You can find a subscription box for pretty much everything. From pets to food, fitness, and beauty, you name it, and it most probably exists. If you are not aware of this business model, subscription boxes are delivered to your door every month full of samples and goodies to a variety of tastes and markets. Customers are ordering the monthly subscription box services featuring themed, curated products, to the tune of more than $2.6 billion every year. And now, the trend has found its way to the medical marijuana industry, as Cannabis products are a natural fit for the business model.

Subscription box in the marijuana industry

Luxury subscription services with their personalized monthly subscriptions are hoping that they can make farm-to-bong weed as common as farm-to-table food.

One subscription box that I have tried contains two 1-gram pre-rolled joints, two 4-gram containers of different farm-grown marijuana – in wax-sealed containers. It also incorporates ‘tasting notes’ providing information on the farm where the marijuana was grown and information on THC and other chemical levels. Subscriptions are priced with a starting rate of $149.99 per month.

One of the California-based luxury subscription service providers delivers cannabis products to high-end customers in tasteful packaging.

Its founder has been selling cannabis products to nearly 300 monthly subscribers since 2015. His subscription boxes are labeled – not for potheads. This is a great tagline to encourage the use of medical marijuana amongst non-users and smokers.

The company occasionally sends limited edition subscription boxes of different varieties to a specific pool of customers. For example, they shipped $1000-worth offerings for men and women. For the gents, the limited edition subscription box included cannabis products like a journal, joints, drinks, oils, sleep aids, flowers, candies, and chocolates, among others all stashed in a lockable smell-proof box composed of aged, recycled wine barrels. For the ladies, on the other hand, the subscription box included bohemian style scent-free leather purses stuffed with weed.

Interestingly, 60% of their subscribers are women.

Another company, Cannabox, specializes in the cannabis accessories that are useful for smokers. Their Smoking Subscription Box includes premium glass bongs, hand pipes, rolling papers & trays, hemp wraps, and even t-shirts. The company claims that most of their products are exclusive and cannot be found anywhere else.

But how do they actually do it?

Marijuana is, at present, one of the hottest industries for freelancers and entrepreneurs. It has proven to be the most profitable industry during the past few years. While there are several different highly profitable business models in the marijuana industry, the subscription box model is quite nascent. Subscription boxes are every marketer’s dream, especially in the marijuana industry. If you love networking to magnify the effect of your marijuana brand, and associating with people who are ardent about using cannabis products for health as well as recreational purpose, you are halfway there.

You will need to be ready to work tirelessly with cannabis suppliers to deliver unique and innovative cannabis products that your target customer base can’t wait to try.

How does a marijuana subscription box business make money?

Your customers will pay you a regular amount (weekly, monthly, or any other plan) for their subscription box order. To make a profit, your collection box must contain an assortment of cannabis products that costs less than the price of the subscription. Monthly subscription boxes tend to make higher profits than others.

The growth potential for marijuana subscription box businesses

The subscription box business in the marijuana industry is exploding. When you create a box that fuels the need for quality cannabis products – both medicinal and recreational – the potential for growth is exponential.

What does it take to build a successful marijuana subscription box business?

The ability to negotiate the best prices from different marijuana farmers and suppliers for different marijuana products

Personal passion related to the specific theme of your marijuana subscription box business

Creativity

A knack of smart investing

Steps to starting your marijuana subscription box business

Starting a subscription box business in the marijuana industry is somewhat the same as in other industries. However, there are some limitations and regulations that one must consider.

First and foremost, you need to obtain the necessary permits and licenses. Medical marijuana may be legal in the majority of the states; however, marijuana for recreational use still needs clean-chit and permission from the legal entities. As not everyone has the same positive views about the use of marijuana, if businesses don’t have the necessary permit to operate marijuana business in a state, it may lead to hefty fines or to your business being shut down.

Next, a legal entity is required to be formed, such as an LLC. It prevents the business owner from being personally liable if his/her marijuana subscription box business is sued.

The target audience can be attracted through cannabis blogs, YouTube channels, social media channels, and through merchandise giveaways or kickstarter campaigns.

The marijuana subscription box must contain all the essential cannabis-related products that the customers are willing to purchase every month like groceries.

To many marijuana users, smoking subscription box services – recurring deliveries, curated boxes – may seem too good to be true. However, it appears that the model does indeed enable companies to make a profit while also offering a lot of value to consumers.