The first time we walked into a cannabis retail shop, we felt overwhelmed by the menus. To us, they looked like giant Excel spreadsheets, too much information to understand. Prices seemed arbitrary for similar THC, but why? Would we even notice a difference? Why pick one or another? Honestly, we felt a bit intimidated to even answer the simple question “do you know what you want?” No, we didn’t!
We’ve now visited dozens of shops and found the same spreadsheet-style menus over and over. The more we talked with people in our community, we found they had the same overwhelming experience, or felt uncomfortable shopping. These folks didn’t have time to figure out the in’s and out’s of choosing a cannabis strain from a list. One person told us they picked their purchases like throwing an imaginary dart. That struck a chord.
But cannabis products are actually complicated. They come in so many forms, sizes, potencies, and brands. It’s hard enough tracking strains of flower, but then there are other things to consider, like terpenes, producer growing practices, and many new ways to consume. We wondered, what will our customers really care about? Again and again people ask us, please make it easier to get what I want! What do people say they want? High potency, good prices, high quality, and a sense of control over their experience.
What kind of cannabis do you want? The one that supports you to be social, or to focus creatively, or to unwind and relax. Of course all cannabis will support any of those, but we know from experience that different strains are better suited to different situations. We don’t want couch lock when we’re out with our friends! We don’t want to feel a restless craving for conversation when we’re trying to unwind at the end of a stressful day. We don’t want euphoria if calm is what we’re after. But it’s hard to know what you’re getting until you try it. Every experience is as different as every body.
BUT, we do know that the strain and terpenes have an effect, and there is more and more research all the time as to what those effects commonly are. We thought, if we can map what’s known about terpenes, and research producers and strains, we can make educated guesses about which products might best support different experiences. Maybe that can help.
So, the Mood Menu was born.
We do the heavy lifting of combing through available flower products to find the best combinations of potency, price, and quality, mapping them by terpene profiles that seem most likely to support feeling Social, Creative, or Unwinding. You choose the mood and size, and we bring the best strains we found at your price this week. Three moods, same price – easy. Or take a trio, to have some choices over time.
For the value-conscious we will also carry at least one “value strain” (highest THC for lowest price combination we can find) at each size, and we’ll highlight a few “deluxe” strains from specialty, craft, and popular producers each week for the discerning consumer. We also plan on a House Choice that we always carry – right now we’re leaning towards Good Supply’s Jean Guy, which we’ve found is a nice, well-rounded profile, just enough of everything but not too much of any effect. And finally, we plan to carry a Local Choice – something grown in the North if we can find it, and certainly in Ontario as close to 100km from us as we can find each week. Right now, the frontrunner is Muskoka Grown’s Glueberry OG.
So that’s the Flower menu – 3 Moods at 5 sizes, and a few specialty items for specific needs. Believe it or not, just that small menu has several dozen flower products. For edibles, we plan to organize by price and type, since all edibles have 10mg THC and most don’t list the terpenes. Concentrates are a new area for us, so we’re relying on you to tell us what you want and educate us along the way.
What do you think? Love it? Hate it? Find it simple? Confusing? Email us and let us know your impressions – hello@enroutecannabis.ca. We’re looking forward to opening and meeting you in person in the next 2-4 weeks!
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