Costal Green
Welcome to IRCC's Retailer Spotlight, where we shine a light on the incredible independent cannabis retailers shaping the industry. 🌿✨ Each week, we celebrate the passion, dedication, and unique stories behind our valued partners. These retailers not only provide exceptional customer experiences but also contribute to the growth and innovation of the cannabis community. 💚
This week, we’re thrilled to feature Trevor from Coastal Green in Vancouver and Sechelt, BC 🙌
🌿 What inspired you to open a cannabis retail store? The inspiration to open a cannabis retail store comes from our love of BC bud and the natural beauty of the Pacific Rainforests that run up and down the BC Coast from Sechelt to Vancouver and beyond. That’s the inspiration for our tagline: Trust Mother Nature.
🏪 How does being an independent cannabis retailer shape your approach to business compared to corporate chains? Coastal Green’s approach to business has been greatly shaped by the experience of opening and operating shops independently. We have grown by 1 shop per year, learning from the challenges faced and decisions made. This draws our attention to the sacrifices and transformations of BC Craft, Micro, and small growers in Canada as they strive to produce the best bud on the planet.
🌲 Can you describe your store’s vibe or atmosphere? Coastal Green’s shops are a welcoming place for cannabis consumers of all walks of life. We want you to feel a vibe that is truly coastal, like stepping into a great Pacific Rainforest, alive with Nature and full of possibilities.
🤝 How has being a member of the IRCC helped add value to your business? Being a member of the IRCC has incentivized us to try new brands and products. In doing so, we’ve discovered LPs that weren’t being represented in other sales channels. That’s allowed us to offer our customers new and cool products that our competitors aren’t offering – while saving money!
⚖️ What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as an independent cannabis retailer in your province? The biggest challenges we’ve faced as an independent cannabis retailer in BC have been avoiding costly mistakes due to non-sensical city policies, navigating overly complicated provincial and federal bureaucratic systems, and working hard to slowly erode the stigma surrounding cannabis consumption.
🔥 Who is your favourite IRCC member benefit partner? Endgame has such a great lineup of vapes and concentrates on the IRCC, but so do Pearls and Wyld, so it’s tough to pick a favourite!
🌟 What brands in the market currently excite you and why? High-quality BC brands like Woody Nelson and Rubicon’s Simply Bare, 1964, and Homestead are exciting to watch because they truly offer a better-quality product for any price point.
🏡 What is the most rewarding aspect of running an independent cannabis retail store? The most rewarding aspect of running an independent cannabis retail store is definitely being part of a community. Having a brick-and-mortar business that operates 365 days a year, we can literally feel the community supporting us, and also know the feeling of becoming an integral part of the community.
📚 How do you stay informed and ahead in this rapidly evolving industry? Three great resources for staying informed and ahead in the evolving cannabis industry are maintaining a great relationship with our cannabis reps, attending industry events like KIND, and of course, the IRCC newsletter.
🚀 How do you envision your store and the independent cannabis retail landscape evolving over the next five years? Over the next 5 years, we hope to open more locations in municipalities that have been slower to grant cannabis retail licenses. This would include North Vancouver, Surrey, and possibly Richmond.
🌸 If your store had a signature product or strain, what would it be and why? If our store had a signature product, it would be two tasty pre-rolls with an exotic BC-grown flower, sold in a glass pre-roll tube with a moisture pack. We would want it to be grown by a small craft BC grower and offer it for an amazing price—very similar to what Flowerist is producing right now.
Who wants to blaze with us?
Website: www.coastal-green.com
Instagram: @coastalgreencannabis
