Marijuana Business Magazine March 2020

Marijuana Business Magazine | March 2020 78 “We’re looking for the monetary component and people who believe in the vision of Unity Rd.,” Weinberger said. Eric Dangler, who opened Eufloria Dispensary adjacent to The Gypsy Coffee House in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in December, is franchising the concept nationwide. Franchisees are filing for licenses permitting them to sell medical marijuana, and Dangler expects the first franchise to open in March. The first franchisee is a chiropractor who will operate his practice on one side of the building and the Eufloria franchise on the other. Franchising a cannabis company is easier in Oklahoma than in many other states because there isn’t a cap on cannabis business licenses, growers aren’t limited on how much marijuana they can grow and there are no franchise regulations. “It also makes it the most competitive market in the country,” Dangler said. The franchise fee for a full Eufloria dispensary is $40,000, and the royalty fee is 6% of gross sales. For the CBD- only model, the franchise fee is $10,000. If the state approves adult-use cannabis after the franchise is up and running, Eufloria will not charge the franchisee the additional $30,000. Eufloria has two options for potential franchisees to consider: kiosks, which must be at least 300 square feet, including storage, and stand-alone stores that must be at least 1,100 square feet. With build-out, the franchise fee, stocking the shelves and hiring employees, Dangler estimates it will cost franchisees up to $175,000, including application and licensing fees, to open a dispensary. Franchisees will receive three days of training at Dangler’s anchor store. Training covers proper representation of the brand and daily operations. Employees of the franchisees also must wear uniforms that include a green tie and apron designed to resemble those worn by pharmacists from the 1800s. FRANCHISING A CLINIC Sun Valley Health Clinics developed its franchise program before merging with Portland, Oregon-based Empower Clinics, which has the identical business model of providing MMJ patient cards and selling products containing CBD but not THC. Sun Valley Health, which started out as a medical marijuana certification clinic, has evolved into an alternative health center that sells high- end CBD products. “We feel this medical approach is the best way to sell CBD,” said Sun Valley Health co-founder Dustin Klein, who noted that the clinics certify more than 20% of medical marijuana patients in Arizona. “They look like a retail pharmacy or a family doctor’s office.” Since the acquisition, Sun Valley Health has updated its franchise disclosure documents and is talking with several people who are interested in buying franchises, Klein said. The publicly held company is called Empower Clinics, but names of all the clinics and the franchises that will be awarded have been converted to Sun Valley Health. Empower completed the sale of its first franchise territory in Oklahoma in January. The average initial investment to open a Sun Valley Health Clinic is between $150,000 to $200,000. There currently are five Sun Valley Health Clinics in Arizona and one in Portland, Oregon. “Our clinics provide medical education on cannabis,” Klein said. “Patients are not getting this education from dispensaries, and they’re not getting it from doctors.” Eufloria Dispensary, top, opened adjacent to The Gypsy Coffeehouse, bottom, and is franchising the concept nationwide. Courtesy Photos Retail Franchising