Arguably the biggest health crisis the world has seen in a century, the coronavirus pandemic has crippled industries around the world. However, while the tourism, business travel and hospitality sectors shouldered millions of job losses over the course of the year, the nascent cannabis industry has weathered the pandemic fairly well. In the United States, most states deemed the sector essential, allowing cannabis dispensaries to continue their operations, albeit with COVID-19 health measures in place, such as online ordering, curbside pick up and home deliveries.
Despite several states legalizing cannabis in various forms, the cannabis black market is still thriving, partly because it relies heavily on a relatively simple home-delivery model. Consumers simply reach out to a local dealer over the phone, place an order and wait for their cannabis to arrive, often in less than two hours. As the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the country, some cannabis delivery firms have implemented this model to great success.
In New York City, for instance, EZ’s Dispensary sends out a weekly menu of different strains to thousands of New Yorkers via text. Once consumers reply with orders and addresses, the dispensary sends out a dealer to finish the sale. While this model technically isn’t legal, it has allowed the black market and companies that implement this delivery model to reach a significantly greater number of consumers.
With the pandemic and the resultant stay-at-home orders preventing people from venturing out since March, cannabis companies that offer delivery services have enjoyed increased sales. Onfleet, a management-software company based in San Francisco, has raised $14 million to scale up its operations and keep up with increasing demand. The company provides software for all types of deliveries, including restaurants, grocery stores and pharmaceutical companies, but it draws a large chunk of its revenue from cannabis and alcohol.
Onfleet doubled its revenue in 2020, with cannabis and alcohol deliveries increasing up to 300% since the pandemic broke out. According to CEO and co-founder Khaled Naim, the company is now managing tens of thousands of cannabis deliveries up from thousands thanks to pandemic-inspired growth.
Similarly, high-end cannabis delivery platform Sava, which has an estimated 70 clients in the San Francisco area, has seen a 60% surge in sales since March. Founder and CEO Andrea Brooks says the growth was “overnight.” Additionally, the average basket (order) size has increased to $170 up from $160 before the pandemic as edibles are enjoying increased demand as customers seek to avoid smoking. Legal companies have taken a delivery model employed by black market dealers for years and made it even more effective, resulting in speedier, more convenient deliveries and higher profits.
Still on the subject of cannabis-related companies, consumers are seeing an explosion of innovative products. For example, The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER) has gained fame for its growing line of CBD-infused products.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to The Alkaline Water Company Inc. (NASDAQ: WTER) (CSE: WTER) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://ibn.fm/WTER
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