a summer outdoor/greenhouse. Also, some indoor growers are set up to only harvest once every 60 days or so. These types of growers do not have new inventory every week. Instead they have a glut of inventory all at once, in one large realization event. These growers must then attempt to sell that large bulk supply all at once or else they are then in the storage business, since cannabis needs to be stored properly in order to maintain its quality over time.
The benefit of buying cannabis from a grower with perpetual harvests
The benefit of buying your inventory from a grower with perpetual harvests is that they have new, fresh produce every week. For example, at Smokey Okies Cannabis, we harvest weekly. So every week, we have new cuts of flower, and different strains. Which our customers love.
Our customers who love our flower, do not face the pressure of having to buy it all or else we run out. No, instead our customers save their cash, and only buy what they need for that week, knowing that next week, we will still have plenty of flower!
Another benefit to our wholesale customers is that we have different flavors every week. So if they bought Gorilla Glue #4 and Mimosa one week, the next week they can shop entirely different strains, which allows them to carry new varieties week to week.
More tips on choosing for trustworthy, reliable cannabis growers in Oklahoma
In our next article, we will cover additional considerations, such as availability, transparency, and client communication. All of these are important considerations which choosing a wholesale supplier for your cannabis dispensary in Oklahoma.
About Smokey Okies Cannabis
Smokey Okies Cannabis is a premium supplier of cannabis flower in Oklahoma. All flower is grown in-door, in coco coir, under metal halide lights, and fed only the highest quality nutrients. We cut no corners when it comes to feeding or supplementing our plants. All varieties are originally from seed and then cloned in-house in order to ensure quality of the genetics.
Our plants are hang-dried and then dry-trimmed by hand. Our product comes from a clean environment, as our grow team takes great care in maintaining a high standard of sanitation at our facility.
We warrant our product against mold, mildew, and pesticides, and will replace any product not completely free of these deficiencies.