By Eric Offenberger via Cannabis Confidential
69% of cannabis consumers have no brand preference. 18% say brand influences their purchase at all. The durable competitive moat in this business is not the brand on the package. It is the licensed retail door through which that package reaches the consumer.
Editor’s note: Eric Offenberger is the CEO of Vext Science, a multi-state cannabis operator with dispensaries in Arizona and Ohio — which means he has a direct stake in the argument he’s making here. We’re republishing this piece from Cannabis Confidential because the argument is worth the industry’s attention, and because we believe our readers can weigh a strong point of view on its merits. The views are his own.
There’s an old football axiom: offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.
I have spent the better part of 40 years watching that principle play out in business— first across the steel service center and commodity distribution industries, and now in cannabis.
The flashy play always draws the crowd. The disciplined work always wins the game.
The cannabis industry is still captivated by brands, despite the shakeout playing out across the sector.
Which cultivar will break through?
Which edible SKU will achieve shelf velocity?
Which logo will resonate with the adult-use consumer?
These are legitimate questions—but in a pre-consolidation industry that remains fragmented along state lines and structurally oversupplied, they are the wrong priority.
The structural advantages in this business have not yet been locked up. The operators who recognize what those advantages actually are will be the ones still standing.
My argument is more direct: in a heavily regulated, regionally fragmented, supply-constrained industry, the durable competitive moat is not the brand on the package.
It is the licensed retail door through which that package reaches the consumer.
When …
Read More
Author: High Times Contributors / High Times
