Vending machines are known for offering snacks or beverages, but through the years, they started selling groceries and pet supplies. Now, vending machines are selling marijuana at the Strawberry Fields dispensary in central Pueblo, Colorado. One machine holds as much as 2,000 products, including edibles, vape oils, and flowers.
The vending machines, made by a company called anna, are designed to take and fill orders for cannabis products, allowing customers to order without having to interact with a budtender. Sometime this year, the company plans to install more of the vending machines, at a second dispensary called the Starbuds, in Aurora.
Matt Frost, anna’s founder, and CEO, originally developed the concept to improve the efficiency of the marijuana industry’s retail self-checkout system. Dispensary waits can be hours long, while some shops require customers to pre-order products and schedule a pickup time for them.
Frost explained:
There are experienced cannabis customers who don’t necessarily need that one-on-one interaction with a budtender. They know what they want before they walk in, they’re ready to go in and out. By doing this, we’re giving more time back to the people who do need hand-holding and want that education from a live person. With COVID and social distancing and contactless, definitely, we have an appeal there, as well.
Anna has installed a total of four vending machines inside Strawberry Fields. Customers will need to show identification and check-in before using them. Each machine includes a 27-inch touch screen that displays a digital version of the menu, where patrons browse cannabis products, add to their virtual bag, and pay with a debit card or cash. Once the transaction is complete, anna then dispenses the items, providing a grab-and-go experience. But that’s not all, for an even quicker checkout, customers can pre-order via the soon-to-come anna app.
Frost hopes that in addition to a Colorado expansion and a Massachusetts market introduction, for anna vending machines that sell non-psychoactive cannabis products to be installed in retail stores and gas stations soon.
