Delta 9 Collective is a boutique dispensary, cultivation facility, and edibles manufacturer based in Kalispell, Montana.
Delta 9 Collective’s mission is to provide trustworthy, high-quality cannabis products to the local community. Known for its unique strains, this small but mighty dispensary has built a strong reputation.
“We do wholesale all over the state. For lack of a better term, we have some bangers,” said Karl Moon, General Manager at Delta 9 Collective. “People all over the state want these [unique strains], and our name goes pretty wide because of it, despite only having one shop in our small corner of Montana.”
Delta 9 Collective is located near Glacier National Park and Whitefish Mountain Resort, attracting a good mix of summer and winter tourists and residents.
“Many of our customers are just people who shop here because they go online. They read good reviews. That’s something we hold very dear. We take really, really good care of our customers. We just get people who are looking for that experience.
Karl Moon
General Manager, Delta 9 Collective
Despite not being the closest dispensary to the mountain, Karl believes that customers do their research, read Google reviews, and see how much people love Delta 9 Collective before choosing to shop with them.
Retaining customers amidst the transition to recreational cannabis
In January 2021, adult-use cannabis was legalized in Montana.
While some may look at Montana’s flourishing adult-use market and consider it an overnight success, the state has been facilitating a medical cannabis program since 2004, albeit under very strict rules that pro-cannabis activists in the state have (successfully) been fighting since the laws were established.
When Montana’s cannabis rules were stricter, doctors couldn’t recommend medical cannabis to more than 25 patients per year, and cultivators couldn’t provide cannabis to more than three patients. Medical cannabis patients were also permitted to shop only at the dispensary they were assigned to.
The state eventually opened up with recreational cannabis and allowed for a more open marketplace. While some dispensaries with longstanding medical cannabis patients might have been concerned about more consumer choice, that wasn’t an issue for Delta 9 Collective.
“We have very loyal, longtime patients who are still Montana medical cannabis cardholders. We have budtenders who have been here for five years and recognize these patients by face and name."
Karl Moon
General Manager, Delta 9 Collective
Delta 9 got on Flowhub right before the transition from medical to recreational cannabis in Montana. Karl said the customer support has been phenomenal, and he appreciates having one steady contact person at Flowhub who has grown to understand their business deeply.
Managing imports and dealing with state-specific regulations were also simplified when Delta 9 Collective transitioned from Flowhub’s original POS platform to the new and improved system, Maui, less than one year after Montana recreational sales began.
“I was resistant to it at first,” Karl said. “But I do like Maui. It was a nice, big upgrade and has made things easier.”
How Delta 9 Collective beats budtender turnover
According to data from Headset, 59.4% of budtenders in the United States were hired within the previous 12 months.
Delta 9 Collective knows these statistics and aims to take the opposite approach with their employees. “We treat people how they want to be treated,” Karl said. “We’ve had some turnover, and those people weren’t a good fit. But we have good retention of good people.”
One perk of working at Delta 9 Collective is the $50 store credit employees receive every two weeks alongside their paycheck. But when Karl joined the team a few years ago, this benefit was managed with scrap paper stashed inside a budtender’s drawer.
“When I took over the business's infrastructure, I decided we’d distribute the bonus by giving people $50 in points every two weeks. We use Flowhub to do that and give them a set number of points depending on whether they’re medical cardholders. It’s one way we use Flowhub that’s unique to us.”
Karl Moon
General Manager, Delta 9 Collective
Perfecting the boutique experience with Flowhub
While some dispensaries dream of expanding, Delta 9 Collective is just trying to perfect their current store, keep existing employees happy, and build lifelong customer relationships.
As Delta 9 continues to create a world-class dispensary experience, Flowhub will power each interaction.
Congratulations on all of your success, Delta 9 Collective! 🥳
