MJBizMag November-December 2020 - 84

THRIVE
SURVIVE
Looking ahead also allows CannaCraft
to develop a portfolio " that includes
a good, better, best type of strata, "
Hourigan said. " And based on that
forecast, we can either dial up or dial
down some of our spending in marketing
or other areas based on how we think
the business is going to continue. ... If
there are consumers that are impacted
by where the economy may be, we want
to be able to provide them products in
those various price ranges. "
Offer Customers
Better Deals
on Products
For example, while most vape cartridges
are sold in half-gram sizes, CannaCraft
began offering full-gram cartridges this
year in a bid to provide more value to
consumers. The company also moved
from selling Hi-Fi Hops-a nonalcoholic,
THC-infused beer produced through
a joint venture with Lagunitas Brewing
Co. in California-exclusively in single
bottles to selling the product in fourpacks
and 10-packs at a reduced per-item
rate. The company also put coolers in
dispensaries to promote the idea of
customers buying a cold drink as they
would any other beer or soda.
" The idea of the 1-gram carts and
multipack drinks was to offer these
products at lower (per unit) price points
for customers, " Hourigan said. " We were
already planning to roll these products
out, but COVID accelerated the rollout. "
Beware of 'Buyer
Fatigue' and
'Sales Fatigue'
While product variety is typically a
good thing, it can also have downsides,
including what Hourigan calls " buyer
fatigue " and " sales fatigue. "
" You've got so many products that
you need to talk about (when calling on
customers), and if there are promotions
going on, how much time does that
buyer have? " Hourigan said.
" On the other side, is the buyer
saying, 'I bought (CannaCraft brands)
Jim Hourigan
ABX, Hi-Fi, Care By Design. I'm at my
limit from a buy perspective.' We have
to balance on our side that we're bringing
relevant products, products that
sell, " he said. " We have to ensure that
we're relevant ... and covering all of the
products that we think make sense for
that particular dispensary. "
Grow Your Own
Cannabis to Shore Up
Your Supply Chain
Despite the buyer-seller fatigue concerns,
CannaCraft is rolling out a new flower
brand, Farmer and the Felon, inspired
84 Marijuana Business Magazine | November-December 2020
CannaCraft uses sales data to inform production plans. Courtesy Photo
by company founders Ned Fussell and
Dennis Hunter.
The company used to buy biomass
for its products on the spot market,
Hourigan said. But it has since built an
outdoor grow to bolster its supply chain
of biomass.
" This summer, it became extremely
tight in all supply. Having our own
cultivation allows us to ensure that we
can continue to develop that brand, "
Hourigan said of Farmer and the Felon.
CannaCraft currently has a 4-acre
outdoor grow with plans to expand to
8 to 10 acres next year.
Invest in Events That
Can Generate Sales
Despite the current ban on events
because of COVID-19, CannaCraft
expects concerts and other events will
eventually return. So the company
renewed its California events license,
which allows it to sell its products at
larger gatherings.
" We saw that not so much as a sales
driver, but more as a big piece of our
marketing for products like Hi-Fi, where
people could buy them and test them
and then go back to the dispensary to
purchase them, " Hourigan said.
AND
MJBizMag November-December 2020

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