Dive Brief:
- Circle K parent Alimentation Couche-Tard and Green Thumb Industries, a cannabis CPG company and owner of Rise Dispensaries, will debut approximately 10 Rise Express-branded dispensaries adjacent to Circle K convenience stores in Florida starting in 2023, according to a Wednesday announcement.
- The rollout will be a “test and learn phase” for Green Thumb, which looks to expand its medical retail footprint in Florida through the new lease agreement with Circle K.
- This marks the second partnership Couche-Tard has made with a cannabis retailer over the past few years, the first being with Canadian cannabis company Fire & Flower.
Dive Insight:
Couche-Tard’s partnership with Green Thumb comes less than a month after the c-store retailer opened its third c-store adjacent to a Fire & Flower dispensary in Brampton, Ontario. The first two, located in Calgary and Grand Prairie, Alberta, opened in July 2020.
As of late September, Fire & Flower’s CEO — a former VP at Couche-Tard — said the company planned to have a total of 10 Circle K co-located stores within the next year.
The agreement announced Wednesday lets Green Thumb lease space from Circle K in Florida, where the retailer currently operates about 600 c-stores. The companies did not specify which Circle K stores in Florida the Rise Express dispensaries will be located near.
“This agreement to lease adjacent space to our stores in Florida mirrors what we are currently doing with co-located stores in Canada with strategic partner Fire & Flower,” Jennifer Vincent, senior manager of global communications for Couche-Tard, said in an interview.
The Rise Express stores will offer a variety of Green Thumb’s cannabis products, including flower, pre-rolls, gummies and vapes — all of which will come from Green Thumb’s new 28-acre cultivation facility in Ocala, Florida, that will be operational by the end of 2022.
Chicago-based Green Thumb is no stranger to Florida, as the company owns and operates medical cannabis retail stores in Bonita Springs, Deerfield Beach, Hallandale Beach, Kendall, Oviedo, Pinellas Park and West Palm Beach. In total, Green Thumb has 17 manufacturing facilities and 77 open retail locations across 15 U.S. markets.
The Rise Express model will make it easier and more efficient for patients to purchase cannabis as part of their everyday routine when stopping by their local c-store, Green Thumb CEO Ben Kolver said in the announcement.
“Convenience is a strong channel in retail, and people want more access to cannabis,” he said.
