The cannabis delivery space has become one of the fastest growing niches in the legal industry. In states where weed is legal, many cities are seeing the creation of tons of new home delivery companies. And in Canada, as the country prepares for legalization, the concept is also becoming increasingly popular. Now, Snoop Dogg has some skin in the weed delivery game, too. His venture capital firm just invested in a new on-demand marijuana delivery startup.
Meet Dutchie
The new delivery company is called Dutchie, named after the Musical Youth song. It was founded by Ross Lipson. Interestingly, this isn’t Lipson’s first time in the home delivery space.
In fact, as Tech Crunch pointed out, he sold a successful home food delivery app five years ago. His previous app was called GrubCanada, and he sold it to an even larger European food delivery company called JustEat.
After selling GrubCanada, Lipson was living in Oregon. When marijuana became legal in the state, he saw a chance to create another delivery app. But this time specifically for marijuana.
So he started Dutchie. The app lets you check out nearby dispensaries. You can then place orders for whatever flowers, edibles, or other cannabis products you want.
From there, you can either go pick up your orders when they’re ready, or you can have the order delivered right to your home.
Lipson said the service is all about giving people access to more choices. In particular, the service lets a weed consumer get immediate access to all the dispensaries in their city, rather than just the ones that happen to be closest or most convenient.
Dutchie has so far seen positive results. The company currently operates in Oregon, Washington, and Michigan. Dutchie is reportedly launching in Colorado, Nevada, and California at some point this month.
Similarly, the company has reportedly signed up 100 dispensaries to its platform and has processed $2.5 million in gross merchandise. Dutchie is still in its first year of operation.
Weed Delivery is Popular With VC Investors
Beyond its work with actual dispensaries, Dutchie has seen a lot of enthusiasm from investors as well. So far, Lipson has decided to focus on getting funds from VC firms.
In particular, Snoop Dogg’s VC firm, Case Verde Capital, is a strong supporter of the home delivery company. In fact, Casa Verde was the very first to back the new company.
There were a handful of other firms to follow Casa Verde’s lead. For example, Kevin Durant’s firm, Durant Capital, and a few other ones have participated.
All told, Dutchie has reportedly raised $3 million from Casa Verde, Durant Capital, and a couple other VC firms.
The legal cannabis industry has seen a proliferation of delivery companies. Of course, the primary challenge is typically legal. That’s especially true since even in some weed-legal locations there might still be restrictions on home delivery.
Regardless, the space as a whole seems to be navigating legal difficulties well. And in places where both cannabis and cannabis delivery are legal, these businesses are generally seeing big success.