What is BottleRock?
BottleRock is an annual music festival held in Napa Valley, California, celebrated for its eclectic mix of live music, gourmet food, craft beer, and premium wine. This festival draws top-tier musical acts and a diverse crowd, creating an engaging and lively atmosphere. Beyond the music, BottleRock offers a rich cultural experience with culinary demonstrations by renowned chefs, wine tastings from local vintners, and a variety of interactive activities. It's a celebration of art, food, and community, making it a must-visit event for music lovers and culture enthusiasts alike.
Revolutionizing Cannabis Sales with Meadow POS
In the dynamic cannabis industry, staying ahead requires innovation, adaptability, and a keen understanding of consumer needs. Meadow POS is at the forefront with its groundbreaking Ice Cream Truck Delivery Service Model, enabling dispensaries to bring their products directly to consumers, compliantly, in California and other markets like New York, New Jersey and Michigan.
This innovative service model was put to the test at the BottleRock country music festival on May 24, 2024, where Abide set up a mobile dispensary that thrilled festival-goers with convenience and quality.
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through how Abide prepared for BottleRock, executed sales, and what it takes for anyone to replicate such a successful event in 3 steps.
Abide Dispensary: Commitment to Quality and Community
Abide Dispensary, located in Napa, California, is renowned for its commitment to quality, community, and customer satisfaction. Since opening in 2019, Abide has been powered by Meadow POS, offering a carefully curated selection of cannabis products, including flowers, edibles, vape pens, and prerolls, catering to both medical and recreational users. Abide's focus on education and personalized service ensures that each customer finds the right product to meet their needs.
On-Site Success at BottleRock 2024
#1. Preparing for the Event:
Marketing Initiatives: Creating Buzz and Driving Traffic
Abide’s success began long before the festival gates opened. They leveraged their website, text marketing, and word-of-mouth to build anticipation among their customer base. Flyers were distributed inside the dispensary leading up to the event, ensuring their loyal customers knew where to find them at BottleRock. This pre-event marketing strategy created a buzz, drawing attention to their unique setup and encouraging festival-goers to seek them out. By using both digital and physical marketing tactics, Abide ensured maximum reach and engagement, driving traffic to their mobile dispensary.
Streamlined Inventory Management
Abide focused on offering a concise menu that featured the most popular categories, which made decision-making easier for customers. By curating a selective menu, they ensured that customers were not overwhelmed with options, so they could quickly find and purchase what they needed, enhancing the overall shopping experience. The focus on essential products ensured a concise and manageable menu for both staff and customers.
This streamlined approach simplified the shopping experience while preventing overstocking. By offering a limited selection of SKUs, Abide purchased only the necessary products, avoiding excess inventory for the event. With five years of BottleRock experience, Abide utilized historical sales reports to accurately determine the required quantities for a successful event.
Abide was supported by Happie Cannabis Products, featuring their line of 1/8ths and 5pack Preroll products.
Pro Tip 💡 One of the most common event pitfalls is over-ordering product and ending up with excess inventory. To avoid this, consider partnering with your product vendors. Establish agreements where vendors sponsor your booth and supply inventory before the event. Afterward, return any unsold items, ensuring you only pay for what was sold. Additionally, we've seen that brand ambassadors often join events to actively promote their products, boosting sales and enhancing the overall customer experience.
#2. Setting up your Booth:
Positioned strategically on the access road before the general admission area, Abide’s mobile dispensary captured the attention of thousands of festival-goers, providing them with a convenient way to stock up on their favorite cannabis products. The accessibility of the dispensary allowed attendees to easily purchase items like edibles, vape pens, and prerolls to enhance their festival experience.
Pro Tip 💡 An alternative to setting up outside of the event grounds is to collaborate closely with the event organizers to create an experience within the festival grounds itself. In previous years, Abide successfully executed this approach, integrating seamlessly with the event. However, due to new event guidelines this year, they were required to set up outside the general admission line
Effective Signage and Budtender Engagement
Clear signage outside and inside the booth, coupled with budtenders actively engaging with the crowd, directed attendees to the mobile dispensary. Budtenders also walked up and down the event entry gate, further promoting their presence and services. Abide invested in branded table clothes, outdoor tents, sandwich boards and signage to accomplish this task.
This proactive approach not only increased visibility but also provided an opportunity to educate potential customers about the products and services offered. The combination of visual cues and personal interaction created a welcoming and informative environment that drew in festival-goers.
Seamless Online Ordering with QR Codes
Innovative use of QR codes allowed guests to place delivery orders online effortlessly. These QR codes were strategically placed and highly instructive, guiding customers step-by-step on how to order.
The Abide marketing team designed 4x6” and 12x12” postcards featuring a QR code linked directly to their online menu. These postcards were distributed throughout the crowd and provided essential details such as accepted payment methods, a map to locate their booth on the event trail, and information about the available products. This strategy ensured that attendees had easy access to all necessary information, enhancing their overall event experience.
Meadow’s fast and user-friendly e-commerce solution, Menu Pro played a crucial role, providing an exclusive menu based on the delivery address entered by customers, minimizing data entry errors. Meadow created a filtered embedded menu code that was placed on Abide's website, which pre-filled the delivery address for attendees, making it easy to order online.
This digital integration streamlined the ordering process, making it quick and convenient for customers to get what they needed. The ease of online ordering, combined with the efficiency of Meadow’s system, ensured that customers had a smooth and satisfying shopping experience.
#3. Operations and Execution of Sales
Efficient Packing and Secure Inventory Management
A dedicated packing station, equipped with a machine that printed packing tickets, ensured each order was handled swiftly and securely. Inventory was stored inside a van, accessible only to budtenders, and kept out of public view behind a gated fence. This setup not only maintained security but also facilitated a well-organized packing process. By having a designated area for packing orders, Abide could ensure accuracy and speed, minimizing wait times for customers. The secure management of inventory also reduced the risk of loss or theft, enhancing overall operational efficiency.
Happy Budtenders, Exceptional Service
Abide’s budtenders, equipped with registers, were ready to fulfill new delivery orders with just a few clicks on an iPad. Their enthusiasm and commitment to customer service elevated the entire experience, ensuring every guest felt valued and well taken care of.
The workflow looked like this:
- The customer placed an order online. Budtenders were available to help guide them.
- A packing slip printed in the secure packing area
- A "packer" packed the order from the available inventory
- The packer would walk the order to the Budtender at fulfillment
- The Budtender would then scan the QR code on the packing slip which brought up the order for fulfillment on Meadow's POS iPad app
- The Budtender would accept payment at the register
Happy and knowledgeable budtenders are crucial in creating a positive customer experience, as they can provide insights, answer questions, and assist with any issues. Having a streamlined process for fulfillment allows budtenders to focus on customer service and sales opportunities.
Expanding your Reach with Ice Cream Truck Delivery
Learn more: Mobile Cannabis Dispensaries: The Ice Cream Truck Delivery Model
Meadow’s Ice Cream Truck Delivery Service Model allows dispensaries to set up mobile dispensaries anywhere, reaching untapped markets and providing unparalleled convenience for shoppers. This model not only expands a dispensary’s territory but also enhances its ability to serve customers in new and innovative ways. By bringing the dispensary to the customer, Meadow’s model breaks down geographical barriers and increases accessibility.
This flexibility is also beneficial for events, festivals, and other high-traffic locations, where traditional brick-and-mortar stores may not be feasible. The Ice Cream Truck Delivery Service is a game-changer for dispensaries looking to expand their market reach and improve customer convenience.
Maintaining Stock Levels and Compliance
To keep inventory levels optimal and ensure compliance, Abide used two vehicles to cycle between the dispensary and the on-site booth. This strategy maintained stock levels and adhered to all security measures, ensuring a smooth operation throughout the event. Regular restocking runs ensured that popular items were always available, preventing stockouts and disappointed customers.
Compliance with California regulatory requirements like delivery ledgers were also a top priority, with strict protocols in place to manage inventory and transactions.
Consistent Branding and Messaging
Every aspect of Abide’s presence at BottleRock was carefully branded, from the booth tent and tablecloths to flyers and merchandise. Their own flower and preroll brand products were prominently featured, with the menu accessible via their website for future orders. This consistent branding resonated with festival-goers, reinforcing Abide’s identity and commitment to quality. By creating a cohesive and visually appealing setup, Abide ensured that their brand was memorable and easily recognizable.
Bonus: Enhancing the Experience with Complimentary Services
Abide elevated the event experience by partnering with a joint-rolling service, offering festival-goers a complimentary and convenient activity. This interactive service was especially appreciated by attendees who purchased an eighth but preferred to smoke on the spot. This effort demonstrated Abide's dedication to exceptional service and creating memorable, engaging experiences for their customers.
Why Meadow?
- Ease of Use: We help dispensaries achieve operational excellence with easy-to-use, intuitive tools.
- All-in-One: Sell more cannabis with less work, using Meadow's connected cannabis retail, delivery, eCommerce, payments, and CRM—designed to grow with you.
- Unparalleled reliability: with 99.99% uptime since 2014, and 100% uptime on 4/20.
Meadow’s Ice Cream Truck Delivery Service Model is revolutionizing how dispensaries operate, providing the flexibility to reach new markets and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Abide Dispensary’s success at BottleRock 2024 is a testament to the power and potential of this innovative delivery model. As the cannabis industry continues to grow, Meadow POS remains at the forefront, helping dispensaries expand their reach and better serve their communities. By embracing this cutting-edge delivery model, dispensaries can enhance their operations, increase customer satisfaction, and drive growth in a competitive market.
