How to Start a Marijuana Delivery Service [7 Steps Guide]

The craze of retail marijuana is constantly increasing all over the world. The cannabis industry has observed tremendous growth over the last decade.

Even though there is a lot of uncertainty about the future of marijuana, many countries have legalized marijuana. Moreover, people globally are buying marijuana either for medical or recreational purposes.

Here are some of the recent statistics about the cannabis business:

• According to GrandViewResearch, the legal marijuana market size was valued at $13.2 billion in 2021. Furthermore, it is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 25.5% from 2022 to 2030.
• As per The Motley Fool, marijuana sales are expected to reach USD 22 Billion in 2022.

Considering the above statistics, you must have understood the potential of cannabis. If you want to take advantage of this industry, then you can start a cannabis delivery business.

One of the primary questions that might appear in your mind is: how to start a marijuana delivery service? Don’t worry. We have got you covered.

Here we will provide a detailed process for starting a weed delivery business. We will also answer several essential questions regarding the cannabis delivery business at the end.

Before starting the marijuana delivery business, you should do thorough research about a specific city or area. Why? It will benefit you in many ways as follows:

• Understanding the demands of the local and the regional markets.
• Knowing the positives and negatives of starting a business in the region in advance.
• Finding out the future of the cannabis delivery business in the region.

For instance, cannabis is illegal as per the federal laws in the United States of America. However, each state has the authority to approve the commercial distribution of cannabis. Hence, many states in the US have approved it.

Therefore, you should be familiar with the specific state laws for starting a cannabis delivery business.

Cannabis legalization further depends on several purposes, such as medical, recreational, transportation, and cultivation.

In several states, marijuana is available for medical purposes. While in other states, marijuana is available for both medical and recreational purposes.

If you belong to a country other than the US, you should first verify whether cannabis is legal or not. Then you should find the answer to some of the essential questions as follows:

• What is the total percentage of people buying cannabis in a region?
• Will my cannabis business reach an audience from which I can generate enough revenue?
• Will people purchase from my online cannabis store, or do they prefer a local dispensary? and many more.

Apart from finding answers to these questions, one of the best strategies is to consider the search terms people use for a cannabis delivery app or weed delivery services app in your region.

By knowing these things well, you can take the first step towards opening a cannabis delivery business.

To start the cannabis delivery business, you need to get the required licenses and permits from the government.

If you are familiar with the process, you can carry out the entire process yourself. However, here you need to apply on the particular portal or website of that state.

For instance, if you want to start a medical marijuana delivery service in New Jersey, you have to apply to the portal of that state. Upon getting the license, you can take the next step for your business.

If you do not know the process of getting licenses & other necessary approvals, reach out to a legal professional in that state. The professional will provide you the required documentation, licensing, and regulatory bodies. Moreover, then your entire process will be efficient.

After getting the necessary licenses and permits, you can start the marijuana delivery service. Now you need to think about the cannabis business model and other essential things associated with it.

Here we will walk you through the three best business models that you can choose to initiate your marijuana delivery business.

Single Medical Dispensary

It is the most suitable model if you already own a medical dispensary. You can target a broader audience using this model.

For the same, you can create an online cannabis delivery service via app or website for your dispensary. You can reach out to a web & mobile app development company. They can understand your requirements and provide you with the desired solution.

On having an online medical marijuana delivery service apart from the offline dispensary, you offer more convenience to the audience. The users can browse all the cannabis products online and order them instantly. It will also help you increase trust & loyalty among the customers.

You can reach out to a broader audience through the online cannabis dispensary and increase your sales. In addition, you can generate revenue from your app or website using different methods.

Marijuana Delivery Service Startup

It is a startup business model and suitable for anyone who is looking for a cost-effective solution. You do not have to pay rent or buy any physical store to start a business. You only require a cannabis delivery service app.

If you already grow marijuana, then it would be an added benefit. However, if you do not grow marijuana, you can contact a cultivator and store all the marijuana at your home or some other place.

After storing enough cannabis, you can start the cannabis delivery service through the mobile app. The users can look for various marijuana products and purchase them from your app.

Whenever a user orders something from your app, you get an instant notification. You can accept the order and deliver the things yourself to save cost.

You can hire someone to deliver products when you start generating more revenue than your desired goal.

You can integrate different mobile app monetization methods to generate more revenue for your business.

Cannabis Marketplace

It is one of the best business models to provide great UX, reach a broader audience, and generate revenue. You can choose this business model when you have enough budget.

You are required to create an online cannabis marketplace for dispensaries available in your region. In other words, you need to create a platform that connects your dispensaries, consumers, and delivery boys in your state. In this model, you possess your own admin panel.

You might have a question, how will it operate?

You are a super admin of the marketplace. All the cannabis store owners need to register on your marketplace. Consumers need to download the app, register themselves and check out the cannabis products available in the store and purchase things accordingly.

There will be a separate app for the delivery boys. Consumers who have ordered things on your app can track the product status from start to finish.

Being the super admin, you can manage all the operations of the cannabis delivery service app. All the store owners will consist of a separate admin panel where they can look after various things.

This type of marketplace apps is generally operating according to the commission-based business model. However, you can further monetize your marketplace app using different ways.

Features of Cannabis Delivery Marketplace

After choosing a proper business model for your cannabis delivery service, the next most important thing is to choose suitable delivery service partners.

The food industry understands the importance of delivery and has established an effective delivery process. Many restaurants are also running their delivery programs.

One of the best things that you can do is outsource your marijuana orders to third-party providers such as Grubhub or Postmates. You save a lot of time and effort by opting for this strategy.

You can also collaborate with establishing marijuana delivery platforms available in the region. You need to ensure that your existing technology works effectively in these services.

To follow all the rules and regulations kept by the state on the cannabis delivery business, you can integrate a cannabis POS. By doing this, you can provide a great user experience, handle delivery, automate taxes, and more.

The next thing to consider after finalizing the delivery partner is the delivery model for your business.

Generally, there are two types of delivery models:

1) Ice cream Truck Model

Talking about the ice cream truck model, the driver carries a particular fraction of cannabis products on the vehicle. The driver then delivers all these orders before reaching the dispensary or the location where cannabis is stored. This model helps you save a lot of time and money.

2) Pizza Delivery Model

In this model, the driver reaches the dispensary to collect one order and deliver it. The driver follows this process till all the cannabis orders get delivered. This model consumes a lot of time, money, and energy.

You need to select a suitable cannabis delivery model considering the laws and regulations of the particular state.

Several states have kept a limit on the total number of products in vehicles. It will directly hinder your delivery goals and the profiles. Therefore, you should choose the cannabis delivery model effectively.

Your goal should be to deliver more products in a few rounds. It will help you save time and also get you the desired return on investment.

Ensure to know various regulations kept on the delivery drivers and their vehicles. It consists of things like who is suitable to deliver products, what kind of vehicle can be utilized, whether you can do branding on your vehicle or not, whether insurance is compulsory, and what type of GPS tracking should be used.

One of the most crucial things that you need to focus upon is inventory management. As you are starting an online cannabis delivery service, you need to deal with many transactions daily.

You can maintain the products in your store by tracking the sales. One of the best practices to handle this thing is to install an inventory tracking system. By doing this, you can keep products in proper quantity without worrying about them getting out of stock.

Last but not least thing after creating a cannabis delivery app or website is spreading the word about it.

You can start marketing your services in your region and then the entire city through brochures and other things. You can also promote your app or website on the leading social media platforms. It helps you create awareness about your brand.

You can also promote your business on different platforms that allow sharing about cannabis. It includes websites like stickyguide, and many more.

You can also reach out to a professional digital marketing service agency. They will understand your business & its goals, plan an effective marketing strategy, and promote your product accordingly.