Are you thinking about opening a weed vending machine business? We tend to think of vending machines in hospital waiting rooms, outside motels, and in our local fitness center. But the core concept – purchasing something from a machine – is almost limitless in its potential. Take Japan: you can buy alcohol, Pokémon merch, umbrellas, canned bread, and even handmade origami. If you can imagine it, they’ll be a Japanese vending machine selling it.
In this context, starting a weed vending machine business seems a lot less bizarre. In fact, it might just be the future of the cannabis industry.
It’s the logic behind “anna”: a vending machine created by a Boston-based cannabis tech company of the same name. Unlike traditional dispensaries, anna verifies a user’s driver’s license, allows the selection of the cannabis, and takes payment.
It’s simple, effective, and compact; it’s not hard to see why tech and cannabis enthusiasts are excited. As Matt Frost, the founder and CEO of anna, explained:
“With anna, our stakeholders will see very quickly that prioritizing retail efficiency improves store traffic and allows associates to spend additional time with more inexperienced customers. anna epitomizes ‘Cannabis Retail for Now’.”
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It’s hard to disagree. But the perks aren’t just felt by the consumer. There are numerous benefits of owning a weed vending machine business instead of pursuing the traditional avenues of cannabis retail.
Here are the ten perks of owning a weed vending machine business.
Planning to start a dispensary? You’ll need premises, staff, security, product, advertising, and more. It’s estimated that dispensary start-up costs range from $750,000 to several million dollars, depending on the size and location of your store.
In contrast, you can purchase a vending machine for a few thousand dollars. Alongside the necessary legal fees, you’re looking at start-up costs around a tenth of a brick-and-mortar dispensary.
The defining feature of a weed vending machine business is the lack of staff. Annually, dispensaries spend around $250,000 on staff, from the budtenders to the store manager. You’ll need someone to fix the machine, fill it, and collect any cash from the vending machines.
It’s a significant boost to your profit margin. You can invest that back in a lower cost of cannabis, driving up demand. Or purchase more machines over time.
The trick to a successful vending machine is location, location, location. Finding a high footfall, prominent location for your vending machine can be the difference between a few dollars and several thousand a week.
But it’s also a benefit. You can put your vending machines anywhere. Locate them near college campuses, outside the local snack store, and other convenient locations.
With an ID checker built-in – something you may have to add yourself – vending machines restrict their product to children. It’s a simple yet effective way to ensure your weed vending machine business stays on the right side of the law.
After all, one of the biggest concerns about cannabis laws is the accessibility to underage individuals. With built-in ID checkers and cameras, you can be more convenient and safer than traditional stores.
You’ll earn back your investment relatively quickly with a weed vending machine business. Unlike vending machines selling snacks, the price of your product is much higher. The only difference with a dispensary is your profit margin is greater.
Once word-of-mouth has built up, you’ll see a steady income stream from just a single machine. Add more and your income grows and grows. Some machines may take thousands if based in the right area – and almost all turn a profit (if not, just move them).
Vending machines are passive income generators. Because you don’t do anything but wait, the vending machines require little to no time investment. Just make sure they’re always stocked up, and you’re collecting the money. That’s all there is to it.
In fact, even if you’ve got multiple vending machines, a single person can cover many machines. And modern machines will even alert you when they’re running low on a particular product.
There are no rules to what you sell in a weed vending machine. You can optimize the strains according to what sells fastest. Or even include products with a high margin that sell less frequently.
Whatever you can fit in the machine, you can sell. Just research your vending machine’s location to get an idea of what sells the best
With limitless selling opportunities, weed vending machines are a chance to experiment with new product lines. Try out a new weed beverage in a machine or two without committing to a significant amount of stock. If it doesn’t sell well, you’ll have wasted minimal expense.
You can even swap the inventory with another machine to see if it sells better elsewhere.
Owning a weed vending machine business means self-employment. There’s no boss, no one to answer to. You’ve also got significant free time, potentially going on vacation while still earning money.
You can work more, acquire further machines, or invest your income into another enterprise. How you run the business, what stock to buy, and where to place the machines is up to you.
It’s a lot of freedom, but it’s also a responsibility. For the entrepreneurially-minded, it’s a dream business.
Keeping a dispensary open till three in the morning isn’t worth the half dozen people who’ll come in. To a vending machine business, it costs nothing. No matter the time of day, you’ll always be open. Assuming you keep your stock checked, vending machines have the potential to corner the night market. Few dispensaries can compete with a reputation for convenience, varied stock, and 24/7 service.
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