Industry

How to Market Your Cannabis Business Part 6: Using Merchandise and Apparel to Your Advantage

Published on May 28, 2015 · Last updated July 28, 2020

Leafly’s Cannabis Business Marketing series is designed to provide marijuana businesses with the tools and tactics necessary for their success. If you’re looking for additional ways to boost your cannabis business, contact us to learn about Leafly’s Marijuana Advertising Services.


Over the past several weeks, we’ve covered several ways you can better market your cannabis business, including learning general marketing do’s and dont’s, applying traditional marketing channel opportunities, identifying digital marketing and advertising strategies, adopting social media marketing tactics, and getting the most out of events and sponsorships. In our final installment, we’ll touch upon how you can use merchandising and apparel to your marketing advantage.

Merchandise and apparel can help your customers keep your brand as a part of their everyday lifestyle, but it’s crucial to think of a strategy for your schwag before you give the green light to print 1,000 pieces of merch. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind if you’re thinking about creating some branded merchandise:

Check Your State’s Laws

States with legal cannabis have varying laws when it comes to what you can put your logo on and how you can sell it, so make sure you familiarize yourself with your area’s laws before you give the green light to print 1,000 pieces of schwag.

Set Up an E-Commerce Platform for Wider Spread

Merchandise is one thing you can offer your customers via e-commerce. Selling shirts and other apparel online is a good way for your brand to have global potential, even if you’re a company that’s restricted to a specific geographic market.

Build Partnerships for Co-Branded Merchandise

Look into opportunities to build partnerships with lifestyle brands and apparel companies to collaborate on your merchandise. Co-branding or building partnerships with paraphernalia manufacturers is another good way to offer merchandise in your retail location. This is especially true in Washington, where there are limits to what soft goods can be sold in-store. Branded paraphernalia, on the other hand, is considered a cannabis product and is allowed to be sold at retail locations.

Think of a Way to Stand Out Amongst the Competition

T-shirts are great (especially soft strain tees, but I digress) and a common merch staple, but think of new ways to put your brand in front of your customers when they’re engaging with cannabis. Create merchandise that is both attractive and useful to keep your brand top of mind. Check out what your competitors are doing and see if you can improve upon their efforts — if they’re using cheap materials, splurge for nicer-quality schwag. If they’re all about rolling papers but ignoring other accessory options, look into branded grinders or carrying cases. The more ideas you can come up with to differentiate your merchandise from what everyone else is doing, the better chance you’ll have at standing out for offering something that’s unique yet valuable.

So there you have it! We’ve presented numerous ways to help boost your cannabis business. Stay tuned for even more handy business tactics and resources designed to give your company a crucial edge against the competition. In the meantime, check out Leafly’s cannabis marketing services to see how we can help get more traffic to you and boost your business.

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Leafly Staff
Leafly Staff
Leafly is the world’s largest cannabis information resource, empowering people in legal cannabis markets to learn about the right products for their lifestyle and wellness needs. Our team of cannabis professionals collectively share years of experience in all corners of the market, from growing and retail, to science and medicine, to data and technology.
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