Columbia Care Inc. announced the launch of its new retail brand, Cannabist. More than a dispensary, Cannabist will serve as the intersection for medical and recreational cannabis users to provide a higher experience built on one of the customer data repositories, passion, technology innovation, community commitment and product standards. The first location to launch under the Cannabist brand is the recently opened dispensary in Springville, Utah, which had its first sale April 30. By the end of May, three existing Columbia Care locations, in Tempe, Arizona, Villa Park, Illinois, and San Diego, California, will become Cannabist branded retail locations, with a pipeline of more than 80 new and existing locations to follow over the next 24 months. The Cannabist retail experience is centered on making shopping for cannabis as simple and approachable as possible, accommodating the vast range of experience levels patients and customers may have when they walk through the doors. Merchandising set-ups and store layouts have been organized to help customers move through the space with intent and become more comfortable in the process. Additionally, the space is designed to encourage employees and customers to engage in conversations that enhance the shopping experience, whether through product recommendations or general education. To fully realize this goal, all Cannabist staff will undergo extensive training not offered at other dispensaries, ensuring that customer and patient needs can be exceeded. Beyond the in-store experience, technology will serve as a bridge across the retail ecosystem that enables a seamless shopping experience from anywhere. Cannabist locations will continue to leverage existing solutions, such as Virtual.Care, the personal shopping platform, and will be introducing a proprietary web-based application to help customers on their product discovery journey in early June. The CNC credit card, the cannabis industry’s first credit card, will be rebranded to Tetra by mid-Q3 and continue to support a streamlined shopping experience as well. Cannabist retail locations will also be home to premium brands that focus on the highest quality and reliability and will continue to collaborate with brands run by fellow cannabis connoisseurs and social equity businesses.