Using technology to create an Apple-Store-Like cannabis dispensary Empire cannabis dispensaries use interactive touch screen stations to help their guests privately explore each products features and benefits. Chris Henry joins Dan Humiston on the BioTrack Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight Series to talk about the advantages of a 'do it yourself' shopping experience and their expansion plans. Produced by PodCONX
Using technology to create an Apple-Store-Like cannabis dispensary
Empire cannabis dispensaries use interactive touch screen stations to help their guests privately explore each products features and benefits. Chris Henry joins Dan Humiston on the BioTrack Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight Series to talk about the advantages of a 'do it yourself' shopping experience and their expansion plans.
Dan Humiston: [00:00:00] The Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight series is brought to you by Helix Biotech, the largest seed to sale tracking and dispensary point of sale software solution in the industry since 2010, cannabis dispensaries, cultivation facilities and manufacturers have trusted biotech to securely and confidently keep them in compliance while managing their businesses with flexible solutions for both THC and Hemp Industries, customizable workflows built in machine learning and data analytics that deliver actual insights to the right people at the right time. It's clear why cannabis companies in 37 states and nine countries depend on biotech for comprehensive Cannabis software and business solutions that cover the requirements of compliance seed to sale tracking and data reporting in every state. There's really only one choice.Biotech could a biotech dot com today for secure Cannabis software solutions that you can count on.
Chris Henry: [00:01:04] As your ordering these items to your cardinals' in the back of the shop buildings that is constantly filling these orders. Things like a fast food chain, right. Or a bookstore and you're constantly filling them with the same concept that we have our retail outlets.So allow all of our customer base to have a ease of access, safe access and private access with some more facilities.We've gone as far as having VIP sections.
Dan Humiston: [00:01:36] From MJ MJBulls Media, it's the Raising Cannabis Capital shelf. Dan Humiston in today's show is another chapter of the bio tracks Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight series featuring another dynamic retail pioneers journey to crack the National and International Expansion Code.
Dan Humiston: [00:02:05] Today, Raising Cannabis Capital, we are continuing this month's Biotech Cannabis Dispensary Spotlight series with Chris Henry from Empire. Chris, welcome to the show.
Chris Henry: [00:02:15] Thank you. I appreciate it.
Dan Humiston: [00:02:16] First on today, I'm doing great and I really appreciate you taking time out to speak with us today. Empire is a Southern California dispensary chain, and you're just doing so many innovative, aggressive things with the way you're running your stores. Our listeners are going to really find this episode fascinating. Chris, let's jump in by talking about all the dispensaries that you've worked with there, helped over the years, which kind of puts you in position to design the Empire Store, the empire approach to business.
Chris Henry: [00:02:47] Yeah. So right around about 2003, 2004, I started doing to cameras access control for a lot of dispensaries.As time went on the 2008 crisis, we've begun to actually start building these dispensaries from start to finish. Been in and out of 100 plus dispensaries for cultivating for them, selling to them, building the facilities for them, securing them. Security wise, our books are now owning our own. We became sort of experts in the process.
Dan Humiston: [00:03:19] Well, I would say after seeing 100 stores and helping them work through each of their challenges and most importantly, finding out what works best in dispensaries and what works not best in the dispensaries that probably got you where you are right now. I know when people refer to your stores, I hear this a lot. They say an Apple store for Cannabis. You've really embraced technology. Maybe explain to our listeners some of the things that you're doing with technology. They're just light years ahead of everybody else.
Chris Henry: [00:03:51] Yes. What we've done is taking the technology that we're seeing in tomorrow's world and epilepsia it now. By that I mean when you go to, you know, your typical supermarkets nowadays or you go to Home Depot or any shopping retail outlet, everything is gone to self checkout. So what we've done is we've taken the approach to implement a self checkout mechanism within ourselves platform. So that's all our facilities right along the walls. We'll have touch screens with empty products around them. And you can actually pick one of those empty products up and set it on a indentation on the front of the point of sale platform. And it will bring up exactly what you're looking at. To tell you the description, it'll also give you details on what the product will actually do for you. The type of high you will have. Well, there's subtle a high high. There's a daytime or nighttime indicus city. Turpin profile and content. It'll give you a full breakdown and description of the total effects and the time that that product will last as well as how to actually administer it. We also have the ability through that process to have some of our sales reps on the floor just walk up to you with the i-Pad and do the same thing, take the same type of order on our phone, our tables where you pick up one of the jars. There's a clear jar with a magnifying glass on the tops. You can actually look at the flour in there or when you pick those up off of this table, we have RFID chips that will automatically communicate to the computer in front of you that you're looking at a pop of that particular flour on the board and tell you the exact same thing as you're ordering and adding these items to your cart in the back of the shop. Filming team that is constantly filling these orders. Could be like a fast food chain, right? Yeah. Orders come up extremely. You're constantly filling. This is the same concept that we have at our retail outlets.
Chris Henry: [00:05:49] So allow all of our customer base to have a ease of access, safe access and private access with some of our facilities.
Chris Henry: [00:05:58] We've even gone as far as having VIP sections. Our model is we want to be the higher standard. And part of the higher standard is what we really stand by and we're able to do that utilizing technology, utilizing ease of access and just making each person comfortable.
Dan Humiston: [00:06:14] And I think more people would prefer to find this information out on their own versus having to talk to a salesperson. The privacy. Yet sometimes I think that that is misunderstood. I know a lot of people want to do their research without somebody standing over their shoulder. But on the flip side, the other thing that I've heard a lot about is that your staff is very knowledgeable because their sole responsibility now can be interacting with your guests.
Chris Henry: [00:06:45] Absolutely. Absolutely. Dan, that's what we really pride ourself on. An empire is staff, customer service. So we have to tell your customers when you're dealing with Cannabis, you have such a wide array of customers, you see all walks of life. Yeah, that's the beauty of.
Dan Humiston: [00:07:05] I want to take a quick break to play a preview of a special Cannabis and Corona report. But first, I'd like to thank one of our sponsors, Sentient Pixel, a company that's been building CBD Hemp companies from scratch for over three years. They can help you with your marketing, packaging, web design blog and SVO needs. So get in touch with them as soon as you can at a Sentient pixel dot com or click on the link in the show. Notes to learn how Sentient pixels hirable all in one marketing and design department can amplify your company's communication.
Pete Karabas: [00:07:43] I really do think that we're going to see an increase in the rate at which states legalize the 2 trillion dollar stimulus package. Spending copious amounts of money in the form of financial relief for businesses and for individuals. That money has to come from somewhere. These budgets are going to have big holes in them that need to be filled.Cannabis tax revenue can really move the dial.
Dan Humiston: [00:08:07] Tune in on Tuesday to hear a special Cannabis and Corona report with Pete Karabas from Key Investment Partners.
Dan Humiston: [00:08:14] Now let's get back to today's show jumping ahead.
Dan Humiston: [00:08:19] What are your plans for expansion, say, within the next couple of years?
Pete Karabas: [00:08:24] Over the next two years? We want to control regionals right now. We are in Southern California. We take it a step further than most companies still would get involved with legislature and lobbying. And it's all about your relationships and what you can do to the cities that you go in. So, you know, you're bringing a business into a city that attracts a lot of traffic. Your footprint becomes noticeable. But as your footprint is noticeable, so is the impact that you bring it to those communities. When you're able to provide living wage jobs to 50, 60 individuals that did not work within the city prior to operation is big for the counties, the communities you get involved in the charity of the cities and helping to pay for lunches for the schools and hot lunches. It makes a big impact in those cities.
Dan Humiston: [00:09:10] This shows taped a couple weeks before it'll air. And right now, mid-March, Corona virus has impacted everybody's life. What changes have you made within the dispensary to manage the effect of the coronavirus?
Pete Karabas: [00:09:25] This coronavirus has caused a influx of individuals coming into the dispensaries to load up on products because they don't know if the state state's going to shut us down. What we've been hearing from the state is that we're not going to be shut down at this time. We're going to be continue to allow to operate. The county of Santa Clara issued a statement saying that Cannabis is a good way for individuals to get medicines that they use to their somewhat of classifying us as a pharmacy for that reason. Looks like we're going to be unscathed by what's going on with this corona virus. Now, let's all hope that this chronic virus then settles down and goes away for sure.
Dan Humiston: [00:10:07] But I think if you have TV in your house, what else are you going to do? Right.
Dan Humiston: [00:10:12] You're right. I mean, why not?
Chris Henry: [00:10:14] It helps people come in and they buy. I mean, everybody thinks and has anxiety. Everybody's in line waiting and they just have anxiety. They want to get something that they have to stay home all day. They're not used to it. The kids are home all day. It's a real pandemic.
Dan Humiston: [00:10:28] It is. And you need something to help you with your anxiety. And that's anyhow. Well, Chris, I appreciate you taking time out. I know this is a hectic time for you. Yeah. And we will have all of Chris's information and all vampires information in the show notes and also at M.J. Balls dot com. So anybody wants to follow up and find out some more information or to go to their Web site and see exactly what their stores look like. If you're not in that area, think you'll be really impressed. Chris, I appreciate you being on the show. Thanks a lot.
Chris Henry: [00:10:57] Thank you. I appreciate you having me on. Look forward to it. All of you out there, shop empire, dot com. If you're in Southern California, come out and see us. We're 10 minutes from the Ontario Airport.
Dan Humiston: [00:11:08] Great, great, Chris. Have a great week. Today's show was made possible by the generous support of our sponsors, like all 36, the country's premiere blockchain payment processing platform that's providing dispensaries and its customers with a safe and secure payment option other than cash. To learn more. Go to all 236.com. Today's podcast was produced by MJBulls Media. The industry's premier Cannabis podcast network with original music produced in part by Jamie Humiston.
Dan Humiston: [00:11:41] I'm Dan Humiston and you've been listening to the Raising Cannabis Capital podcast.
*IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER*
THIS IS AN AUTOMATED TRANSCRIPT AND THERE MAY BE INACCURATE AND OR INCORRECT COMPUTER TRANSLATIONS. DO NOT RELY ON THIS OR ANY TRANSCRIPT ON THE MJBULLS MEDIA WEBSITE.