A Liquor Store’s Guide to Capitalizing on the Cannabis Drinks Opportunity
As a liquor store owner, you’ve seen the latest trends firsthand: alcohol consumption is down, and cannabis consumption is up.
On one hand, it’s easy to see how THC can seem like a threat to liquor stores. When you zoom out a bit, you’ll see that liquor stores are in a prime position to be the go-to destination for buying THC drinks.
Whether you’re considering getting into the category, or you’re already selling THC drinks, it’s important to be fully aware of the upside and potential risks.
The Upside
The upside is simple: You can counter declining alcohol sales by providing an alternative to a variety of different consumers.
With THC drinks, you can grow your business by:
- Expanding services to shoppers that don’t drink alcohol, but are THC friendly
- Reaching young people that are curious about mixing THC drinks into their social lives
- Cross-selling current customers that are already buying from your store
If you’re still not convinced of the growth opportunity, get this:
New Jersey passed a bill in September 2024 that allows liquor stores to sell low-dose THC drinks.
With New Jersey liquor stores on the Santé platform, we’re seeing that THC products are driving more sales than tobacco, snacks, mixers, and soda combined.
The Responsibilities
However, selling THC products comes with significant responsibilities that you need to be mindful of.
First off, these products are regulated differently in every state. We’re in the early days here, and many states do not allow liquor stores to sell these products.
Because THC is not legal in every state, many payment processors do not allow the sale of THC products.
Let’s say that you’re in a state that allows liquor stores to sell low-dose THC products, but your merchant services provider does not allow these sales. You could be subject to:
- Termination of your payment processing account
- Revenues being frozen for months
- Fines or required repayment of all sales on THC products
How to Avoid Risks
Fortunately, these risks are easily avoidable if you follow these steps:
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Check with your state liquor authority to ensure that these THC products are legal to sell at your liquor store. The Alcohol Law Advisor is also a great resource, and we suggest taking a look at their overview of the latest state-by-state laws.
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Contact your merchant services provider to check if they allow you to sell THC products in your store. If they don’t, then we recommend finding a partner that specializes in the liquor store industry, as they tend to be more prepared to work with substances like THC that are considered to be higher risk by financial institutions.
If you still have questions on where to start, you can reach out to our team of experts at hello@santehq.com. We are fully compliant with THC in all states where it’s legal for liquor stores to sell these products.