TECHNOLOGY, COMMUNITY AND GOOD VIBES BRING SUCCESS

To Canadian Cannabis Retail In Rural Alberta

By Lisa Martyn, Head of Marketing, Greenline, a BLAZE® company

There is incredible value in connecting with local communities, and that’s how GoodVibes Cannabis expanded to open its third cannabis retail store in less than a year on March 1, 2023. GoodVibes Cannabis built a diverse and successful community-driven brand in Three Hills (as the first and only cannabis operator in the area, just northeast of Calgary), the village of Vilna (home of the world’s largest mushroom sculpture) and the town of Crossfield, all of which reside in Alberta.

Akshthal Kalia, owner of GoodVibes Cannabis, is driven by his curiosity and inquisitiveness, which speaks to his ability to successfully engage with the community. He is authentic in his approach to building a brand the community can trust, by learning every facet of his demographic, educating the people about cannabis, and spreading his good vibes message. Akshthal did his research and met with the mayor of Three Hills to see how he could make cannabis retail work for the community.

Three Hills is a small town with the highest per capita of churches in the region. Akshthal started his journey to help destigmatize the cannabis plant by visiting all the churches, having conversations with pastors, and educating them on his mission to do cannabis responsibly, with a focus on the benefits and safe usage. He then went on to visit indigenous reserves, politicians, farmers and local businesses, where his innovative ideas were well-received and even led to commissioning local artists to design murals for his stores. To further spread the destigmatization of the cannabis plant, he features the work of local artists in the store from indigenous reserves, such as the Cree Nation, all the way to Vilna’s Ukrainian community, where customers can get to know their resident artists.

Spreading Good Vibes

Community, conversation and connecting with people are key to opening the door to making an impact. Akshthal lives by the positive energy he exudes, sharing his life motto everywhere he goes – ‘be in good vibes, do in good vibes, and stay hydrated.’

“Once you can be in good vibes, then whatever you do automatically converts into good vibes - that’s the journey - how to be in good vibes.” In an impressive effort to drive positive economic and social change, Akshthal garners support by working to address three major issues surrounding housing, clean water and mobility. For housing, he’s able to provide tenancy for those with poor credit, single mothers or those in recovery. For mobility, he’s focused on improving transit options for indigenous people that live on reserves. For clean water, he’s setting up a water refill program with the local grocery store for GoodVibes Cannabis members.

Cannabis Education In Small Communities

Cannabis education is critical, especially when you’re the first retailer in the region. Motivated to make a positive impact, Akshthal knew he had to bring cannabis education to the people, so he went to the provincial regulator, Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC). AGLC’s CannabisSense was formed to educate Albertans on cannabis use, outline possible risks and contribute to informed choices. By developing a very strong and positive relationship with AGLC, Akshthal collaborated on the first ever, retailer-hosted, cannabis public education event with AGLC, four months after opening GoodVibes Cannabis in Three Hills on April 7, 2022.

Innovative Software Technology

Akshthal’s magnetism and good vibes energy attract a diverse set of people, form the basis of his innovative ideas and help him promote conversation by providing space for cannabis education, art, technology and strong, community-focused involvement.

Successful cannabis retailers need to align their operations with innovative technology. GoodVibes Cannabis was able to scale to three stores in less than a year using Greenline, a BLAZE® company, for its POS, inventory control, and compliance reporting.

“Greenline is definitely a catalyst in the whole business process, I haven’t even completed a year of operation and I’m on my third store already. I couldn’t do that if I didn’t have the convenience.”

Akshthal chose Greenline after talking to a lot of people, but what intrigued him the most was the vision. “Greenline was formed by techies who knew the Canadian cannabis space and I thought, this is the kind of brand I need to align myself with. I’m not a person who comes from a canna- bis background, so the decision to go ahead with Greenline was a very positive transition. Sales and onboarding have so much personalism and support me with everything. Support is very quick and compliance reporting is easy. All in all, it’s pretty effortless.”

Now that he has multiple locations, Greenline’s multi-dashboard tool enables Akshthal to manage all of his stores from one place. Akshthal says, “I love it. When it comes to decision-making, there are so many parameters to think about. When you’re empowered with data, and have access to it right away, it helps a lot. I invested in Greenline technology so I could use my life energy and direct it into other things. Simply put, it’s amazing use of technology in terms of getting ahead.”

E-commerce and delivery are areas where retailers need to make sure it makes sense for their business as it may not be profitable, even now that the AGLC removed its own online cannabis sales platform. With the addition of Greenline’s new BLAZE ECOM™, cannabis retailers now have the flexibility to manage their operations seamlessly, all from one place. For Akshthal, e-commerce doesn’t make sense just yet, so he will continue to focus on people in the community, engaging in conversation and inspiring new interactive ideas for his GoodVibes brand.

DESTIGMATIZATION + DEMOCRATIZATION

Great results have been achieved with cannabis destigmatization since legalization in Canada, and the continued advancements around the democratization of cannabis are helpful, but now it’s time for more serious change with respect to decentralization of cannabis. Akshthal envisions a future where decentralization can exist, where regulations can change to include purchasing cannabis from local farmers, having local testing facility options, and most importantly, where he can continue his journey building a powerful lifestyle brand out of cannabis. Akshthal spreads his peaceful good vibes in a positive way to everyone he encounters by saying, “Actual, truthful purpose is good vibes, so be in good vibes, do in good vibes, and stay hydrated.”